Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Lodge at Marconi's Pivot to Weddings: Sterling Herzik's Destination Wedding Success

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Lodge at Marconi's Pivot to Weddings: Sterling Herzik's Destination Wedding Success · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:11
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. My name is Anthony Kotaspodi and
0:17
today's guest is Sterling Herzik.
0:19
She is the Corporate Director of Sales and Events at Oliver
0:23
Hospitality, a Nashville based hospitality group known for
0:27
developing and managing boutique hotels, design forward
0:31
experiences and unique food and beverage concepts.
0:35
Founded in 2009, Oliver Hospitality creates memorable
0:39
guest stays by combining thoughtful design, authentic
0:43
service and innovative operations.
0:46
This has earned them recognition for their stylish and welcoming
0:49
properties. Now, Sterling brings years of
0:53
experience in hospitality sales and events, having worked with
0:56
Bobby Hotel and 21 C Museum Hotels before joining Oliver
1:01
Hospitality. She is also a graduate of the
1:04
University of Arkansas where she studied hospitality
1:07
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1:10
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1:59
All right, back to our guest today, Corporate director of
2:01
sales and events at Oliver Hospitality, Sterling Herzik.
2:05
Thanks for making the time to Share your story today.
2:08
Of course, thank you so much for having me.
2:10
So, Sterling, you chose to study hospitality management in
2:14
college. What inspired you to choose that
2:17
path? Had you worked in hotels prior
2:19
to going to college? I hadn't worked in hotels.
2:23
I actually started out my college career studying
2:26
political science, which is kind of on the opposite end of the
2:30
spectrum of where I am now. I had gone through 2 1/2 years
2:37
under that and I got a job working in a small law firm in
2:42
the town I was going to school in and I immediately knew that
2:46
was not where I was supposed to be and the environment just
2:50
wasn't inspiring to me and I didn't see myself thriving there
2:54
long term. I had however been working in
2:58
restaurants since I was 16 as a server and I actually always
3:02
loved it. I loved how you meet new people
3:05
every single day. Every day is different, it's not
3:09
mundane, and at that point I was basically just trying to
3:14
brainstorm what can I do with something like that in the long
3:17
term. Hotels wasn't necessarily on my
3:21
radar in the beginning. I thought I would stay in food
3:23
and beverage, but once I got my foot in, I realized how much I
3:27
loved events and hotels and it's been basically up from there.
3:32
And So what is it that you really love about this space?
3:34
What makes hospitality so special in your heart?
3:38
You know, I kind of going back to being a server, it's working
3:43
with someone different every single day and meeting people
3:46
from all over. And more importantly in my
3:49
specific role, how special it is to be a part of people's huge
3:53
days. So we're doing weddings, we're
3:56
doing large corporate events that are milestone in most of
4:00
people's lives. And to be able to bring that to
4:03
life for people and be such a bright point in their life is
4:08
super fun and inspiring and fresh every day.
4:15
So that's really something that I just kind of fell in love with
4:17
off the get go. That you're in a positive
4:20
environment that's ever changing and you're not going to feel
4:23
like you're kind of just stuck going round and round with the
4:26
same day. That's been super fun.
4:28
You love the variety of it. Exactly the variety.
4:32
And so where was your first career stop post college?
4:37
So my first job out of college is in Towards the end of my
4:43
college career, I was working as an event server AT21C Museum
4:48
Hotel in Bentonville, AR. At the time.
4:53
That was a very upscale hotel for the area, which was super
4:57
fun because I was seeing events come to life right off the bat
5:00
that were big and exciting for me to kind of see come together.
5:05
And as soon as I was just working that event server job, I
5:08
knew, OK, like this is where I want to be.
5:10
What do I have to do to basically work up within this to
5:14
make this my actual career? So I start at 21 C in
5:18
Bentonville as an event server towards the end of college and
5:22
then basically grew through promotions within them.
5:28
And and then from 21 C you went to Bobby Hotel.
5:33
What was that transition like? I actually 21 C moved me to
5:39
Nashville, TN to work as the event manager at their that was
5:44
here and after I had been there for a while, it actually news
5:49
came about that it was going to be selling to Hilton at the
5:53
time. I've really found like a true
5:55
love for working, working with the small branded hotels and the
5:59
creativity that comes within that when you're not so much
6:03
stuck in a box. So I knew I wanted to kind of
6:06
branch out. The Bobby Hotel in Nashville is
6:09
a one and only independent hotel.
6:12
It's beautiful. I had been inspired by it
6:15
multiple times. It wasn't far from the toy one
6:18
CI was working at and I had walked through it.
6:20
So I have essentially just started watching their job
6:24
openings and was hoping crossing my fingers to kind of get my
6:27
foot in the door. But it was super fun to switch
6:30
over there and see a very small management style as well because
6:34
they are one and only. It was a different way of doing
6:37
things. So I learned a lot at my time at
6:39
the Bobby. So as you compare and contrast
6:41
those two experiences, what did you learn by kind of having
6:45
those two different sets of circumstances?
6:48
My biggest jump to was when I went to the Bobby, I jumped into
6:52
a sales role. While previously I've been
6:56
totally event focused, I would encourage anyone that was
7:00
interested in sales for events to actually work an executioner
7:05
role prior because it totally changes the way you're going to
7:08
sell things when you're actually the one boots on the ground
7:11
watching them come to fruition. What works, what doesn't work.
7:15
When I got to the Bobby, I got a like newer perspective on
7:19
basically creating your own. SO PS everything is kind of
7:23
working from the ground up. Whereas 21C was also a small
7:26
company, but most of that had already been built.
7:29
Whereas at the Bobby it was kind of like a free for all of how do
7:33
you want to structure the sales role?
7:35
How do you want to build it from here?
7:37
What clients do you want to go after instead of having more of
7:40
a blueprint to kind of guide your way?
7:44
What attracted you to the sales side of the business?
7:47
It sounds like that was something that you hadn't done
7:49
up to that point. I loved events, but I worked.
