Welcome to Newport Hospitality Group’s 32nd Anniversary interview with Mike Pleninger, Chairman. Here we take a deeper dive into the co-founder’s career and vision for the company. From his days at Cornell University to revolutionizing cost management, Mike’s ability to create partnerships with a nod to his father’s worldview, as well as his hybrid response to marketing in this evolving industry. We learn what influenced Mike and how Newport represents these ideals today.
Timing is everything. I never looked back.
I grew up in Charleston, WV, which at that time had 100,000 people. It was the largest chemical center in the country with 9 different chemical plants. My father was Employee Relations Director at the 8,500 employee DuPont plant. Sadly, the population is now ½ of what it was, and there are only one or two very small plants.
Expecting to work for a company such as DuPont, I went to Cornell University as an Engineering student. I believe I was accepted because I was from West Virginia and filled a geographical need for Cornell, but I admit I did have pretty good math boards.
I hated it . . . found myself surrounded by persons much smarter than me, who had already taken calculus and chemistry in high school, and weren’t a lot of fun, either. After taking some placement exams, I switched to the Hospitality School. It just so happened Cornell had the #1 ranked hotel school in the world. Timing is everything. I never looked back.
While at Cornell, I worked as an intern at The Greenbrier, spending several weeks in each department over the course of two summers . . . an incredible experience working in such an iconic place where quality and service came first. I left there with a great sense of hospitality culture, but I also with two big misconceptions:
- I thought everyone knew their job, and;
- They wanted to do it.
What a concept! Was I in for a big surprise when I graduated and started working in the real world!!
A step that changed my life. Timing again.
My first job after Cornell was with Sonesta Hotels as a Food and Beverage Budget and Control specialist at their hotel in Houston. My claim to fame was convincing our Swiss Chef to cook Prime Rib at 250 degrees, instead of 375 degrees. We started getting 14 cuts per rib instead of 11, and the product was better. We sold 2,000 cuts a week, so that was real money! I stayed with Sonesta for 10 years, during which I was in charge of Food and Beverage Cost Management for the company, and, later, General Manager of The Sonesta Hotel in Winnipeg, Canada, and Washington Area Manager for their Charter House Motor Hotel division. I then spent two years with Dunfey Hotels, now Omni, and four years with Registry Hotels before joining Holiday Inns as Franchise District Director, a step that changed my life . . . timing again.
Holiday Inns were a game changer for me . . . I had no idea just how strong a franchise could be. Holiday Inns were ranked Number 1 by the traveling public and revenues were 20% – 30% higher than any competitor.
After two years with Holiday, I joined Vic Zodda, a Holiday Inn Franchisee and one of my clients, as a partner and COO. Vic had four Holiday Inns and wanted to grow. We built the company to 23 hotels over a 10 year period. At that time, Vic wanted to sell and had a very lucrative offer. . . more lucrative than Bill and I were willing to invest.
It began on September 1, 1990. Timing was in our favor again.
During the final couple of years with Vic, I had been talking to Bill Carey, who is married to my cousin, about future possibilities. Bill’s family had been in the ranching business for 150 years and he was looking for a place to diversify. With Bill’s backing, we decided to start Newport Hospitality Group as a management company for third party owners . . . and so it began on September 1, 1990. Timing was in our favor again as many hotels were under foreclosure during the ‘Savings and Loan’ crisis. Over 50% of all US hotels were in some degree of foreclosure. Lenders wanted an independent management company, and we were all too willing to help.
It was not without a lot of frightening days and sleepless nights. We went three months without an account. Then, we took over a hotel in Fayetteville, NC as Manager for the Receiver . . . filled with excitement . . . but it was forced to close after three weeks for lack of funds. We went two more months before we landed a second deal. Then things started to turn . . . we signed up four budget properties in Raleigh, NC with a bank . . . we only received $1,000 a month from each, but we could list them on our resume as four hotels. Fred Tanzer joined us at this time, so we could also say we had “staff.” One month later, we signed up The Days Inn in Nags Head, NC which we ended up managing for three different owners over a 24-year span, converting it to a Holiday Inn Express along the way.
A year later, we made a loan to a Hampton Inn franchisee in Williamsburg, VA and picked up management of six hotels, which we continued to manage for ten years. Andrew joined Bill and me on one of the early visits and was instrumental in convincing Bill it was a good investment. Three of the hotels were foreclosed on by Life Savings Bank and subsequently purchased by us in 1994. We converted three of the independent hotels to Choice brands, one of which became the second Quality Suites in existence. In time, Williamsburg became more and more populated with timeshares and all these hotels ended up being sold between 2001 and 2006, including ours.
We are a Marketing Company First and a Management Company Second
During this time in Williamsburg, we established ourselves as a strong marketing company. We ran our own Central Reservation System and Central Tour Sales Department. We had one person devoted solely to calling on all AAA offices. When we took over the 250-room George Washington Inn, it was doing slightly over $1 million in annual rooms revenue. When we sold it 10 years later, it did $4.1 million. We doubled the revenues of the other hotels the first year . . . the second year, we doubled them again.
Marketing has always been our forte’ and it remains so today. Newport properties run a higher RevPAR compared to their competition than any others we know. We also set up a full-time training department 25 years ago, unheard of for firms of our size. As we recover from Covid, we are reemphasizing this need.
We are in a good place.
Personally, it has been a great ride. The past 32 years with the Carey family have been more than anyone could ever hope for. My wife Marcia and I drove to Houston from upstate New York for my first job in a Ford Falcon without air-conditioning . . . things have improved since then. We will celebrate our 60th anniversary next June with our three children, their husbands, and our seven grandchildren.
As I ease into retirement, I am thankful for the team we have in place under the leadership of Andrew Carey and Wayne West . . . two excellent people and excellent hoteliers. I am also thankful for the many long term Executive Team members, Corporate Staff members, and our Teams in the field . . . we are in a good place.
Lessons, Influences, and Words to Live By
My father taught me servitude leadership. As a human resource executive, he modeled leading from the bottom up in all he did. Growing up in this ideology, it has always been part of my life. .
I was asked to state some lessons learned that stand out above others . . . there are many, but here are three:
- Always do what is right, not what is easy. It will gratify some people and simply astonish the rest.
- Don’t go for looks, they can deceive. Don’t go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
- There is no limit to what can be accomplished, if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.
Leave a Comment