Dolce’s reinvention to broaden its reach

MONTVALE, NJ—Known for its expertise in the meetings/ conference center sector for almost three decades, Dolce International is reinventing itself to reflect a stronger position in the hospitality industry and has renamed itself Dolce Hotels and Resorts. Backed by an infusion of capital following its partnership last year with Broadreach Capital Partners, the company is seeking to attract a greater degree of transient, meetings and business travelers who typically would not consider a conference center/destination for a stay. “It’s our opportunity as a company to penetrate the 90% of the meeting business that goes to hotels and resorts,” said Andrew “Andy” Dolce, the founder, chairman and managing director of Dolce Hotels and Resorts. “We’ve done so much research on this. Ninety-percent of the billions of dollars that’s spent on meetings in North America is involved with hotels and resorts and we wanted to attack that segment. We felt it’s better to ‘join ’em.’” In addition to a new name, the company’s relaunch includes a new logo as well as plans for expansion, renovations and broad design and operational changes, including establishing two divisions segmenting the 24-property portfolio into conference hotels and hotels and resorts. The revamp is starting in the U.S. and segueing to Europe, where the full rollout is slated for completion this fall. Approximately $100 million in capital improvements are being undertaken at various properties, including The H Hotel in Midland, MI; Dolce Basking Ridge in Basking Ridge, NJ; Dolce Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA; and two properties in France: Dolce Chantilly and Dolce Frégate in Provence. Properties in Brussels, Belgium; and Barcelona, Spain, will see the enhancements to their spa offerings. However, Dolce stressed, “We wanted to make sure everyone understood that meetings is still our core business. Meetings is our sweet spot, so we added the tagline [to our new logo]: ‘Meet with inspiration.’ That says who we are and what we’re all about. That provides the continuity of our business.” According to Dolce, the company does 80% of its business—800,000 room nights per year—with meetings, group activities and conferences. In total, the company books more than one million room nights per year in business. “The 20%, hopefully, will grow as we build our occupancy so we’re not neglecting the transient segment,” he said. “So ‘meet with inspiration’ works very well for both the group segment and transient segment. People meet—couples, families, meetings, reunions. They’re meeting at our resorts. We want to make sure we embrace that.” A key logo component is the “O” in Dolce, which is comprised of three rings of different hues, which are meant to remind viewers of the brand’s refreshed attitude and values. “To me, the three circles are the foundation of what our company is based on, the things that drive our success,” said Dolce, citing nourishment (food, spa, amenities and activities), connectivity (connecting people to people with a service culture via technology, architecture and design) and community (care for customers, associates, the environment and local outreach programs). According to Carl Cohen, Dolce’s chief sales and marketing officer, research had “meeting planners and customers telling us we care about your food, we care about your facilities and we care about your service. We knew that, but we didn’t have a ‘wow’ factor.” Toward that end, the interlocking rings represent some of the steps the company is taking. In terms of “nourishment,” this includes programs around cuisine, spa services and guest amenities. Dolce’s president and COO, Stephen Giblin, said that among the new brand standards to be put in place are a corporate culinary program, upgraded linens and new in-room amenities. “We have great food at our properties, but now we want to have outstanding food,” he said. Toward that end, Michelin-star chef Alain Montigny, who is based outside Paris at the Dolce Chantilly, will conduct annual training with all of Dolce’s culinary personnel. Other key upgrades will include a focus on food presentation and selection, seasonal restaurant menus that utilize local providers and the introduction of a “Dolce Sweet” signature dessert to be offered at all properties. “We also feel the brand has to have an essence of saying something new, something different, something exciting, and we’re very passionate about it,” said Giblin, noting Dolce will establish a new guestroom experience. This will include flat-panel, high-definition, LCD televisions, pillow-top mattresses, 300-thread-count linens, MP3-player clocks and bath amenities by Gilchrist and Soames. The “connectivity” aspect will tie together technology, architecture and design to create environments where people can gather to network or enjoy social exchange. New brand standards around this idea include an executive concierge in business centers, on-demand printing from laptops property-wide and cyber cafés. Communal tables in restaurants also will be implemented to encourage gathering. Dolce also launched a new website to enhance online services at an investment of $500,000, said Cohen. The “community” factor centers largely on associates charged with delivering on Dolce’s five-prong “Great Guest Experience” program. The components include: The Wow Factor (exceeding guest expectations); Granting a Wish (meeting/anticipating needs); The Personal Touch (customizing the experience); Class Act (being professional) and Second Chance (service recovery). “For example,” said Giblin, “when you come out to a community table at a coffee break at a Dolce of the future, you’ll be able to do point-to-point teleconferencing on a Skype-empowered PC right in front of you. Or you’ll have a charger that will fit every charger worldwide, so you can charge any device you want to. We’ll also have a ‘wow’ factor, so if you’re in the lobby using our free wireless, someone’s going to walk over and offer a latte, a cappuccino or some type of great coffee, so you can actually sit there and talk if you want, be online or just enjoy the coffee. These are the type of services we have to deliver everywhere, all the time.” As part of the global community, Dolce also is committed to the environment, said Giblin, and has a 36-point green program. “We’re taking steps that we feel will take us further than any other brand in the world,” asserted Giblin, citing, for example, a plan to ban plastic bottles throughout its properties and using recycled cups. Giblin noted Dolce properties aim to be “green certified.” Toward that end, the first to do so is the Doerr-Hosier Conference Center at Aspen, CO’s Aspen Meadows Resort, which is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold-Certified facility. The company also has a Dolce Green Council and property-based Green Teams that create hotel and community environmental initiatives. According to Philip “Flip” Maritz, the managing director of Broadreach Capital Partners, the company’s involvement with Dolce is a good fit. “We viewed the company not just as a fantastic platform to buy and sell hotel conference center resort real estate…but to take it one, two, three steps beyond that and look at it as a pure-play management business,” he said. “We really tried to inspire Andy and his group to think about this business in a broader context. Ultimately, our shared goal is to have a great, world-class conference center/hotel and resort business under the Dolce veil.” Dolce also plans to expand to some 40 properties during the next five years, building on its U.S. and Europe distribution and making forays in India, China, the Middle East and South America.