7:54
When you work in events at hotels, you work really closely
7:57
with the sales manager, so you kind of see what they're doing.
7:59
And I had an interest in what that side of the spectrum would
8:04
be like. Like I said it to me, it's so
8:08
beneficial to have worked both because both feed into each
8:11
other so much and working both roles independently give you
8:15
such a better perspective on what's going to make the actual
8:19
events be a success. Because it's kind of like a long
8:23
time saying in hotels that sales basically sells a dream and then
8:28
operations has to deliver a nightmare.
8:31
And that's I. Hadn't heard that before.
8:33
Yeah. What I'm trying to avoid
8:36
obviously, and I think working both sides gives you an idea of,
8:39
OK, was the reality of this going to be when it comes to
8:43
real life? OK, so then how did the door
8:47
open for you to join Oliver Hospitality?
8:51
I actually was pretty happy at the Bobby.
8:54
I didn't have any intent on leaving, but I was worked
8:59
reached out to by a recruiter via LinkedIn.
9:03
That basically pitched the opportunity to me.
9:06
My first role with all of our hospitality was essentially
9:09
working as like an internal task force senior sales manager
9:14
between all of the hotels. And that sounded like a big
9:16
challenge because I had only previously worked for
9:19
independent hotels at a time when I worked at 21 CI had
9:23
worked for multiple of their properties.
9:25
But I would, I was always focusing on one at a time rather
9:28
than a portfolio as a whole altogether.
9:33
And that really intrigued me because I knew it would be
9:35
different and a challenge. And it has proven to be in lots
9:39
of good ways though. So that was kind of what roped
9:43
me in. And as soon as I interviewed
9:45
with the company, I interviewed with my now boss and we really
9:51
hit it off right off the bat. And she was super good for me to
9:56
talk to because she is such a hard worker and she's really out
10:00
there doing the work, which I think is something really good
10:04
for people to see when their leaders are hard workers.
10:07
Because I think they're, we get into the slippery slope of
10:11
feeling like you have so much on your back.
10:13
And to have a supervisor or manager that you know totally
10:18
has your back and is willing to do whatever to get it done with
10:22
you and work as a team is super positive.
10:26
And that's an environment I want to be a part of.
10:28
So it sounds like a couple of things drew you and you were
10:31
intrigued by the challenge of, you know, working on multiple
10:35
properties at once. You're soon to be boss.
10:39
Seemed like somebody who was a real go getter, hard working,
10:42
seemed like she was somebody who would have your back.
10:44
How did you get that sense in the interview?
10:48
I think because her role, so she works as the vice president of
10:52
sales, revenue and marketing. But just in talking to her, she
10:56
was so aware of what was happening at each of the hotels
10:59
individually, where a lot of times people in those roles are
11:02
kind of looking at the top line, they're not looking down under.
11:07
And she knew the names of their clients.
11:10
She knew when they were staying, like the size of the events,
11:13
could talk about them on a personal level.
11:15
And I was like, OK, she's actually really involved here.
11:18
Like she wants the success of the properties.
11:22
She wants to create these good relationships, and that's just
11:27
not something you always find. So that was just a great spark
11:32
right off the bat for me to see. And so you've been there now a
11:37
couple of years, and you're still smiling and happy and
11:40
talking favorably about your boss.
11:42
So it seems like things were as advertised, am I right?
11:46
Yes, I've gotten really lucky. I am definitely in the happiest
11:50
place I've been at from a work perspective, so it's been really
11:54
nice. OK.
11:55
So tell us about Oliver Hospitality.
11:57
What is it that you guys are doing there?
12:00
So we are a small ownership and management firm in hospitality
12:05
world. What I think is so unique about
12:08
OHM is we are working in markets that are drastically different
12:13
from one another. So it's not so much working in
12:16
one box of space. Our hotels and our properties
12:22
are very uncomparable to each other, but that makes it fun and
12:27
like I said before, it makes it a challenge.
12:30
But it's something new everyday and each property is attracting
12:33
totally different clientele, a totally different goal, and it
12:38
really melds together really well.
12:40
We have our Oliver Hotel brand, which right now we have a
12:44
property in Knoxville and a property in Oxford, Ms. Those
12:49
are both college towns. They're definitely appealing to
12:53
a college SEC school kind of dynamic, which of course is fun
12:59
for me 'cause I also went to an SEC school.
13:01
So I understand that and that's been really cool to work with.
13:06
In on another perspective, we have a hotel in Atlanta called
13:12
the Hotel Claremont. It's definitely an iconic hotel
13:15
in Atlanta, holds a lot of history.
13:18
We reopened it, we totally redid it.
13:20
It has so much personality and it attracts a really funky
13:24
client, which is fun and totally different than any of our other
13:30
properties. And then you can jump over to
13:32
our property in Northern California.
13:34
Yeah, it's called Lodger Marconi.
13:37
It's about an hour and a half north of San Francisco.
13:41
In full transparency, the middle of nowhere, but the most
13:44
beautiful middle of nowhere place you've ever been.
13:48
But obviously totally different than inner city and small town
13:54
rolls. It's something totally
13:55
different. It sits on 63 acres, it has
13:59
multiple buildings. It's a whole other challenge.
14:02
So that's really what's special to me about all of our
14:05
hospitality is each one of our properties are have their own
14:08
personalities and are so stand alone and don't necessarily mesh
14:13
together in a way a lot of other hospitality firms kind of grow
14:18
where they grow within similar markets.
14:20
We're kind of branching out and doing our own thing all over the
14:23
place. Yeah, that's what I was going to
14:25
notice here. Like I'm looking at your website
14:27
here and it's like Georgia, California, Tennessee,
14:29
Mississippi, like no rhyme or reason.
14:34
Are these all properties that you guys own or are you managing
14:38
for other folks? So we own both of the Olivers,
14:42
so the one in Mississippi and Knoxville as well as the lodge
14:45
at Marconi. We have a few others that are
14:49
currently coming up in the works.
