Indiana Hoteliers
Meet the people behind the hospitality.

by Bob Kronemyer

(December 2001)

DORA BROTHERS
Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp. in Anderson was started in 1986 by Tim and Bob Dora, nephews of another Indiana hotelier, General Hotels Corp.'s Jim Dora.

"We began with the Holiday Inn in Anderson," Tim Dora says. Today, Dora Brothers Hospitality operates nine properties, all but one in Indiana. Three hotels are in Fishers and one each in Anderson, Plainfield, Indianapolis, South Bend and Shelbyville. Brands include Hampton Inn and Comfort Inn & Suites. The company also operates a Holiday Inn Express in Algonquin, Illinois, near Chicago. There are a total of 990 rooms systemwide.

"Bob and I are both very hands-on," Dora says. "We are very involved in day-to-day operations. Bob is a much better speaker than I am, but I'm probably stronger on the financial side. Overall, it's been a great relationship."

Within the next year, the company plans to open a Holiday Inn Express in Fort Wayne, a Hilton Garden Inn in Carmel and a Hampton Inn & Suites in McHenry, Illinois, also near Chicago. "Our properties tend to be limited-service hotels," says Dora. "We only have three full-service hotels." In addition, the corporation sets aside monthly funds to "aggressively remodel. It's important to us that our hotels are kept in tiptop condition. I talk to every general manager every day."

DUNN HOSPITALITY
Before launching Dunn Hospitality Group in Evansville in 1977, John M. Dunn was chairman of a long-term-care company with 28 facilities. During his tenure, the firm purchased the McCurdy Hotel in Evansville, which eventually was converted into a residential center for senior citizens.

Today, Dunn Hospitality Group manages 15 properties-all but one in Indiana-with a total of about 2,500 rooms. The multi-branded company (Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, Red Roof Inn, Fairfield Inns by Marriott, Residence Inns by Marriott, Courtyards by Marriott) has properties in Evansville, Princeton, Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Columbus, Anderson and Fort Wayne. The company also operates a Hampton Inn in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. A 150-room Courtyard by Marriott at the Louisville airport is scheduled to open next April.

"I suspect that our growth over the next five years will come from mergers and acquisitions," Dunn says. Meanwhile, "no two days are the same. You interact with people from all walks of life. It is absolutely intriguing."

The company's corporate mission, which was developed by its associates, conveys "that we are in the business for the customer. We want to give that person the best experience staying in a hotel," Dunn says. "Secondly, we try to treat all our associates with the same courtesy, respect and understand that we expect them to demonstrate to our guests." In essence, "we treat our associates as guests."

FOCUS ENTERPRISES
With 26 properties, roughly 1,800 rooms, and three new properties in the design stage, there are plenty of opportunities for employees at Focus Enterprises in Valparaiso. In fact, the company has its own training center which includes two hotel rooms and a front desk and computer-reservation system for checking in guests. "The training we provide our employees is key to success," says president and owner Jerald Good. "We also have our own inspection team aside from the franchise-company inspection programs."

About half the properties are in Indiana (mostly northern Indiana), with the rest concentrated in Michigan, plus two in Ohio. The major brand is Holiday Inn Express, along with Super 8 and Carlton Lodge, a brand developed by Focus in its early days.

"Prior to starting the company in 1990, I was associated with Whiteco, a hotel developer based out of Merrillville," recalls Good, who has also been a real-estate developer. "We're a vertically integrated company. We build, develop and manage for our own accounts. We even have our own in-house furniture, fixtures and equipment designers and installers." Overall, "our emphasis is on cleanliness and well-managed properties," Good notes.

Focus Enterprises is moving into full-service hotels, with Holiday Inns scheduled to open spring 2003 in Fort Wayne and Portage. "We see the growth in the mid-sector, full-service but smaller properties," Good says. In many instances, "the room rates for limited-service properties have escalated over the past few years to the point that you are now competing with mid-size, full-service properties."

The company also plans to open a Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn (extended stay) in Fort Wayne early 2003.

GENERAL HOTELS
The Crowne Plaza at Historic Union Station in downtown Indianapolis allows guests to blend the old with the new. Two years ago, the "headhouse" of the 1888 train station was converted to banquet space. "Historians can be hired for a group's meeting to relay stories about the old days," explains Glenn Brooks, vice president of sales and marketing for General Hotels Corp. in Indianapolis.

