December 2017 Digital Issue

Congratulations to
For Winning The 29th Annual
Pinnacle Awards
Company
of the Year
Your Industry Experts For:
Terry & Linen Supplies
Pillow & Blanket Supplies
Made to Order Drapery
Custom Top of Bed
800.661.7239
EdenTextile.com
WE’RE A PRIVATE
CANADIAN,
FAMILY-RUN
COMPANY AND
IT’S EXCITING THAT
A LOT OF OUR
FOCUS IS SHIFT-
ING OUTSIDE OF
CANADA, WE’RE
RAMPING UP OUR
CAPABILITIES IN
THE U.S. AND U.K.,
WITH ABOUT A
DOZEN HOTELS
PLANNED FOR
MARKETS OUTSIDE
OF CANADA
- TOM GAGLARDI
recently purchased the Dallas Stars
National Hockey League team and
plans to open its first U.S. location in
Plano, Texas in 2018. New properties
reaching from Dartmouth, N.S., to
Saskatoon are slotted for 2019.
“We’re a private Canadian, familyrun
company and it’s exciting that a
lot of our focus is shifting outside of
Canada,” says Tom Gaglardi, chairman
and CEO. “We’re ramping up
our capabilities in the U.S. and U.K.,
with about a dozen hotels planned for
markets outside of Canada.”
What drives this success? Sandman
prides itself on the fact that it owns
and operates every one of its locations
— none are franchised or managed by
a third party — and it intends to stay
this way. Sandman’s parent company
includes the hotel brands, as well as
its own construction company (used
to build all of its locations, of course),
plus sports teams and its own wellrecognized
foodservice brands, which
operate within the hotels and as
stand-alone restaurants.
“In 1990, we had restaurants in
the hotels, but we wanted to add
strength to the business through a
branded restaurant. We were lucky to
get the franchise rights for Denny’s
in Western Canada and, in 1998,
we bought the Moxie’s Grill and Bar
brand outright,” Kassam says. All of
the company’s hotels include
one of its branded restaurants. Over
the years, Sandman has also introduced
the Chop Steak House and Bar,
Bar One and Shark Club Sports Bar
and Grill.
While the hotel industry competes
with online travel agencies, Sandman
has worked to introduce new opportunities
for guests to receive better rates
by booking directly. In January 2017,
it launched its Members-Only-Rates
program, where guests sign up with
the guarantee to always receive lower
rates than what the online agencies
are offering and what non-members
see on the website. The program has
been a huge win for Sandman, with
25 per cent of all room nights sold
coming from Members-Only rates.
The company also recently hired
developers to build a custom, in-house
booking engine, giving them the
capability to drive direct bookings.
“Our booking engine provides a means
for us to market towards our guests
and grow direct business. Along with
that direct business, the data collected
is owned by Sandman and is fully
scalable as we grow. It’s something we
had the foresight to do and we know
we’re going to need it. It’s unique in
the industry and something we’re
very proud of,” says Kayla Hepworth,
Communications manager for
Sandman Hotel Group and The
Sutton Place Hotels. The company
uses the data to finesse marketing and
advertising campaigns to best fit its
ideal guest. The approach has proven
to be both successful and profitable.
Another unique achievement for
Sandman was its decision to integrate
Bitcoin payment in July 2014. It was
the first Canadian hospitality company
to begin accepting the alternative,
worldwide cryptocurrency and
digital-payment system — the first
decentralized digital currency. “All a
hoteliermagazine.com