14:51
So that's exciting as well That will be launching here pretty
14:55
soon. And we do manage a hotel in
14:58
Sarasota, FL called the Sarasota Modern.
15:01
That's our newest current hotel. We just took over it in October.
15:05
And the where I'm actually at today, the Clarksville Riverview
15:10
Hotel, which is actually owned by Hilton, we manage it for
15:14
them, which has been super nice to see also work working with
15:19
these big brands and what we can bring to the table.
15:21
That's something they don't currently have.
15:24
I would say the boutique hotel experience is definitely
15:30
starting to reach some of those bigger brands and clients and
15:34
guests are starting to find more of a value in those more
15:38
tailored experiences. So you're seeing it kind of
15:41
branch out a little wider. So we've gotten to work with
15:45
both Marriott now and Hilton to kind of see what we can bring to
15:48
the table and come to play with and see how it works.
15:51
And it's been going super well. And so you're taking some of
15:54
your boutique hotel expertise and sprinkling it onto these big
16:00
brands like Marriott. How does that actually play out
16:03
in reality? Exactly.
16:05
So in reality, of course, it's a balance, right.
16:08
So it's not so much like for example, the Hotel Claremont
16:11
Atlanta, we own and manage it. We can do whatever we want
16:14
there. We're calling all the shots.
16:16
It's finding a middle ground with like Hilton, Marriott
16:19
within using all their systems, which is obviously different for
16:22
us from a like technology level. But we're bringing to the table,
16:28
they have the funding, they have the infrastructure.
16:32
Basically, we have the guest experience that's going to be
16:38
more stand out and something people are going to remember,
16:42
and we know how to basically train a team to come to that
16:46
goal. We know how to design a hotel to
16:48
come to that goal and basically make it more of a memorable
16:52
experience. Then if you just were to stay at
16:56
any hotel that you can go to in any city.
16:59
We're trying to make them unique is essentially what we're
17:03
throwing out there. And are these boutique ish
17:07
hotels under the big name brands like Marriott?
17:09
Are they still carrying the Marriott name?
17:12
I mean, clearly you can find them like in the Marriott
17:14
booking engine, their website and whatnot.
17:16
But what what's, what's the moniker on these hotels?
17:19
So they're still flagged. So like for example, the
17:22
Sarasota Modern is the Sarasota Modern, but when it reads it's
17:27
Sarasota Modern by Marriott. Got it.
17:30
Sort of the subtext there. Got it.
17:31
OK, all right. And so tell us about your role,
17:36
corporate director of sales and events, what does that entail?
17:40
So at each of our properties we have sales and events teams who
17:45
are on a day-to-day basis answering leads, basically going
17:49
out and finding new business and groups for the hotels, as well
17:54
as executing events almost on the daily.
17:56
We have stuff going on all over the place and I oversee those
18:00
teams. So I jump in when they need
18:02
help. When things get crazy, of
18:04
course, which we definitely see. I can jump in, help them,
18:09
whether it be just day-to-day work, helping them answer leads.
18:12
But I also try to give them guidance on what can we do to
18:15
really capitalize on revenue for the company while also giving
18:19
the guest the magical experience they're looking for.
18:22
Like what are we going to provide that's going to stand
18:25
out from every other hotel or venue that they're reaching out
18:28
to. And part of that is such a
18:31
personalized experience that we really want to provide our
18:34
guests, to make them feel special and to make them feel as
18:38
if they've come to the right place, obviously.
18:42
And that we're going to do everything in our power to make
18:44
their vision come to life. Because I think that's what so
18:47
much of sales and events is, is people have these ideas, but
18:51
they don't know how to put them together where it's our job to
18:54
essentially leave them in a way that's going to bring them to
18:57
success. Sterling, sometimes talking in
19:01
depth about a specific example can help really paint a picture
19:06
for people. Can you think of a particular
19:09
client experience that you're very proud of where you brought
19:13
kind of a unique event experience to them?
19:16
Yeah, I mean, definitely, I think more than a specific
19:19
event. Our property, the lodge at
19:22
Marconi opened in September of 2024.
19:27
Excuse me, 2023, which is our property in Northern California
19:31
when it first opened. It's very kind of funky.
19:34
It's a different experience. There's no TV's in the hotel
19:38
rooms. It's very unplugged.
19:41
There is hiking trails all over the property.
19:45
And our initial goal looking at it was going to be OK, this is
19:48
going to be a Wellness venue. We're going to go after Wellness
19:51
retreats, yoga retreats. That's the client that's going
19:54
to thrive here. And after working on the project
19:58
for a little bit, I kind of realized and we did as a team
20:02
like this untapped potential in weddings there because the
20:07
geographically it's gorgeous, so.
20:11
Essentially, I started reaching out to like these brides that
20:14
like would reach out kind of on a whim and be like, OK, we can
20:17
build these wedding packages to be incredible and different than
20:21
anyone else is experiencing. And our weddings are now our
20:25
leading revenue driver as far as sales and events go out there.
20:29
And they're absolutely gorgeous. They'll blow you away.
20:32
We've gone viral in different Bay Area subreddits, things like
20:38
that. And that's something I'm really
20:40
proud of is seeing the basically this gap, something that we had
20:43
no intention of making. Marconi is a wedding venue and
20:47
it has fully transformed into being almost that.
20:52
And you know, brides and weddings are basically they're
20:57
going up and up every single year on what the expectations
21:01
are, how tailored to them we can make it.
21:03
And that's what we're providing them is a beautiful space and
21:08
we'll do whatever we can possible to make your vision
21:11
come to life. And if you that means using four
21:15
different of our buildings in a single day, we'll do it.
21:18
We're basically selling it as a complete property buyout.
21:23
The situation and getting creative with them on what can
21:25
we use all these buildings for to actually make each of their
21:29
experiences feel like they've totally taken over.
21:32
They are getting a completely customized wedding at the hotel,
21:37
which they really are. Truly every single one.
