The Greenbrier's new owner has contracted with Mobil Travel Guide's consulting division to help the resort figure out how to restore its coveted five-star rating.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Greenbrier's new owner has contracted with Mobil Travel Guide's consulting division to help the resort figure out how to restore its coveted five-star rating.
Mobil's "service evaluation program" will help Greenbrier management identify the resort's strengths and weaknesses after a top-to-bottom inspection. The Greenbrier also will use the consultant's "executive training program" to teach employees about standards that Mobil uses to rate hotels.
While hiring the Mobil consultants will probably increase the resort's chances of recapturing the fifth star, there's no guarantee.
"It's a prep course before the test," said Shane O'Flaherty, president and CEO of Mobil Travel Guide. "Ultimately, you have to perform well on the test. It provides the property with a roadmap, but the property has to navigate the roadmap."
The historic White Sulphur Springs resort lost its Mobil five-star rating in 2000.
New owner Jim Justice has vowed to restore the fifth star. Greenbrier employees will get a 10 percent bonus, if the resort achieves the higher rating.
"We're going to make the hotel completely flawless," Justice said.
Mobil consultants will review more than 550 standards with Greenbrier management and staff. A "pre-inspection" report will detail whether the resort is meeting those standards.
Only 42 hotels across the U.S. and Canada received Mobil's five-star rating this year. Meanwhile, 137 resorts and hotels - The Greenbrier included - were awarded four stars.
The closest five-star resorts to Charleston are The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va., The Fearrington House Country Inn in Pittsboro, N.C., and The Umstead Hotel in Cary, N.C.,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia have no five-star accommodations.
Why is the five-star designation so coveted?
Hotels with Mobil's top rating often can charge more for rooms and services. They also can market themselves as "distinctive luxury environments" - as the Mobil Travel Guide classifies them - "that provide superlative service and amenities."
O'Flaherty said it's not unprecedented for a Mobil four-star hotel to recover its fifth star. In 2004, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York lost its fifth star, but regained it last year.
"Everyone gets a fair chance every year to get it back," O'Flaherty said.
Mobil Travel Guide has been rating hotels for 51 years.
The rating process starts with an unannounced facility inspection.
Properties that qualify for a four- or five-star award receive a second visit from an incognito inspector who evaluates the hotel based on 550 service-related standards.
The inspectors pretend to be regular guests and never reveal they work for Mobil. They stay three days and two nights, order room service, work out in the fitness center, request information from the concierge and eat in hotel restaurants.
Inspectors have a checklist of standards and mark "yes" or "no." For every "no" answer, the hotel loses a point.
For instance, one Mobil standard requires luggage to be delivered to a guest's room within 10 minutes. Another mandates that hotel staff greet guests within 60 seconds of arriving by car or taxi. Inspectors carry stopwatches.
Either the hotel meets the standard, or it doesn't.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Greenbrier's new owner has contracted with Mobil Travel Guide's consulting division to help the resort figure out how to restore its coveted five-star rating.
Mobil's "service evaluation program" will help Greenbrier management identify the resort's strengths and weaknesses after a top-to-bottom inspection. The Greenbrier also will use the consultant's "executive training program" to teach employees about standards that Mobil uses to rate hotels.
While hiring the Mobil consultants will probably increase the resort's chances of recapturing the fifth star, there's no guarantee.
"It's a prep course before the test," said Shane O'Flaherty, president and CEO of Mobil Travel Guide. "Ultimately, you have to perform well on the test. It provides the property with a roadmap, but the property has to navigate the roadmap."
The historic White Sulphur Springs resort lost its Mobil five-star rating in 2000.
New owner Jim Justice has vowed to restore the fifth star. Greenbrier employees will get a 10 percent bonus, if the resort achieves the higher rating.
"We're going to make the hotel completely flawless," Justice said.
Mobil consultants will review more than 550 standards with Greenbrier management and staff. A "pre-inspection" report will detail whether the resort is meeting those standards.
Only 42 hotels across the U.S. and Canada received Mobil's five-star rating this year. Meanwhile, 137 resorts and hotels - The Greenbrier included - were awarded four stars.
The closest five-star resorts to Charleston are The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va., The Fearrington House Country Inn in Pittsboro, N.C., and The Umstead Hotel in Cary, N.C.,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia have no five-star accommodations.
