Hands-on approach
01-Oct-08 Stuart Derrick
When you work with more than 600 hotels in 65 countries, picking the perfect vacation is always going to be challenging. However, for John Ueberroth, chief executive of Preferred Hotel Group, summer 2008 was a no-brainer. The sports-mad boss of the luxury hotel collection inked in Beijing two years ago as the place to be this summer. Mind you, with brother Peter, organiser of the Los Angeles Games in 1984, chairing the US Olympic Committee, tickets were not a problem.
Just back from China as we speak, Ueberroth is impressed by what he saw. "In terms of hotels, China has caught up with the rest of the world and the infrastructure was amazing. We also have some properties out there, so you never really switch off."
Slacking is certainly not something of which the softly spoken, 65-year-old from California could be accused. His five-decade career has seen him build and sell global businesses, run an airline and now create a hotel brand that is going from strength to strength. Throughout, his philosophy has always been to get to know the business by being hands-on.
"It helps to know what it's like to be on the end of an irate call from a customer. If you've done a little bit of everybody's job, then you know how to make things better."
According to Jerry Chizever, partner, Loeb & Loeb and board member of Preferred, who has known him as a friend and client for almost 30 years: "I've always been impressed by John's honest, practical and no-nonsense approach to business, as well as his sincere loyalty to his employees and business associates. People wish to work with him because he creates an environment of opportunity and shared success."
Starting in the 60s with his brother, the Ueberroths built representation company TCI into a major concern, buying the world's third largest travel agent Ask Mr Foster in the process. They eventually sold to Carlson, providing the then incentive company with its leg up into travel. John went on to become president of the travel group.
A born entrepreneur, Ueberroth went on to manage Hawaiian Airlines through the Gulf Crisis and founded the Ambassadors Group, a travel business specialising in education travel. His relentlessly roving eye came upon IndeCorp, as Preferred was then known, four years ago.
"My wife encouraged me to get involved," he says. "It had similarities to TCI. We knew the business, knew what it was like to be customers, and we loved hotels."
Taking an organisation that was struggling to recover from 9/11, Ueberroth's experience of earlier downturns allowed him to focus on what was needed. "The business was very centralised, but it's global so we have to be able to sell out of markets like Germany, Japan and the UK. We have put a lot of people out there to help us get to know the hotels and help deliver business."
Key initiatives have included a loyalty scheme with 110,000 members, I Prefer. He has also launched the Preferred Golf Club, a collection of 70 global resorts managed by his son. Meanwhile, as part of its 40th anniversary this year, Preferred is running a philanthropic programme called Giving Room where hotels give 10 per cent of the revenue from a room to charity and the sum is matched by the Ueberroth Foundation.
The business is very much family-run - daughter Lindsey is in charge of brand development, his daughter-in-law runs communications, while wife Gail is responsible for human resources and marketing.
"For me, it's fun to work with the family - although I can't speak for them," he quips. "As a family you are committed to the business. We are not in it to sell two years down the road. We are building something."
Despite a softening in the market, Ueberroth sees growth coming from its brands such as Historic Hotels, which at the moment is a US-only brand, and investment in luxury shared ownership resorts. With his experience of several downturns, Ueberroth is unconcerned about the latest one. "Growth will slow for a time, but tough conditions give you a chance to shine. There is no grand plan. The next three or four years will see us doing what we do, but better."
BIOGRAPHY
1943: Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1967: Begins career with brother Peter in Transportation Consultants International
1971-1980: President of Ask Mr Foster travel agency, growing it from 29 offices to more than 1,000
1980-1989: President of Carlson Travel Group
1990-1993: Chairman and chief executive of Hawaiian Airlines, the islands' largest airline
1995-2003: President and chief executive of Ambassadors International 2004 to present: Chairman of the board and chief executive of Preferred Hotel Group