The company was cofounded in 1962 by Jim Dora, who serves as chairman. General Hotels' 10 properties are all in Indiana and comprise 1,800 rooms. There are six hotels in Indianapolis including the Crowne Plaza at Union Station. General Hotels also has two properties in Lafayette, one in Kokomo and one in Terre Haute. Brands include Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Courtyard by Marriott.

"We're always looking to expand, but there is nothing concrete at the moment," Brooks says. The three most recent properties all opened in 1998.

"People work for us because they feel they are part of the family and part of what makes our hotels successful," Brooks stresses. "We take good care of our people." Most general managers have been with the corporation for at least 10 years. "We take interest in the personal life of our employees as well," Brooks says. Furthermore, "we are very good about promoting within."

SCHAHET HOTELS
Since its start more than 40 years ago, Schahet Hotels in Indianapolis has either developed or managed about 14 properties across the country.

"I love being in a people business. You're constantly meeting new people," says president Gary Schahet, whose father Sam Schahet started the company in about 1959. The first property was a Holiday Inn Downtown franchise, which is now the site of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.

"The basics haven't changed much through the years. My father always said that there were a few things people needed to do every day-eat, drink, sleep and breath. He couldn't take care of the breathing, but he certainly could take care of the eating, drinking and sleeping," recalls the younger Schahet, who became involved in the business in the late 1960s after graduate school. Schahet Hotels currently manages seven properties with a total of 1,020 rooms. Five are in Indiana (Hampton Inns Downtown, East and Northwest in Indianapolis, Hampton Inn in Carmel, Courtyard by Marriott Northwest in Indianapolis) and one each in Holyoke, Massachusetts (Holiday Inn) and Schenectady, New York (Holiday Inn). The company expects to develop additional properties in Indianapolis and the Northeast area of the U.S.

"We've gone from full-service hotels to limited-feature hotels," Schahet says. "Food and beverage is not what it was years ago. Today, travelers have many options for eating. Every corner now seems to a have a major food outlet."

SUN DEVELOPMENT
Besides a strong presence in Indiana, Sun Development and Management Corp. in Indianapolis has several properties in the South. This is because cofounder Bharat Patel attended college in Mississippi, where some members of his family settled from India.

Begun in 1989 with Patel's brother and sister-in-law, the company now has 21 properties in six states, totaling 1,486 rooms. Thirteen of the hotels are in Indiana, with the remainder in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio and Illinois.

Brands include Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Hawthorne Suites, and Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn. "All of our hotels offer limited service," says Danette Kennedy, director of sales and marketing for the company.

A new Staybridge Suites will likely open next fall in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois. "We may also be purchasing existing hotels and converting them," Kennedy relates.

Sun Development prides itself on having created an environment that encourages staff to take ownership of the hotels. "We treat our employees as if they were owners," Kennedy says. "We have people who make decisions as if it were their own business." In addition, "we believe that if you treat employees fairly and like friends and family, their loyalty is yours to keep," she says. Equally important are guest preference, retention and referral.

WHITE LODGING
Although today White Lodging Services in Merrillville is a leading Marriott franchisee, it started in 1985 managing three non-Marriott hotels (Holiday Inn in Merrillville, Ramada Hotels in Indianapolis and Evansville).

The company now has 73 properties in nine states, totaling 9,095 rooms, of which about 90 percent are Marriott. The 25 Indiana hotels include the 347-room Radisson Star Plaza Hotel in Merrillville and the recently opened 615-room Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. "From a consistency and quality standpoint, we think Marriott is tops in its respective segments," explains Deno Yiankes, executive vice president of development and asset management for White Lodging Services. "Marriott also has extraordinary market shares. In other words, we get a lot of bang for our buck."

White Lodging Services has 18 projects under active development and will open nine hotels during the next 12 months. These include the Residence Inn by Marriott and Springhill Suites by Marriott, both located in Carmel and scheduled to open next June.

"In Indiana, we are in a unique position to offer meeting planners a one-step shop," Yiankes says. "We have first-class, full-service hotels with extensive meeting facilities literally across the state."