Secrets of Success
An ongoing series of interviews with chefs, restaurateurs and foodservice operators, Secrets of Success looks at the paths taken to professional recognition and acclaim.
When Geoffrey Gray, the first student general manager of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration's 153-room Statler Hotel with three restaurants, a conference center, and meeting and banquet facilities, was growing up, hospitality was not on his radar.
But planning his high school prom gave him a new perspective. As he puts it, the event "seemed like it brought everything I loved under one roof. I started to look into the industry and had a very good friend tell me about this amazing school that I had to check out, the school of hotel administration at Cornell University."
Today, as he's about to graduate, he’s pre-planning a new website, designing a new name tag for staff, and taking a look at how guest feedback is solicited by re-designing comment cards for guests and meeting planners.
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FSE: Why did you choose the hotel industry?
GRAY: You get to experiment with every aspect of the business, and you have fun doing it! Whether you work at a restaurant, airline, hotel, cruise ship, etc., it is like running a city. At the end of the day the biggest appeal is that you get to help make people smile. You get to deliver the unexpected and be a part of a story, whether it is helping a man with preparations and arrangements for him to pop the question, or assisting a family in a time of need, this industry affords opportunities to help create memories for every guest.
FSE: You started low on the totem pole at the Statler Hotel - do all students work there during their four years?
GRAY: Not all hotel school students work at the hotel; however, we’re all required to work 800 hours in the industry in order to graduate, but some choose to work at the Statler, while others work different summer jobs throughout their four years. I started at the bell stand as a freshman and have been throughout the various hotel departments. serving in different line level, supervisory, managerial, and now, executive roles. The hotel offers the opportunity for students with a passion for operations to apply for and be involved in the Statler Leadership Development Program (SLDP), which gives them the knowledge and skill to grow within the hotel in different positions as they show their competence.
FSE: Why has there not been a student g.m. before, and how did you become the first?
GRAY: The SLDP program is entering its fifth year and is still growing. I was lucky enough to be in the situation where my predecessor in the student director role graduated a semester early, which allowed me to assume that position earlier that anyone previously. This gave me the time to have the possibility of being the student general manager.
FSE: What are some of the challenges that you see ahead for the future of the hotel industry? So many things have changed, particularly since 9/11, in the world of travel - what are the primary challenges today as compared with 25 or even 50 years ago?
GRAY: Immigration reform is a major topic for this industry right now - the use of immigrants in the workforce, and the impact that changing laws could have. I don’t have the master answer for it, but I think it is something that will continue to face the industry as a challenge.
There are a number of other things that I think are changing including: the increase of new upscale and luxury brands, the price of fuel and the impact of driving vacations, the weak dollar and impact on foreign travel, and just general higher expectations for accommodations compared to 25 years ago. And, most important, is the increased use of the Internet, I don’t think we have seen the full impact it will have on the travel industry, but times have changed because of the accessibility of information and the way travelers are choosing travel arrangements. As the next generation of hoteliers graduates and enters the workforce, they bring a knowledge of the Internet, but the challenge comes in aligning that with the core of our business, and that is offering amazing service, security, and, simply, a smile!
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