Ricardo Lutchman expected to have a career in criminal justice, but a love of hospitality brought him to the hotel industry. In December, he took on the role of director of rooms at The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville, where he oversees daily operations and activities of the rooms departments, including housekeeping services, front office, concierge and guest services, as well as managing the hotel’s spa and salon.
“My father worked in law enforcement for many years and I thought that was what I wanted to do,” Lutchman recalled. While studying criminal justice at John Jay College in New York City, he took a job at the Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, N.Y. He went to school for two days a week and worked the other five. He started off answering phones, and when he maxed out his hours in that capacity he would cover for doormen, porters or caterers. “Every day was a new challenge,” he said of those early days, but as he realized hospitality could be a good career choice, he took on more roles to better understand the industry.
Seeking something closer to his Connecticut home, Lutchman went to work for Meyer Jabara Hotels as a reservations agent. At the time, the company had 32 hotels operating under different brands, and Lutchman had to know as much as possible about all of them to answer questions from potential guests, taking upwards of 200 calls per day on average. That experience, he said, gave him an education in revenue, sales and customer relations.
Nationwide Experience
After nearly three years at Meyer Jabara’s reservations department, Lutchman graduated from John Jay with his B.S. in criminal justice and moved to New York City full time. He joined the W New York — Times Square as the assistant front-office manager. “In relation to my peers, I had about five years or six years of actual working experience in different environments, more than they had just coming out of school and looking for their very first job,” he said. In that role, he had to oversee team members younger than himself, and found commonalities with his colleagues in order to bridge any potential divides that could affect the working environment.
In late 2012, Lutchman had the opportunity to work at the Modern Honolulu as the front-office manager, then returned to New York City in 2015 to take on the same role at the Andaz Wall Street. After less than two years, he moved to Texas to be director of rooms for the Westin Dallas Park Central, looking to learn different skill sets. “I had no desire to be a GM—or I guess I didn't know what I wanted to become, or if there was a final step in this hospitality chapter, but I just knew that I needed to learn as much as I could in any city that wanted me or had availability for me,” he said.
Lutchman helped open the Virgin Hotels Dallas in 2019 as director of experience, the brand’s title for director of rooms. After two years, he moved to Charleston, S.C., to be director of operations at the Emeline, but left after eight months to join The Joseph in Nashville.
His experience has given him a sense of how different hotels create different kinds of luxury for a range of guests. While the Virgin has a party atmosphere, the Joseph aims for a more elegant and local experience. “We showcase our art,” he said. “We have partnerships with the symphony here in town.”
At the Joseph, Lutchman said he gets to be in one of the “prettiest buildings” in Nashville. “I can walk down a hallway that I've seen a few times and still see something new,” he said. The hotel includes references to Nashville’s heritage of country music. “It's not just a guitar in your face or a Jimi Hendrix poster,” he said. “It's something different.”
Ricardo Lutchman's
Challenge
While many hoteliers aim for the GM spot, Lutchman was less focused on the top position in a hotel and more focused on learning what he could in each new role. “Every position will make you better,” he said. “It will diversify your knowledge, it will allow [you] to see something [you] haven't seen in a different way.”
Advice for Directors of Rooms
“Have a passion for something. Being passionate about something defines us as people. It steers us in ways that we never thought of sometimes. It allows you to take risks.”
Secrets to Success
Be appreciative of people that work in every position. “I rely heavily on our hourly team and every position is important to me, from our stewards and our housekeepers to my colleagues here as director of sales and GM and director of food-and-beverage. We all have a role.”
Be a colleague: “Being able to understand problems from all sides and being able to coach as well as be amongst the team and push them to success or just nudge them has been good advice.”
Collaborate and compete: “[Be] able to collaborate in an environment that also pushes you. You want to be pushed and be in a competitive environment.”