The Davidson Difference GSO

You can’t build anything special alone—it takes a Village. No matter what you do, maintaining a network will always come in handy. When I meet someone, there’s always an opportunity to learn something new. Networking is about building meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals. It’s about creating a village of people that bring value and are willing to collaborate with you or your business. It’s not about collecting business cards. That has always been my practice, which fits perfectly with Davidson’s culture.

Coming together and working together is essential in today’s marketplace. To move ahead of our competitors, creating lasting relationships, both virtual and physical, is key. There’s a special kind of magic that is created when a community of support and wise sage is formed— it takes a village to run a successful business, “that’s the Davidson Difference”!

With over 20+ years of experience in the global sales arena, I believe that everything communicates. Our clients are not getting their information from just one source so we should not communicate to them that way. One of our core values is that “Greatness Requires Risk”. Using this ideology, our team has developed both internal and external newsletters, a fully branded website showcasing our portfolio of hotels, and a full range of marketing materials that conveys our culture and approach to the way we manage our hotels. Couple these with our grass roots approach to connecting with clients, and you have the Davidson Difference!

I remember when we first launched our website, I would have clients call me and say “I didn’t realize that the Eden Roc and Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island were yours!” To me, that speaks to the value we offer our owners when we are able springboard from a conversation like this into a unique opportunity that wouldn’t have otherwise come our way. Staying relevant, hungry & humble, and not being afraid of trying new ways to communicate is how we will provide long lasting value to our clients, hotels, and owners.

When we introduce ourselves to customers, whether they’re internal or external, so often the question arises of overlapping responsibilities between the branded Global Sales teams and our management Global Sales efforts. My response to this always reflects back to two of Davidson’s core values of “stay hungry, stay humble” and “create value in all you do.”

As a small but mighty team, we have to remain hungry – always looking for creative and unique revenue opportunities that balance the budget needs of our customers with the goal of returning value to our hotel owners. On occasion, that means ensuring our branded hotels receive equal representation and attention from our GSO counterparts at the major brands. This is not to say that our partners at the major brands are not caring for our individual properties, but rather to show the difference between a team that represents 6000+ assets and our ability to have personal interactions with our 80+ individual sales leaders.

The Davidson Hospitality Global Sales team is more hands-on and consultive in nature. We specialize in the ability to cross sell a multi-branded portfolio combined with a growing list of independent properties across city center locations and world-class resort destinations – from Spokane, Washington to the Florida Keys. One day we’re prospecting Fortune 500 companies for potential business travel opportunities; the next day we’re meeting with a property leadership team to discuss repositioning the mix of customers due to an upcoming renovation.

I would be remised if I also didn’t mention the insight and information we’re able to share with our segment specific experts. Whether a branded hotel or an independent, it’s always helpful to get the 30,000-foot view. Throughout my career I’ve found many examples of a leisure seller in California who may not know their colleague in Miami or a Business Travel Sales Manager in NYC that is bidding on the same RFP as a hotel in Kansas City. Our team bridges that gap and helps support discussion that best positions our entire portfolio.

Every day is different but we stay humble and keep our eye of the prize…creating value, which we think is the Davidson Difference!