Best Western Date Tree Hotel’s Aaron Segal

Aaron Segal thought he was working toward a future as a screenplay writer when he got a job as a front-desk clerk while in college pursuing a degree in English literature. Little did he know that he was on his was to becoming successful in a career path more akin to his personality than his literary aspirations.

In fact, it was that first job in hospitality at the DoubleTree Resort in Cathedral City, Calif., that Segal credits with shaping his work philosophy and management style, which he proudly carries with him today as the general manager of the 118-room Best Western Date Tree Hotel. His approach is simple: combine compassion with empowerment, hard work and a dose of humor.

“If you can’t laugh occasionally while doing your job, then it really is work,” Segal said. He began his hospitality career working for a family-owned-and-operated DoubleTree located near Disneyland run by a GM named Bob Devoe, who mentored Segal.
“[Devoe] really empowered his employees,” Segal said. “My management style came from that job.”

When that hotel was sold in the mid-1990s, Segal decided to stay with the DoubleTree brand and moved from California to Chapel Hill, N.C., to open the Carolina Inn DoubleTree as GM. Soon after, however, he became homesick and decided to move back to California.
He also decided it was time for a career change. From 1995 to 2002, Segal worked as a store manager at a Barnes & Noble in Palm Desert, Calif.

“But something was missing. I didn’t have that passion,” he said.

He longed to work in the hospitality industry again. Little did he know answering an ad for a GM position in the newspaper would give him lasting fulfillment.

“I was dismissive at first. It almost seemed like taking a step down after working at a resort to work at a Best Western,” Segal said. “Boy, was I wrong.”

He immediately knew it was the place for him upon meeting with Steve Carter, president of Altamont Hotel Management, manager of the Best Western Date Tree Hotel.

“His philosophy came down to how you treat people and make the job enjoyable and I immediately thought, ‘I can work for this gentleman,’” Segal said.

But when he took over the hotel, it was in “disarray” with a high turnover rate, staff members who did not communicate with each other and performance numbers that were far from stellar. He immediately worked to create a sense of camaraderie by informally meeting with each employee one-on-one.

“It’s not brain surgery. I talked with them, not at them,” he said. “The job of a manager is motivating other people.”

The message was clear: The staff was uninformed, disgruntled and had no clue what was going on at their own hotel.

He began retraining all of the staff on customer service and empowered them by giving them authority over the areas they knew best. They had weekly meetings and informal bonding sessions, which Segal said helped improve morale quickly.

Finally, Segal sent every staff member to stay overnight at a Best Western hotel nearby. Within four months, everyone had done it and, “it was revelatory,” he said. “Some of my staffers never stayed at a hotel before. They finally got it.”

The results of Segal’s hard work began paying off. The hotel had marked increases in revenue per available room, average daily rate and occupancy year-over-year through 2008, and continues to outperform its competitive set today. Additional proof can be found in the hotel’s customer service statistics: The property sits in the top 5 percent in Best Western customer satisfaction and has been for three years in a row.

“It is a testament to the whole staff,” Segal said. “They turned this property around.”

A friendly and compassionate man and manager, Segal believes so sincerely in supporting his employees that he has promoted several of his staff members to management positions, helped one grow to become GM of another hotel property and rewarded many others. Except for vertical growth, most employees have stayed at the property since Segal came on.

“I think it is important that you take the time to try to recognize your employees,” he said. “Many GMs say they are too busy, but it is a highlight of my job to see an employee get recognized.”

Staying true to his strong work ethic, Segal never forgets his roots. Quite often he spends a full shift at the front desk checking guests in, particularly when the local community hosts a yearly rock festival and the hotel is booked solid.

“I help out to the point where my staffers tell me to go home,” he said. But the hotel business is his home; it is where he feels he belongs.