Underhill Named To Oversee Millennium Hotels North America

NEW YORK— Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ appointment of Paul Underhill as president, Millennium Hotels/USA is expected to result in a smooth leadership transition, as he has worked with the organization for six years. He replaces Robert Morse, who announced his resignation from the company in late September to take a position at MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, where he had worked prior to his stint at Millennium. Underhill has had a hand in Millennium’s hotel operations for some time, serving as a representative for CDL— the Singapore-based parent company of Millennium— for the last six years. He has acted as an advisor to CDL on the operations of several of the company’s owned and/or managed New York Hotels, working out of the Millennium Broadway property. He even served as interim CEO of North American hotel operations for Millennium Hotels prior to Morse’s appointment nearly two years ago. “I am familiar with all of the people and the hotels I will be working with,” said Underhill in an interview with HOTEL BUSINESS®. He noted that he has worked with many owners through challenging situations, so overseeing Millenniums hotels in a weakening U.S. economy “plays on my expertise,” he said. With responsibility for U.S. operations, Underhill will oversee 13 four-star Millennium branded hotels in major business centers and leisure travel destinations throughout the country, including four hotels in New York City— the Millennium Broadway and Millennium UN Plaza, which the company owns and operates; and The Plaza and Millenium Hilton, which Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, under the CDL Hotels umbrella, also has interests in. Recognizing its investment in the New York hotel market, and its desire to grow its North American presence, Millennium also announced last month, concurrently with Underhill’s appointment, that it would relocate its management headquarters from Washington D.C. to New York City. Headquarters functions, including finance, human resources, revenue management, operations and sales and marketing are being moved to the company’s New York flagship property, the Millennium Broadway, with a completion date set for November 1. “A major job was completed when we finished the rebranding of the Regal hotels to the Millennium flag. With that behind us, we felt it was better to consolidate the regional offices,” he said. Underhill said he plans to keep moving forward with the growth and operations strategies Morse had set in place, which includes working to ensure renovations are complete and marketing strategies are in place for the company’s repositioned hotels. Millennium completed a system-wide, $80-million renovation and improvement campaign (and rebranding of former Regal Hotels) in the last six months with the goal of becoming a premier choice for business travelers, meetings and conferences, and vacationers. Long-term goals for the new head of U.S. operations are not as straightforward. But the executive noted that the company would have its eye on expansion opportunities. “We have every intention of continuing to expand our presence in the U.S.,” he noted. “We have a good product in key locations across the country and will build on that.”