21:39
We did 27 in 2025 and every single one was totally
21:43
different. So that's something I'm really
21:45
proud of is growing that entire market out there and seeing the
21:49
potential there. So if I'm sort of reading
21:52
between the minds, understanding this correctly, maybe the
21:54
initial vision for this property was, hey, you know, business
21:59
events, right, corporate events. It sounds like maybe the
22:02
challenge that you ran into is it's sort of like two sides of
22:06
the same coin. Like what makes it so beautiful
22:08
and appealing is that it's unplugged and it's out away from
22:12
the city. But at the same time, that makes
22:15
it harder to get business folks out there just to evaluate the
22:19
property. I assume.
22:20
Like once you get them out there, they're like, oh, this is
22:23
amazing. But you have to take an entire
22:25
day out to actually go out there and see it because I mean, round
22:28
trip out of the city, it's three hours.
22:31
And so all right, so you're running into some headwinds here
22:34
and just, yeah, you had a couple of like one off brides reach
22:37
out. And so you kind of like, you
22:39
know, scratched your chin a little bit and you're like, oh,
22:41
maybe there's some legs here. And so when you started to get
22:44
some traction with that, how do you grow that side of the
22:46
business? Like do you develop
22:48
relationships with wedding planners or how do you get the
22:52
word out? We develop relationships with
22:55
wedding plans for sure, as well as we market really heavily
22:58
towards brides to get our name out there.
23:01
We're going to like a wedding convention basically in January.
23:05
We work with different wedding venue search platforms that kind
23:12
of hone in on who you are. For example, there is a website
23:17
called Here Comes the Guide. It's a smaller one and they
23:20
basically break all their venues down by wood sea or like ocean
23:24
views and we have a Bay view and it's very woodsy so.
23:28
You got both. Exactly.
23:30
So you're able to kind of narrow in on who is actually going to
23:34
be interested in having their wedding here and open to an
23:36
unplugged wedding that is remote and something different.
23:41
And you know, as soon as people get out there, kind of like we
23:44
talked about, they're sold on it.
23:46
It's just getting them out there.
23:48
Also, we realized pretty early on there are other wedding
23:52
venues out in the Point Reyes area, which is where Marconi is.
23:56
However, there's no other large wedding venues that have guest
24:00
rooms, so that's something niche that we have.
24:03
Especially when you're out there, if your guests are
24:05
drinking, it's a late night regardless.
24:07
Do you really want them driving an hour back to another hotel?
24:12
That's something really good. We're bringing to the table a
24:15
safe place for your guests to stay overnight.
24:17
And there's something special. And also having like the
24:20
exclusivity of everyone there at the property is your family and
24:24
friends. And I think once we started
24:27
learning like those niche things that we were really standing out
24:31
on, it was kind of easy from there to sell ourselves to
24:35
wedding planners and also redevelop the property to make
24:38
it like the most ideal situation is possible.
24:43
For example, in our very early days, our weddings were
24:46
basically happening under a tent in a field called the Meadow,
24:51
which was lovely, don't get me wrong.
24:52
But you're also like, you're on grass, the ground can get wet,
24:56
it gets very rainy up there. So we are like, OK, our
25:00
development team was like, what can we do to basically mitigate
25:04
that situation so we can give our clients the for sure day
25:10
that they're expecting. So we took what was an old
25:12
tennis court on the property and basically concrete it over,
25:17
completely redid it. And now it has a beautiful
25:20
permanent tent there and it's still within the woods, It still
25:24
has gorgeous lighting. And now year round, you're good
25:29
to go. We don't have to worry about the
25:30
rain. So part of it is also just
25:33
redeveloping the property for the client that we want staying
25:36
there. So let me see if I heard you
25:38
correctly. In 2025, you had 27 different
25:42
weddings booked there. And I'm going to guess like a
25:46
weekend, like you can only do one wedding, right 'cause like
25:49
you're, you're pitching this as, hey, the whole property, sort
25:52
of. Becomes.
25:52
Yours. So that's more than half of the
25:56
weekends in 2025. What's the goal for 26?
26:00
The goal for 26 is to of course bro on that really our peak
26:06
season is between about mid March through mid November.
26:11
The weather up there does get very, very rainy once you hit
26:14
December, January, February. So while we still hold weddings
26:20
over those dates, we're not expected to basically fill them
26:23
out, which is understandable because there is walking
26:26
involved with our weddings on site as it is 63 acres and
26:30
gorgeous walks. But it can get a little wet.
26:33
So we're hoping to exceed that number we did in 2025 and
26:38
basically go out from there each year.
26:41
But correct, we are holding only one wedding a weekend, which
26:44
makes it special. You don't worry about other
26:46
weddings loading in, loading out before or after, and your family
26:52
can come in town before. You can find fun things to do in
26:54
the area. It's nice, beautiful secluded
26:57
beaches, cute little towns. So it's made it fun and kind of
27:02
like a trip for everyone. It's a true destination wedding
27:05
experience when you're out there.
27:07
That's really cool. What other exciting projects are
27:11
coming that you're able to give voice to now, Sterling?
27:15
So we do have another hotel that we have launching in Nashville,
27:20
which is exciting, especially for me because I'm based in
27:23
Nashville. So that is one.
27:27
We have another one that's coming out in Aiken, SC, which
27:31
is going to be another Oliver branded hotel, which is
27:34
something different in South Carolina.
27:38
Just to give everyone some perspective, It's right over in
27:41
the area where the masters are played each year.
27:43
So it's going to be a totally new market that we've never
27:46
explored before. And it's another historic
27:49
building we're renovating. I think that's something that's
27:52
also special about Oliver. The other brands are doing too.
27:55
There's so much there's a lot to say about Companies are taking
27:59
these old buildings that hold so much history and basically
28:03
giving them a full facelift, a new life, while still paying
28:06
homage to what they were before. And that's what Oliver really
28:10
tries to do. The majority of her.
28:12
Our hotels are historic buildings which also tell a
28:16
story, which is what boutique hotels are all about is a story
28:20
within where you're staying. Everything is intentional.
