Newly rechristened Marshall Hotels & Resorts is in the midst of robust expansion that is redefining the company. Now, with about 50 hotels open and another eight under construction, the company has more than doubled in size during the past two-and-a-half years.

It’s a big departure from the upscale management company’s previous formula of adding just two to three hotels a year, but after adding internal mechanisms Marshall is able to grow seamlessly while growing exponentially.

“We’re growing the proper way and not taking on too much. We’re also being selective in the projects we take on but are also making sure we have some fun doing it,” said Mike Marshall, President & CEO, of the Salisbury, MD based Marshall Hotels & Resorts. “We interview the owners as much as they interview us. There are projects we turn down. That is the hardest thing.”

Stretching from Florida to New York – where the company opened three hotels in the ultra-competitive Manhattan market in the last six months -- Marshall Hotels added 15 hotels to its portfolio in just the last year alone. The company also regularly culls its portfolio to eliminate properties where ownership doesn’t share the same values or commitment.

Focusing on properties in the upper three- and four-star categories, the Marshall team has become experts in calculating just how a specific property can make the most impact in its respective market.

“There are so many great hotels that are 3-diamond hotels that can make money if run properly,” said Marshall. “We are confident and creative, so we go into markets that other companies won’t touch.”

To succeed, that means fully understanding the market, the property and area competition. Marshall said too many management companies fail to really understand how to properly position a property in the market. It’s a critical error that results in mismatched products that don’t perform up to standards.

One hotel, for example, was being run as if it were an ultra-hip South Beach property when it should have been geared more to a no-nonsense business crowd. A change in focus immediately and positively altered the bottom line as expenses were slashed and income rose with the property’s more sensible persona.

“It’s all about touching the guest in the proper way, but you have to know who your guest is. Surprisingly, more often than not owners don’t realize they are marketing to the wrong clientele and wind up just throwing marketing money away on attracting guests that will never come,” said Mike Marshall.

When combining marketing and product know-how with the company’s national supplier relationships, Marshall is a true turnkey operation.

When Marshall Hotels & Resorts first takes control of a property the company’s first step is typically reorienting property culture. They also put in their proprietary accounting system which usually helps the owner truly understand where their money is going. They also fix the wild disconnect they typically find between executives and their understanding of what it takes to do their job effectively.

“The biggest thing I see is that there are executive housekeepers, for example, that don’t check rooms. There is a pervasive extra layer of management at hotels that is simply not needed. These things cost the owner a lot of money; the owner doesn’t know because he or she gets a thick report too cumbersome to read. Too many employees have the ‘it’s not my job’ syndrome,” said Marshall, noting the company eliminates the “dead wood” and retrains and cross-trains the rest of the property’s staff with a customer-centric model. “There are some executives that don’t even know how to check guests in and out. By the time we are done we have much happier employees and happier guests and that draws money to the bottom line.”

The company also implements smart cost-cutting measures that do not affect guest experience. For example, the company schedules shifts to actual demand and makes management pitch in with a more hands-on approach to service. “We make everyone aware on property what is going on and push the buttons accordingly, but we will never do things like buy inferior products. It’s not the way to gain loyalty,” said Marshall.

Formerly known as Marshall Management, Inc., the company was founded in 1980. The company has managed a wide array of leading hotel brands, including Hilton, Starwood, InterContinental Hotel Group, Hyatt, Choice and Wyndham.  Additional information about Marshall Hotels & Resorts may be found at the company's Web site: www.marshallhotels.com.