Why is the five-star designation so coveted?
Hotels with Mobil's top rating often can charge more for rooms and services. They also can market themselves as "distinctive luxury environments" - as the Mobil Travel Guide classifies them - "that provide superlative service and amenities."
O'Flaherty said it's not unprecedented for a Mobil four-star hotel to recover its fifth star. In 2004, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York lost its fifth star, but regained it last year.
"Everyone gets a fair chance every year to get it back," O'Flaherty said.
Mobil Travel Guide has been rating hotels for 51 years.
The rating process starts with an unannounced facility inspection.
Properties that qualify for a four- or five-star award receive a second visit from an incognito inspector who evaluates the hotel based on 550 service-related standards.
The inspectors pretend to be regular guests and never reveal they work for Mobil. They stay three days and two nights, order room service, work out in the fitness center, request information from the concierge and eat in hotel restaurants.
Inspectors have a checklist of standards and mark "yes" or "no." For every "no" answer, the hotel loses a point.
For instance, one Mobil standard requires luggage to be delivered to a guest's room within 10 minutes. Another mandates that hotel staff greet guests within 60 seconds of arriving by car or taxi. Inspectors carry stopwatches.
Either the hotel meets the standard, or it doesn't.
Other examples of standards: Hotel staff must orient guests to the facility in a "discrete and helpful" way, "consisting of not more than four relevant and important facts." Staff also must maintain "alert posture; no hands in pockets or folded arms."
The facility inspection makes up 25 percent of the hotel's overall score, the service evaluation 75 percent.
"Ultimately, it's the employees trying to be the best they can be," O'Flaherty said. "It's the staff that makes the difference in bringing it to a higher level. We encourage properties to invest in the human capital, making sure employees are at the top of their game every day."
Greenbrier employees say they're up for the challenge.
"We will get Mr. Justice that fifth star," said Dale Mann, a Greenbrier doorman. "We really need to sell this place."
Hotels that score 90 percent or above on Mobil's final report card receive five stars. Eighty to 89 percent gets you four stars.
Hotels that secure the five-star rating exhibit consistently high service to the point of being able to anticipate guests' needs, O'Flaherty said.
"You're trying to make the experience to the consumer unique and special," he said. "It's paying significant attention to the guest experience and making it a memorable one. Ultimately, the goal is to provide the superlative experience for the guest, being one step ahead, being able to anticipate their needs."
That often proves to be more difficult at large hotels, such as The Greenbrier. The average size of a Mobil five-star property is 250 rooms. The Greenbrier has 720 rooms.
However, The Broadmoor - a historic 700-room hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. - has a five-star rating.
"Regardless of size, it's really about the attention to detail," O'Flaherty said. "Is it challenging [being a large hotel]? Sure. Is it insurmountable? Absolutely not."
The Greenbrier plans to start construction on an underground theater and $25 million "Monte Carlo-style" casino later this year. Greenbrier voters approved gambling at the hotel in November.
Two of Mobil's 42 five-star resorts - The Tower Suites at Wynn, and Skylofts at MGM Grand, both in Las Vegas - offer gambling.
Mobil has a separate set of standards for evaluating casinos. That evaluation is included in the hotel's overall score.
O'Flaherty said The Greenbrier's casino construction wouldn't hinder the resort's chances of recapturing the fifth star, provided the project didn't disturb guests.
"We understand properties go through renovations and expansions," said O'Flaherty. "What they're trying to do is innovative. We're interested in seeing the results."
Justice, who purchased The Greenbrier for $21 million in May, hasn't had much time to return the resort to its former glory. CSX spent $50 million on renovations in 2007, but was unable to bring back the fifth star. CSX also previously used Mobil's consulting division.
"We're excited to see what Mr. Justice brings to the table, and we're optimistic they will achieve the goals they want to achieve," O'Flaherty said. "Going to The Greenbrier is something every consumer should experience. It's a wonderful place."
Mobil starts its inspections in February and concludes them in October. The new four- and five-star ratings will be announced in January.
Justice expects The Greenbrier to rejoin the exclusive five-star list. And if it doesn't?
"There will be a tear in my eye, if we don't," said Justice, adding that he would never give up on trying to secure the fifth star. "My dad said, 'If you can't get it done in 24 hours, then you work nights.'"
Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.
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