New Orleans may be the Big Easy, but there’s nothing easy about managing hotels in one of the South’s most bustling cities. Jerry Reyes, general manager at the Westin New Orleans Canal Place, has spent years learning how to be a leader and how to find creative solutions for operating hotels.
The son of Dominican immigrants, Reyes began his hospitality career while he was studying business administration at the University of New Orleans, shifting his major to hotel, restaurant and tourism after getting a taste for the industry while working as a server. “I enjoyed what I did,” he recalled. “I enjoyed the interactions with guests and my fellow associates—and I found that it was an industry that I was not only able to see success in but I had the ability to enjoy what I did, and really have a passion for.”
While studying at the university, Reyes took a position at the W French Quarter, overseeing the front office. Ramon was working at the W New Orleans at the time, and Jerry was eager to join the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide team. The W brand was nascent at the time, and Reyes wanted to learn about the boutique concept it espoused. Beyond the front desk, Reyes was in charge of the valets and the bellmen at the hotel. “And we had no security there, so my engineers acted as security,” he recalled. “That, I believe, eventually helped me prepare for the next few roles after that because of the volume of involvement that I had in almost every department.” By 2005, he had moved to the W New Orleans (creating some confusion with the staff who thought he was his brother) as the hotel's director of style, or housekeeping.
After working for five years at both of the city’s W hotels, Reyes joined the Loews New Orleans Hotel as director of rooms. The position was an opportunity to learn about a new brand and help rebuild a hotel that had not had a director of rooms since Hurricane Katrina had devastated the community. “I was equipped with the right tools to take on that opportunity,” he said of his training up to that point. By 2013, he became director of operations at the hotel, taking on responsibility for food and beverage as well. “It really gave me an opportunity to stretch my strengths and stretch my ability to learn from others,” he said. “I was, in essence, overseeing the entire property.”
After eight years at Loews, Reyes was ready to become a general manager, but the position would not be readily available at the hotel. Edmund Sulzman, Reyes’ former general manager at the W French Quarter, had become a regional vice president for Trust Hospitality, and he reached out and offered Reyes the chance to be a GM at the Hotel Modern New Orleans. “That gave me the reassurance to say, ‘OK, let me do this. Let me bite the bullet,’” he said. The decision was tough, however, because he had spent years building relationships and a culture at Loews. “But I did make the decision to go ahead and leave and take on my first role as a general manager.”
Leadership
As a first-time GM at an independent hotel, Reyes spent his first month at the Hotel Modern watching the teams and learning how to support his workers. As he came to understand what they needed and what challenges they faced, he learned to think in terms of what he could do for them rather than what he wanted them to do. “The first couple of months were really solely about laying the foundation for that trust to be built,” he said. “And then I started to enact a lot of change, and focus first on getting their buy-in to ensure that they were going to not just do what I asked, but really be a team [so] we could do these things together.” In his new role, he learned to think beyond the first possible solution—“the way it’s always been”—and to seek out creative answers.
But within a few months of his arrival, the hotel changed hands and Reyes left the property. He quickly found another GM position, at the New Orleans Marriott Metairie at Lakeway, and brought the independent sensibility to the branded property. “In an independent environment, you have to be creative, you have to be more aggressive in chasing business and trying to find creative ways to make things happen,” he said. To help attract interest from an untapped demographic, Reyes organized a bridal show in the hotel’s courtyard, saving money by trading gift certificates for local florists and fashion designers. The event got picked up by a wedding magazine, and the courtyard was suddenly in demand. “It's not always about what it costs, but it's about how you can get the return on the investment and the value can be reached,” he said.
Reyes spent two years at the Marriott Metairie at Lakeway but was eager to get back downtown again. The Westin New Orleans was acquired in 2017 by Berger Co., which had owned the Loews when Reyes worked there, and he reached out to see if there was a space for him in their new asset: “They knew me, I knew them, they knew my work ethic and they wanted me on the team.” He joined the team in time to oversee a $30 million renovation at the property that added 25 guestrooms and a new ballroom. “It was a huge undertaking, but they knew I was up to the task and I was happy that they trusted me to be a part of this process and to help lead the charge,” he said.
After nearly four years at the Westin, Reyes is now focused on rebuilding the hotel’s culture in the wake of the pandemic. “What I'm hoping to do as we look to rebuild is to make sure that we bring folks who embrace ... an environment where we're putting our customers first—internal and external. So, people who care about their coworkers. That's what's most important to me: people who care about their coworkers, because if they care about their coworkers they are going to care about our guests.”
Jerry Reyes'...
Challenge
“As you go into a new building, building trust is always a challenge ... You don't come in the door with everyone trusting you.”
Success
“Actively listening is the way that I overcame that. Every single time. Not coming in like a bulldozer and trying to make things my way or a way that I knew worked in another box—every box is different, so we have to treat it as such and respect the individuals that are there.”
Advice to GMs
“Get in the door, learn and set realistic goals and a timeline ... Think about the things that you should do and would do. Take on more and learn from those things.”
Secrets to Success
Communication: “Oftentimes, as a GM people don't want to come into your office because they feel like their problems are too small. But if I go to them and I ... ask them how their day is going, they're more willing to share.”
Be observant: “I'm not talking about being observant of problems, but being observant of what the team is dealing with [or being] aware if they're overworked or overtasked.”
Think of every department as a business: Understand how the team is spending and how they can minimize waste.
Westin New Orleans Canal Place
Owner: Berger Co. | Operator: Highgate Hotels | Rooms: 462 | Opening year: 1984