28:24
Would I would say is like one of the biggest words within the
28:27
hospitality world is you want everything to be intentional and
28:30
nothing is overlooked. So even those small minor
28:33
details have thought behind them.
28:36
But yeah, we are growing rapidly, which is very exciting
28:40
and like we talked about previously, still completely
28:43
outward, whole new markets, something different everywhere
28:46
you look. It does sound very exciting,
28:50
especially with you guys being so spread out geographically.
28:52
I have to imagine that creates some unique challenges.
28:57
It does. I will say our corporate team is
29:00
also spread out pretty all over the place geographically.
29:04
We have team members in Atlanta, North Carolina, New York,
29:08
Florida. We are constantly travelling, so
29:11
everyone's bouncing around. We're always constantly on site
29:16
to see what's going on in real time, where help is needed,
29:19
where things are going great, celebrating everyone's wins with
29:22
them, while also basically navigating where we can grow and
29:28
advance. It does create challenges
29:31
because of course, a lot of times when you work in different
29:35
hospitality worlds and management groups that have
29:38
multiple hotels in a small environment, you can kind of
29:41
easily fill in gaps. Like say an employee is no
29:45
longer employed there. You can just fill in a gap in
29:47
the meantime while you're hiring on.
29:49
We have to get a little bit more creative in those situations,
29:52
but it also is what makes it fun, you know?
29:56
So is there a core team that is located at like a company
30:01
headquarters or is everyone truly working remote and you
30:06
guys cross paths here and there because you're all visiting the
30:08
properties? Everyone is truly working remote
30:12
and crossing paths when we're at the different properties.
30:15
It's basically remote work with a lot of travel, which is
30:18
different than I think a lot of other places are doing it, but
30:22
it also it's a new way of looking at it that's super
30:26
beneficial. I also think that it's so great
30:30
to be working remotely and then traveling to our properties
30:34
because we're also getting 100% full on guest experience every
30:37
time we're at the property. I we're seeing what our guests
30:40
are seeing, we're staying in their rooms.
30:41
We're working with the valet team, the front desk team, to
30:45
actually see what's going on in real time rather than being
30:49
reported back to on what's happening, which I think is
30:52
super beneficial that not all hotel groups are actually
30:56
getting to do. You've said something before
31:00
about how guests are increasingly wanting requesting
31:06
the boutique experience. How is that communication from
31:10
the guest coming to you? And what specifically about the
31:13
boutique experience do you think they're looking for?
31:16
So we're seeing that more so in just evaluations of our comp
31:22
sets and markets that we're currently within and what hotels
31:28
are starting to lift. And we're also seeing it with
31:30
those bigger brands like Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, where their
31:34
interests are going. You know, we hear a lot of
31:37
feedback from our guests after they stay with us at how special
31:40
it was and how they felt like the whole time they were truly
31:45
being, you know, pampered and thought about from the moment
31:49
they were talking to our front desk agents to the moment they
31:52
were leaving in the valet was helping them load up their car.
31:56
It's about giving every single person an individual experience
31:59
tailored to them rather than having basically a broad
32:03
blueprint of this is what we're going to do every single day.
32:06
This is how we do AB and C We're willing to get flexible there
32:11
and have some wiggle room. So I think that's what we've
32:15
seen more. So just from guest experience
32:17
and hearing what people say and repeat clientele that is moving
32:21
away from basically hotels that they might have been staying at
32:25
previously for a long period of time every time they were in
32:28
town on business, things like that, because they're finding
32:31
more of a value in that smaller, more tailored experience.
32:38
I want to hear more about that small tailored experience, that
32:41
flexibility that you guys have kind of embodied in your
32:46
company's culture. And I want to hear about it
32:49
specifically from the standpoint of when there was a big
32:52
challenge, like when there was something that was going wrong,
32:56
kind of, you know, things went off the tracks.
32:58
It, you know, even at the best run companies that inevitably
33:01
happens. But the way that you respond to
33:04
those kinds of things I think is really defining.
33:06
Can you think about a time where there was a customer experience
33:09
going off the rails and you guys did something creative to bring
33:13
it back? Yeah, I mean, most definitely,
33:16
of course things happen everywhere.
33:18
We've had properties before where there might have been a
33:21
maintenance emergency and a few of the rooms, of course, I'm
33:25
going to talk from the group side because I'm biased towards
33:27
groups. There is some maintenance issues
33:31
happening in one of the rooms and this is a wedding that's
33:33
coming this weekend and they have sold every single room and
33:36
they were all supposed to be staying together.
33:37
We are willing to go above and beyond to make sure we're still
33:42
going to meet your expectations in the best way possible.
33:45
For example, we lost 2 rooms due to a maintenance emergency
33:49
earlier in this year. In the wedding that came
33:52
through, we were like OK, we realize you have guests coming,
33:56
they're going to be here no matter what.
33:57
What can we do to make it the best experience possible?
34:01
In light of what we're currently facing and we gave them options
34:06
of do you want us to bring them to an Airbnb nearby?
34:10
Do you want us to book them another hotel?
34:12
And then this was super creative that someone on our team had.
34:17
We actually offered them the idea of renting.
34:21
It's so cute, a little Airstream that was renovated into a cute
34:27
little tiny, basically hotel room.
34:30
And we were like, we can bring this in and we can have them
34:32
drop in the parking lot and your guests can still stay on site
34:35
and get to experience everything.
34:38
So it's things like that. It's going above and beyond,
34:41
which that is the option they went with to make sure that even
34:45
though things aren't going perfectly, we're still going to
34:48
do everything in our power to give you the experience that you
34:50
want to see. So it actually turned out great.
34:53
The wedding got to take cute pictures, a little Airstream.
34:56
It was super nice and their guests still got to stay with
34:59
them and not have to miss out on a single bit of the weekend just
35:02
because we were down around. I, I love how you guys not only
35:06
saved the day there, but elevated the experience for your
35:10
guests, right that, you know, custom Airstream experience is a
35:16
point that that group is still talking about today and still
35:20
showing pictures of today. Exactly.
