NXTLVL Experience Design

Ep. 10 It's Not Just About Having Great Design with Peter Cole, CEO - Design Hotels

Episode Summary

All 300+ Design Hotels are unique. They are created with concepts that provide purpose, meaning and value to their guests. The idea of a hotel experience will shift in the future to one that offers guests the opportunity to grow, change and engage authentically with an idea. Peter Cole, CEO - Design Hotels talks with host David Kepron about providing meaning in hotels stays beyond design.

Episode Notes

INFO ON PETER COLE & DESIGN HOTELS:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=design+hotels+original+experiences 

Website: https://design-hotels.marriott.com/ 

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-cole-2877b76/ 

Instgram: https://www.instagram.com/design_hotels/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/designhotels

Bio:

• Peter Cole joined Design Hotels™ as CEO in December 2018 with a commitment to future growth and the creation of long-term value for hoteliers and stakeholders.
• In his previous role as Managing Director of Business Integration at Marriott International, Peter lead the company’s integration of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, overseeing a wide array of activities including hotel operations, organizational design, talent management, loyalty programs, system integration, financial management, and unit growth.
• Peter was also Chief Financial Officer for the Americas for Marriott, as well as global CFO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC; both positions that attest to his erudition when it comes to steering the financial rudder of a large multinational.
• Peter is also an ardent runner and swimmer and likes to ride his Peloton bike.
• He holds a BBA in Real Estate Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
• Peter carries out duties that matter to his heart and mind and  sits on the Advisory Board of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the National Board of Directors for Back on My Feet, an organization dedicated to helping change the lives of those experiencing homelessness.

EPISODE INTRO:

How do you define “Original”? 

Is it the ‘first’? – maybe.

Is if the most ‘unique’ or ‘eccentric’? – perhaps that too.

Is it something to that serves as a model or basis for imitations or copies? 

Well, it could be that, except for the fact that every one of the over 300 properties in the Design Hotels brand are completely different. 

How do you copy ‘different?’

Since different could be a monastery in Eremito, Italy,a revived printing factory in Tiblisi Georgia, or a modern outcrop in Selfoss, Iceland.

Design Hotels are all of these things that you would define as “original” and their CEO Peter Cole has the extraordinary task of helping to provide leadership to a band of brothers, and sisters, who march to the beat of a different drum but hold a couple of traits in common…

Compulsive curiosity and a willingness to find comfort in change. 

In fact they are challenged and expect to be presented with things they don’t expect or reference what they already know.

Peter Cole’s trajectory through the leadership of Marriott International includes holding positions as:

Chief Financial Officer for the Americas for Marriott, as well as global CFO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC; 

Managing Director of Business Integration at Marriott International, Peter lead the company’s integration of Starwood Hotels & Resorts,

And in 2018 Peter joined Design Hotels™ as CEO with a commitment to future growth and the creation of long-term value for hoteliers and stakeholders. 

He is a business minded leader who finds it equally engaging to be amongst some of the most creative hoteliers in the industry. 

Welcome Peter…. Did you run this morning?

INFO ON DAVID KEPRON:

Website: https://www.davidkepron.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582b/

Instagram: davidkepron and NXTLVL_experience_design

Twitter: @davidkepron