Vice President, Brand Development, Prefferred Hotel Group
www.preferredhotelgroup.com

Lindsey Ueberroth jokes that she was logging air miles before she was even born. Her mother, a flight attendant, and father, an executive in the hotel industry, her globe-trotting started early, visiting more of the world as a child then many people see in their lifetimes. Her love of travel eventually led her to a career in the family business where she’s found her niche defining the luxury boutique hotel experience.

Today, at 31 years old, Lindsay is vice president of brand development for Preferred Boutique Hotels, a collection of hotels and resorts she and her father John Ueberroth launched in 2005 under Preferred Hotel Group. Preferred Boutique Hotels offers a way to celebrate and provide distinctive travel experiences; From tent camps to urban hotels and even private islands. She works alongside her father who is chairman of the board and CEO of Preferred Hotel Group, and her mother Gail, who serves as executive vice president, as well as her brother and sister-in-law.

Here’s what I learned from Lindsey Ueberroth: Ask lots of questions – there are no dumb ones. Be willing to admit failure. Hire people smarter than you. Don’t neglect yourself. Always fuel your passion.

Define Your Brand

“The ‘boutique’ word was being used a lot and had different interpretations. There was a niche to define what the boutique experience meant and create a brand for hotels that were 100 rooms or less with luxury style. There was really nothing else out there in the independent hotel market. We saw there was a need for independent luxury boutique properties, and my dad and I decided to launch a new brand. We took it from ground zero to where it is now.”

True to A Vision

“We’ve stayed strict on our criteria. They are 100 rooms or less; sometimes we go a little larger for the design category up to 150 rooms. We trade in four categories, classic, design, adventure and resort. The adventure category is my favorite. We have a strong quality assurance program. Beyond that, when we brand and market we really try to celebrate the uniqueness of every single one of these properties. We are a brand, but we are a brand of independent hotels. That brand and uniqueness is what we really tout.”

Ask Questions!

“The reason for our success is our constant communication with our hotels. We have a 97 percent retention rate. We are very nimble in our brand. Things are constantly changing, and we are always asking how can we do it better or differently. I wear a lot of different hats. It is a balance between being out in the field, visiting with hotels and understanding their needs, and being in the office and really driving out strategies. I definitely don’t believe you can do everything sitting behind a desk. I travel a lot, and I believe in asking a lot of questions.”

Understand Your Customer

“‘The customer comes first’ is a big mantra here. Also, ‘work smarter not harder.’ One is external, and one is internal. Our customers are so many different people; the hotels, consumers and travel agents. Market research is a blend of a lot of things. Definitely all the travel publications I subscribe to, and there’s a lot of great websites out there I’m constantly looking at. I’m always reading about new properties and remodels. And I’ll go to trip advisor to see what the public is saying. Our goal is to make our brands user-friendly, well-known and deliver on our promise.”

Make Time for Yourself

“Personally, my biggest challenge is time management and making sure my personal life doesn’t suffer. I probably travel 70 percent of the time. I made a conscious decision in the last year not to travel the same way I was and to give myself time to arrive a day early and stay a day later and have that time for myself. When I’m home, I come up with some really good routines.”

Prove Yourself

“I work for a family-owned business. The challenge will always be proving your value when you share a last name with the CEO. I probably work three times as hard for that reason because you never want anyone to think you’re being handed something. It’s defining myself within my family. Both my parents are great mentors. My dad is a man with great ethics and an incredible business mind. It is so much fun to work with him.”

Dreams = Goals

“Our goal moving forward is growth. We are at 85 hotels. In 2 years I’d like to be at 300. If we don’t make it, we’ll come awfully close. It is a lofty goal, but I think we’ll make it.”

Risks: Take Them

“I think I’m definitely more of a risk taker. It balances out other people in the family. My dad is more conservative, and he’s been extremely successful. When you are used to being in a safe place, I’m a little more willing to take risks. And I’ve failed at things before too. Just because you’ve failed doesn’t mean you can’t succeed again. Every time you fail you learn something valuable at the same time. One of the risks we took when we launched was we came out with aggressive pricing. And we set really strict standards on the type of properties. A lot of people were skeptical saying no one will pay that much to be part of a brand, and we wouldn’t be able to find enough properties to fit the criteria. But it did work.”

Mistakes Are an Investment

“We launched our website and ended up having to tear it down and redo it. The website was not going to be productive. That would be a good example of a failure. It was me being stubborn and not listening to people in the company who were giving me sage advice. I take 100 percent responsibility for being stubborn. It was a foolish mistake, and it cost a lot of money.”

Words to Launch By

“It’s cliché, but definitely follow your passion. I believe in hiring people who are smarter than you. And don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. I think I live by those principles.’

Lead with Logic

“Some days the most important thing I do is just being a very logical sound voice of reason and being passionate about what we are doing. We are so busy, and people can get bogged down and tired. Listen to people’s frustrations and concerns. We can solve it.”

Lead by Excitement

“I was always ready to move forward. Even in the darkest of days, I was really excited about what we were doing. Even the color and logo we chose, it has a deep beautiful color, beautiful and passionate. I always thought, ‘This will work.’”

This featured lady was profiled by Shanna Thompson, a journalist and columnist based in Hermosa Beach, CA.