35:23
It's taking a bad thing and basically we're like, how can we
35:26
spend it to be the most positive experience we possibly can?
35:31
And you know what? It might have been more fun than
35:33
if they just have the standard room anyway, because then they
35:35
got a fun, cute thing to take pictures with.
35:37
And how many people get to stay in a little renovated Airstream
35:40
overnight? And not many.
35:42
I wasn't there, but I can absolutely guarantee that they
35:45
were. We're inviting other people from
35:47
the wedding is come check this out, but look at nobody else was
35:51
doing that with their hotel room.
35:53
Exactly. Exactly.
35:54
That's really cool. And you know, a big part of what
35:57
you do in sales obviously is developing relationships with
36:01
folks, right? Developing that trust.
36:03
What's your approach to that trust building, that
36:06
relationship building? You know, I think honesty, which
36:10
a lot of sales can get sales rolls can get a little bit iffy
36:15
in this way is we want to sell the most supreme experience to
36:20
our guests, but we don't want to just sell it to fill a date.
36:24
We want to do it to actually make it successful.
36:26
So it's being honest with our couples.
36:28
Like whether it be a wedding, like we talked about Marconi and
36:32
you know, the date you're looking at, I want you to know
36:34
like there's a very good chance it could rain.
36:38
Other groups that like are other hotels in like Claremont and
36:42
Atlanta, there's no heating on the roof.
36:45
So Are you sure you want to do this then instead of just kind
36:48
of swindling it where we're making sure we're getting the
36:52
bookings. We want our guests to be happy
36:55
and we don't want to sign them up for something that we know
36:58
isn't going to be successful. Going back to the very beginning
37:00
of our conversation about selling a dream and delivery a
37:03
nightmare, that is what we're avoiding at all costs.
37:07
And sometimes that means losing out on business and that is the
37:11
reality of it. But it also means that every
37:13
time we're securing that business, we're confidently
37:16
providing something along with it.
37:19
And I think that that goes a long way with our clients
37:23
because they know they can trust us and outside that's also just
37:28
like really personalizing the relationship, understanding who
37:32
they are, what made them choose us, what their goal is.
37:36
And we don't think you're just like every other corporate
37:39
retreat coming. What do you want to do to make
37:42
this different? What can we do to help?
37:44
And it's remembering that. So even if they come and then
37:48
they leave and they come back two years later and they want to
37:50
do it again, we're like, Oh my gosh, we remember everything you
37:53
did. Do you want to do this again?
37:55
Can we, what can we change up this time to make it even
37:57
better? And I think that's something
37:59
that you don't always get at other hotels to feel like you're
38:02
never a number and you are truly like valued for your experience
38:07
and as a guest of ours. Sterling, these aren't your
38:10
words, but I imagine this is kind of how you think about it.
38:14
You think about I want that glowing 5 star review from the
38:19
client at the end of their experience.
38:21
So how do I work backwards to get to that?
38:24
Exactly. And it's a long road, especially
38:27
in the sales and events world. We worked with clients for over
38:30
a year at many times, but it's every step of the way, making
38:35
sure we're putting our best foot forward for them at all times
38:38
and never making them feel as if they could be forgotten
38:43
basically, or that they weren't important and that their vision
38:46
wasn't important. Because working in hospitality
38:48
is a very interesting industry because it's one of the only
38:53
places that you're truly mixing money with very strong emotions
38:58
and these milestones in people's lives.
39:02
That there's a lot of pressure in that situation to basically
39:07
meet expectations that have been developed by people for
39:11
sometimes many years of what they've been thinking of this
39:14
event is going to be. So you learn a lot about people
39:18
in that aspect of what's going to make them feel like they're
39:22
walking away from this heard and valued and understood.
39:28
And it's being patient and listening.
39:30
And like we talked about just being honest because sometimes I
39:34
will be So for real. Like we've had brides, for
39:37
example, pitch something and you have to be like, there is no way
39:40
possible this is going to actually happen within like the
39:43
budget. You're looking at things like
39:44
that. But instead of dancing around
39:47
that, we're trying to be upfront with them and letting them know
39:50
we want the best for what you're trying to do.
39:53
This is what we can deliver. We're not going to promise you
39:55
something and then down the road you're going to get a bill that
39:58
is going to blow your mind like we would rather just tell you
40:01
right up front. No.
40:02
Well, it's very smart, Sterling. From your early days in events
40:07
management to now your current role, we're seeing multiple
40:11
properties. Think back to the biggest
40:14
personal growth lesson that you've learned from.
40:18
What is that? I think for me, I came out of
40:24
school in December of 2019. I was working as an event server
40:31
AT21C and I was lucky enough to be slowly promoted into an event
40:36
management role. That happened in early 2020,
40:39
which was super exciting for me. I finally felt like I had found
40:43
what I wanted to do. I've jumped starting my career
40:46
and of course, as everyone knows and everyone shares a similar
40:51
experience with, in March we got hit with COVID and one of the
40:55
first industries to basically go down when COVID came about was
41:00
most definitely events. So there was a lot of time
41:05
during that era that I felt like, Oh my gosh, should I make
41:09
this giant jump over to hospitality?
41:11
And had I planned all of this? And is this even going to be an
41:15
industry going forward? I was furloughed for a few
41:21
months and it was kind of up in the air of what was going to
41:24
happen. And then whenever I came back
41:27
from furlough, I was imagining everything to be sunshine and
41:32
rainbows. And it definitely wasn't because
41:36
there was a time in the events world after that that you were
41:38
doing nothing but delivering bad news, essentially, whether it be
41:43
we can't host your event, we can't host your wedding.
41:47
Or it was down to things like I'm begging brides to wear their
41:52
mask walking down an aisle so we didn't get hit and get shut down
41:57
for holding the events. Because of course, when events
41:59
came back, it was so black and white of what you could do.
42:05
And. Still a lot of restrictions.
42:06
Or it's over. Exactly.
