Storytelling, environmentalism shape DNC Parks & Resorts

Sep 15, 2008
By: Emily Hanna
Hotel & Motel Management
 
Every company may have its own history, but for Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts, its history is built on stories.

"How do we define who we are overall? We say that it's stewardship and hospitality in special places," said Scott Socha, VP of finance and business development at DNC Parks & Resorts. "We really look for those special places that have a story that needs to be told."

Storytelling of each property's background is one of the three core values of DNC Parks & Resorts; as owner/operators of eight lodging properties comprising 3,500 rooms in national parks and other historic sites, the company prides itself on being stewards of the environment, stewards of historic structures and artifacts, and stewards of interpretation and education.

At its properties, serving as storyteller is a major role. With the recently acquired Gideon Putnam Resort, the hotel within the Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., DNC Parks & Resorts hired an outside firm to assist in developing the lore, notably through interpretative programs and activities. "We really focused on the interpretation side—telling the story of the hotel because there was a huge story that wasn't being told," Socha said. "You'd walk into the hotel and you knew it was different, but you didn't know how it was different and why it was different."

The difference, for one, lies in the historic aspect of the properties DNC operates. Because it will not acquire just any property—"It needs that story to it," Socha said—the company takes on the additional role of restoring and keeping the properties' structures and artifacts intact, such as items from the Smithsonian Museum at the Kennedy Space Center.

Perhaps the company's biggest dedication to preservation, however, involves to the environment.

When the parks and resorts division of Delaware North Cos. got its start in 1993 through a contract with Yosemite National Park, the company committed itself to environmentalism and the hospitality field. Then, around 2000, the company entered into ownership of hotels, followed by taking on management roles at properties. Now DNC Parks & Resorts has owner/operator roles at eight properties—counting Yosemite's seven lodging properties as one—most of which have received the International Organization for Standardization's 14001 certification. To achieve this, the properties must comply with environmental regulations, move forth with environmental management programs and promote employee awareness of the programs. From there, the company goes through an intensive audit process by a third-party source.

"We just completed that process last spring and the auditor said he's never seen a company where the program was ingrained in every level," said Deb Collins, VP of sales and marketing for DNC Parks & Resorts. "Everybody embraces the program, and that was really a nice third-party endorsement to say that [environmentalism]'s something the company does—not because it's part of a trend, but because it's part of the culture."

The environmental values are instilled, in part, because of the employees the properties attract by being in parks and other historic areas, Socha said. Additionally, each property has a "green team" comprised of all levels of employees, said Mary Burich, director of corporate communications for Delaware North Cos.

But perhaps the founding principle that employees build upon in terms of sustainability is DNC's GreenPath, a formal, documented environmental program. Elements of GreenPath vary from using bulk dispensers of amenities in the guestrooms to the use of re-refined oils in vehicles, in addition to recycling, reuse, educational programs and sustainable building, to name a few.

Another formal program the company uses with its employees is GuestPath, a five-step process for employees and the company itself to continually improve the following: setting and meeting standards, training employees, receiving measurements from guest surveys and other assessments, giving rewards and recognition for associates and leaders and providing further training to fill gaps found in the assessments.

The guest feedback, through 130-question e-surveys that get a 40-percent return rate, remains integral for DNC.

"It's a guest-centric view of how we operate our business," Collins said, "and also [lets us see] are we serving our guest to the level that they are looking for?"

So far, the company is pleased with its results—and it intends to continue on the path it started about 15 years ago, preparing to tell the stories of more historic and landmark hotels.

"Everybody can do hospitality; not everybody can blend stewardship and hospitality together in an economic manner," Socha said.

ehanna@questex.com