Jonathan Tisch
This second-generation hotelier says the 'business' part of the hospitality business has changed dramatically in the last decade, but its essence remains the same.

Your newest book is Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience. Why did you write this now?
This book grew out of the book tour I did for The Power of We: Succeeding Through Partnerships [which went on to become a bestseller]. I saw there was a lot of interest in the notion of customer service. It was a chance for me, having been in the hotel business now for close to three decades, to use our industry as the model for customer service and allow the reader to learn more about the companies that are doing it correctly.

What are you hoping to achieve with this book?
Our lives are extremely complicated and busy. My goal is twofold: To have businesspeople (who may run an organization or offer a product or service) understand what the consumer is looking for; and to give consumers the tools to search out companies that offer them a customized product or service and treat them as individuals.

What has been the reaction?
Overwhelming. I've done 50 radio interviews, and appeared on "The Today Show," "CBS This Morning," CNN, and CNBC. It seems the book has struck a chord. People are fed up with bad service. This book is a tool for them to understand how and why they should be doing business with companies that "get it." Additionally, people in the business world are saying they can improve what they do by reading the book.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
I take great pride in what we have accomplished at Loews Hotels in striking a balance between the service that our guests have come to expect from us and having my co-workers understand what their responsibilities are in achieving that goal.

We are fairly small in relation to our much larger competitors, but each of our properties tends to be a dominant hotel in their particular marketplace - and our guest satisfaction and low rate of employee turnover is an acknowledgement that the goals of senior management have been met. Additionally, as I now have the responsibility of running Loews Hotel's parent company, Loews Corporation, with my two cousins, I'm very proud of how the three of us have looked back to understand what our late father and late uncle started and grew. We have moved forward with great history to create a corporation that is responsive to shareholders and now we have a vision for the future.

You grew up in a hotel family. What was that like?
Our business is about hospitality. I learned that from my father and my uncle and others in the family. It is a wonderful business for people who care about others. The "business" has changed dramatically in the last decade in terms of the attention we now get from Wall Street, from private equity, from REITs [Real Estate Investment Trusts]. It has become highly sophisticated and competitive in terms of the financial focus. What hasn't changed since the first person checked into a hotel a thousand years ago is the whole notion of turning customers into guests.

What was your first job?
My first paying job was at the Americana (now the Sheraton Center Hotel) in New York City when I was 16. I worked behind the front desk and used my middle name as my last name on my nametag so people wouldn't know I had a connection to the family who owned the hotel. I graduated from Tufts University in 1976 and spent the next three years as a TV producer and cinematographer for WBZ-TV in Boston and then returned in 1980 to Loews Hotels where I started as a sales representative making $18,000 a year. My reason for coming back was quite simple: I wanted to contribute to this business which I find exciting and very much a part of my personality; to be with people; and work with my cousins, father, and uncle.

Who has had the biggest influence on you in your life?
My father, who passed away in 2005. A man of dignity, he was larger than life. He lived a life of hospitality. I considered him a mentor on so many levels. I got a sense of one's responsibility to the community from my mother.

What advice can you give those just starting out in this industry?
No. 1: Take a job, any job. It may not be what you set out to do, but you can learn from every experience you have. Second, treat people well and fairly, and be open to listening and learning. Third, network as much as you can. Fourth, it is okay to strive for success in your life but understand you have a responsibility to help others achieve their goals.

In your book, you mention "big ahas." What was your big aha?
The big aha moment I had was reaching a point where I understood that my actions could positively benefit others. By sticking to my core beliefs and working with others, we can do a lot of good for people in New York City, around the country, and around the world.

What attributes and/or qualities have you developed that have helped you become successful?
Discipline, hard work, treating people fairly, putting aside my individual concerns to work with others to create a greater good. As you may know, I also do a TV show where I interview CEOs; I've now interviewed 20 of the top CEOs in the country and many of those same attributes come through in these interviews. How do you define success? You can set up a scorecard in terms of finite issues like finance and profitability. But those areas are meaningless unless you can look back at your life and say that you've done some good for those around you and created a better life not only for yourself but also the people you share your life with.

Some of today's meeting planners are feeling slighted in the current seller's market. As a hotelier, how do you respond?
The hotel industry continues to prosper and be competitive. Meeting planners have an integral role in the success of many hotels and lodging companies. Meeting planners have to continually work through organizations like PCMA to educate themselves on the world in which they operate and [to reinforce] that they are important to the bottom line of most hotels. We as hoteliers should always keep in mind that our business is cyclical and although the trends continue to be strong we should never ignore any of the demand generators that are responsible for keeping our hotels full.

Editor's Note: This marks the debut of a new monthly series in which Convene interviews a different leader in the meetings industry to learn how they view this business from their own vantage point.

° Andrea Doyle is Convene's senior writer.