42:09
And that was a lot on my shoulders because they let go of
42:12
my entire team and they brought me back as a one man band
42:16
whenever it came to events. And I was very young in my
42:19
career. And to be honest, I felt like I
42:21
was totally winging it at the time with a lot of uncertainty
42:26
of what I was doing. Did I mess all of this up?
42:29
And I look back on that now though, and I feel like it
42:33
actually grew me into the point I am now because essentially it
42:37
was a I look back and I see it as a sink or swim situation.
42:41
It was, these are the cards I was being dealt.
42:45
I can either take them and truly try to run with them and do them
42:48
to my best of ability and make these as successful as I can, or
42:53
I can fold them and I can go try to find a new career path that
42:56
might make me not as happy in the long term.
42:58
And it was also taking the risk of do I stay in hospitality?
43:01
We lost so many hospitality employees during this time of
43:05
this is so risky. This is not an industry that you
43:08
know, it's an industry that is not necessarily needed, but it's
43:14
a perk of life, right? Like travel events.
43:16
That's a perk of life. It's not something that has to
43:21
happen and it so it's a gamble. And at the time, I think that
43:24
came to light more than any other time previously.
43:27
So I can look back at that now and be thankful for it.
43:31
But in the moment, I felt like I had just made all the worst
43:35
decisions in the world. And what did I get myself into?
43:38
And I just blew my entire career before I even started it.
43:43
So what do you think made you stick it out?
43:45
Because you're right. Like you can look back in the
43:48
rearview Mirror Now and there's a bit of clarity and you're
43:51
like, oh, I'm glad that I stuck it out.
43:52
I'm glad that this worked. But in the moment, you didn't
43:55
know if it was going to work. You didn't know if the
43:57
hospitality industry was going to come back.
43:59
If people are going to come back to events like it was a giant
44:02
question mark, why do you think you stuck it out?
44:05
I really, really wanted it and I didn't want to give up.
44:09
And I was very vocal with my leaders at the time, my bosses
44:15
at the time, like, for example, like I'm working very, very
44:20
little hours even when I was back and I was basically moved
44:25
from salary back to hourly because they didn't.
44:28
You can't pay someone a salary when you don't even know if
44:30
they're going to be able to work their position.
44:32
So I was very vocal. What can you give me?
44:35
I will do anything that you guys need.
44:36
I want to learn. I don't want to feel like I'm at
44:38
this roadblock. And I truly wanted it because I
44:41
wanted this career so bad that it also gave me the opportunity
44:45
that .1 C as a whole was like, OK, well, she, she's willing to
44:49
do the work. And so they started putting me
44:52
at other properties during that time.
44:53
Whenever there's no events in my property, they would move me
44:56
over to like the Oklahoma City property, which was taking time
44:59
away from my family and my friends to do that.
45:03
But I was willing to take the risk for the hopeful reward at
45:08
the end. And I think it's kind of just
45:12
not doubting yourself. And, you know, I knew that's
45:15
what I wanted, and I didn't want to feel like I gave it up just
45:19
because things got hard in this at the time.
45:23
And I think that makes a lot of difference.
45:27
How did you get through those difficult, uncertain times?
45:30
Who were you able to lean on? I definitely have a great family
45:34
so they were super supportive to me, whether it be watching my
45:39
beloved dog while I was out of town for three weeks at a time,
45:43
working at other hotels in Oklahoma City and such and good
45:49
friends. I had a Co worker at the time
45:51
that she kind of had the same mindset and she's still working
45:53
in hospitality and has really grown her career too to this day
45:57
that she was super helpful because it was like, OK, we're
46:00
going to do this together. We both want it and we're both
46:03
not going to give up, whether it be we're working till 3:00 AM
46:07
one night and since we're the only employees here, I'm also
46:09
going to wake up the next morning and be back for the
46:11
breakfast at 5:00 AM. Like I was willing to put in the
46:15
work and I think that I needed that supportive environment
46:19
around me too, to not make me question myself and to basically
46:23
be like, if that's what you want to do, I go at it.
46:27
If you're willing to sleep 2 hours a night, go at it.
46:31
But I'm thankful for that because they are supportive of
46:35
me no matter what I have going on or no matter if what I'm
46:39
doing seems kind of crazy at the time.
46:41
As you look back on that time, Sterling, is there anything with
46:44
what you know today that you might have done a little bit
46:46
differently? There are some things that I
46:51
think I think I've learned more of emotion with, especially when
46:56
it comes to like social groups at the time, Whereas that's
47:00
something you kind of have to clock yourself with sometime
47:02
when you work in hospitality is like you talk to brides, 15
47:06
brides a day, for example, or 15 birthday parties a day,
47:10
something like that. But to this person, this is the
47:13
biggest thing that's ever happening in their life up until
47:16
this point. So you kind of have to like
47:18
kind, bring it, rail it back in and be like, OK, I need to sit
47:22
here and level with you of what this means to you.
47:24
And I can never treat you like a number or like we're just
47:28
zooming through. And I think that is part of it,
47:32
that when I look back, I never feel like I treat anyone like a
47:36
number. But I've learned a lot more
47:37
about the emotions behind those events now that I think I would
47:41
still handle them with even more care, Things like that,
47:45
especially during the COVID times.
47:47
Because, you know, that was a lot on those people that were
47:51
willing to still go through with their weddings in 2020 and 2021
47:55
when it was a total risk of who was even going to come.
47:58
And it was a risk from our side too, because I'm, I'm like, I
48:02
need everyone to be 6 feet apart.
48:04
We have a stick that was 6 feet apart that they were making us
48:06
go through and make sure every chair was.
48:09
And you know, of course, that didn't always come with the most
48:13
welcoming environment I was. Going to say that had to have
48:17
given you a lot of practice at some really uncomfortable.
48:19
Conversations, which was super helpful looking back long term.
48:23
But at the moment, yeah, like, it was a very sensitive
48:27
environment. And you're telling people to do
48:29
something that they have no intention of wanting to do.
48:34
And you know, for what it's worth, when you work in weddings
48:37
and things like that and hospitality altogether, liquid
48:39
courage comes into play a lot too.
