5 questions with ... Rajiv Trivedi La Quinta’s EVP of franchise and chief development officer talks hospitality Rajiv Trivedi is La Quinta Inns & Suites’ EVP of franchise and chief development officer, overseeing the brand’s expansion in the U.S. and out [see story on opposite page about La Quinta’s expansion into Colombia]. We caught up with the 21-year veteran of the hospitality industry at La Quinta’s recent conference in New Orleans, where franchisees kept interrupting our photo session just to shake this man’s hand. 1 HM: Raj, you’re such a hospitable guy. How did you get involved in this industry? RT: My family owned hotels near O’Hare International Airport, in Chicago, and I was always around. My favorite job was driving the shuttle to the airport, because we had contracts with American Airlines and United Airlines so I was always picking up some beautiful flight attendants! Our hotel hosted a lot of corporate functions, and the newly formed HFS Global Services, headed by Eric Pfeffer, came to do management training. They invited me to visit with them in Parsippany, N.J. 2 HM: So you joined HFS, which became Cendant Corp., and you then joined La Quinta in 2000. If you could have any job at a La Quinta property, what would it be? RT: I would love to be a bellman, where I can interact with and welcome people. Or I would be a breakfast attendant, so I can meet people first thing in the morning when they’re fresh, and see the happiness. 3 HM: What’s your favorite vacation spot? RT: I love Telluride, Colo., because of the mountains, the nature and the free spirit of the town. And believe it or not, there is nothing commercial or branded in the entire town! 4 HM: But at heart you’re a franchise guy, Raj. What’s your favorite chain place? RT: Oh, In-N-Out Burger. I get a Double-Double, loaded. 5 HM: Would you franchise In-N-Out Burgers if you weren’t at La Quinta? RT: If I didn’t have this job, I’d be a preacher. My message is this: Lead your life with integrity. People—your family—are your reflection in the mirror. Carlson’s Ambition 2015 paying off Nassau, The Bahamas–In 2010 Carlson unveiled a global five-year growth strategy called Ambition 2015 and now, halfway to the goal, the company says everything is progressing nicely. And that’s exactly how they want it. “The strategy stays the same,” Carlson president and CEO Hubert Joly told attendees at the company’s global business conference in February. “We’re continuing to move forward and we’re very much on track.” The driving force behind Ambition 2015 is growth for the company’s Radisson, Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn brands, particularly in emerging markets. Part of that original strategy involved establishing better brand clarity, building revenue generation programs and accelerating development. In January the company formalized its longstanding alliance with its major European partner, The Rezidor Hotel Group, by officially changing the company’s name to The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. All about Blu The company continues to focus on its upper-upscale Radisson Blu brand. At the conference, Carlson announced it inked a deal with its UK partner, Radisson Edwardian Hotels, to rebrand 13 hotels in the company’s portfolio to Radisson Blu by the end of 2012. The portfolio includes more than 2,500 guestrooms at properties in London and Manchester. Those properties will be known as “Radisson Blu Edwardian,” according to Iype Abraham, commercial development director of Radisson Edwardian Hotels. London’s The May Fair Hotel, part of Radisson Edwardian Hotels, will not adopt Radisson Blu naming or signage, Joly said, but it is part of the company’s distribution system. The Radisson Edwardian deal is one more step in Carlson’s continued focus on its upper-upscale Radisson Blu brand. While the brand has traction outside the Americas, a big part of the Ambition 2015 strategy called for a $1 billion growth investment in the entire Radisson brand in the U.S. In November, the company opened its first Blu property in North America, the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. In May, Carlson broke ground on the second Radisson Blu set to open in the U.S., this one adjoining Minneapolis’ Mall of America, near the company’s headquarters. The $137.5 million, 500-room Radisson Blu is set for a late 2012 opening. The company also has plans to convert the flagship (and company-owned) Radisson Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis into a Blu and has hinted that another Blu project is in the works for New York City. Growth and pipeline “We’re going through an evolution and, dare I say, an acceleration of the progress against our goals,” said Thorsten Kirschke, president of the Americas region for the company. “We have had momentum even during these past, more challenging years. Our growth of hotels in operation and pipeline has grown since 2009.” Currently, the company has 1,077 hotels in operation around the globe and 242 in the contracted pipeline. By market, the company’s operating hotels are largely in developed countries: 73 percent now are in developed countries and 27 are in emerging nations. In contrast, 77 percent of the company’s pipeline properties are in emerging countries, particularly in Europe and India. What about those hints from last year’s conference that Carlson would pick up or start an economy brand? It won’t be happening anytime soon, Joly said. “Last year we mentioned we were evaluating potentially getting into the economy segment, and we’ve decided to put this on the back burner at this point in time,” he said. “As a management team, we’re focused on delivering great results and over delivering on what we promise.”