48:42
And people get very brave and very headstrong once that's in
48:47
the mix. So I have learned to navigate
48:49
around that as well and just kind of like being honest with
48:55
him from the get go of what we need to happen in that current
48:57
moment. That still happens in worlds of
49:02
weddings, not wanting to end things like that.
49:04
We have rules. So you learn over time how to
49:07
deliver bad news in the softest way possible, which is something
49:12
that's taken time for me to do and I feel like I've gotten
49:15
really good at it. But in the beginning you're
49:16
like, I don't know. I don't know how to break your
49:18
heart like this, but we've got to shut this thing down.
49:22
So give us a short master class, Sterling.
49:24
How do you approach those really hard conversations?
49:27
I think more than anything, people want to feel heard,
49:31
right? Like they want to feel like, you
49:33
know what, I'm acknowledging how you're feeling right now and I
49:36
understand, but here's the but so like when it's talking to
49:40
brides or even like corporate events where they need something
49:43
to happen, that's not possible. It's firstly before I tell them
49:47
the no, I have to sit there and tell them I'm seeing this from
49:51
your perspective. I totally see why you feel this
49:53
way, but here are the facts on why we are unable to accomplish
49:58
this. Please believe me, if we could
50:01
do it, I want to do this for you and I think it's levelling with
50:04
them instead of just being like not possible.
50:07
We can't do that. That's something we don't do
50:09
things like that. It's really taking the time with
50:11
them to be like, I This is why I think you're feeling this way.
50:15
I understand why you do, but these are the facts of why we
50:19
can't do it, which takes more time, especially in these like
50:22
quick moments, to really get through that with them and to
50:26
get them to understand. But I think more than anything
50:30
in the world, everyone just wants to feel like they're
50:32
understood and that they're heard in their current feelings,
50:35
especially when emotions are high.
50:36
So I think just making sure that they know that like their point
50:40
isn't going over my head or I'm not taking into consideration
50:45
what they're trying to say makes all the difference.
50:48
So you don't tell them. Sit down and sober up, Sir.
50:51
Exactly, exactly. You don't tell them no, no, no.
50:55
You have to understand. Any personal daily habits
51:00
practices that kind of get your day started Sterling or keep you
51:04
on track? Nothing too crazy.
51:06
I like to spend a lot of time outside.
51:09
I think being outside is so good for everyone and getting fresh
51:12
air. I have a beloved dog.
51:16
We spend a lot of time outside together where weather is just
51:19
going on walks after work, before work starts, things like
51:21
that. And kind of like giving yourself
51:25
that balance because I'm sure a lot of people are like me is I
51:29
actually love to work and I can kind of teeter totter a
51:33
workaholic like mindset. And it's breaking past that of
51:38
you still have to take time for yourself and take time for your
51:41
own mental health and your own mind to kind of breathe outside
51:45
of that. And taking that time sometimes
51:48
can feel wrong, especially when you have a long To Do List of
51:51
what to do. But I think it's important to
51:53
actually do it. Aside from that, daily habits
51:57
are basically just surviving on coffee so.
52:01
How many cups a day? You know, at least two, but
52:06
we're trying, I'm trying to narrow down to one.
52:08
OK. So it's giving, it's taking
52:10
time. Dark roast, light roast cream,
52:13
sugar. How do you take?
52:14
It espresso is I go to you go. Straight for the diesel.
52:19
I like that. What's something about your
52:22
industry that you think probably would surprise most outsiders?
52:27
I think that hospitality as a whole, people kind of narrow in
52:34
on it and kind of don't think of how much like artistry and
52:37
creativity goes into it. I especially in like the food
52:42
and beverage world, there is so much artistry and thought and
52:48
things put into like the menus you're seeing at restaurants,
52:51
the drinks that are being served, that is actually quite
52:54
beautiful that I think is actually overlooked a lot until
52:58
you've worked within food and beverage.
52:59
Especially the mindset like chefs have things like that.
53:03
It's to me, it's really fun to hear about in like where they
53:07
get these ideas, but I just don't think people always take
53:11
into account how much create creativity comes to play in
53:14
hospitality and opening your mind as well as just it's
53:19
constantly a whole new day. Every single day you're working,
53:23
which can make it super fun. And that's different than a lot
53:25
of industries. It's never mundane.
53:27
It is always a new adventure, whether it's good or bad, it's
53:31
always going to bring something new to the table.
53:34
Sterling, I've just got one more question for you today.
53:37
But before I ask it, I want to do 3 quick things.
53:40
First of all, anybody that wants to get in touch with Sterling
53:43
Herzik, she's given us permission to hand out her
53:46
e-mail address, whichissterling@oliverhospitality.com,
53:50
sterling@oliverhospitality.com. And we'll have that the show
53:54
notes for folks. Excuse me.
53:56
Also, as a reminder, if you want to get more hotel and restaurant
53:59
employees access to benefits that actually carries a
54:02
financial upside for the company, reach out to us at Add
54:05
back benefits.com. Finally, if you'll pause, just
54:08
take a moment and leave a comment or review on your
54:11
favorite podcast app, you'll hold a special place in my heart
54:14
forever. Thank you so much.
54:15
OK, Sterling, so last question for you.
54:17
A year from now, you and I reconnect and you are
54:21
celebrating something big. What's that big thing you hope
54:25
to be celebrating one year from today?
54:28
You know, I think it's just continuation of like personal
54:32
growth and learning and from a professional side, I'm hoping to
54:38
celebrate even more properties coming on board and learning the
54:43
new markets. And I just am hoping with each
54:46
year that I continue to get a better perspective of people and
54:51
what everyone brings to the table differently and to give
54:54
everyone the best experience possible.
54:55
So just more personal growth, to be honest.
54:59
Love it. Sterling Herzik from Oliver
55:01
Hospitality, I want to be the first to thank you for sharing
55:04
both your time and your story with us today.
55:06
I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.
55:09
It's been great. I was been so excited to be on
55:11
here. Love it folks.
55:13
That's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
55:16
Thanks for learning with us today.