Global Brand Head at Embassy Suites by Hilton, Bonnie Campagnuolo, is recognized as a TMG Hospitality Trailblazer as Embassy Suites celebrates its 40th anniversary! 

This episode gives viewers an inside look at what has made the brand successful over the last 40 years and what is on the horizon for Embassy Suites. Ryan and Bonnie go in depth to highlight key initiatives and characteristics of Embassy Suites that contribute to the brand’s hospitality dominance.

Episode Transcript

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Ryan Embree:
Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embee. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, Ryan Emre, here with another edition of the TMG Hospitality Trailblazers series. As we get geared up for a busy travel summer, we are here with another hospitality trailblazer, another Hilton brand leader. I am very excited to introduce our guest for today, Bonnie Campagnuolo brand leader of Embassy Suites by Hilton. Bonnie, thank you so much for being on the podcast.

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
It’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Ryan Embree:
We got several things to celebrate today. I don’t wanna give too much away, but before we start talking about your incredible Embassy Suites by Hilton Brand, I wanna talk about your background and journey that led you into hospitality. As we know, it’s always unique to kind of see these paths, which get us to where we are. Where did you start? Was it behind the front desk? Did you just kind of fall in it? Tell us a little bit about your journey to Embassy Suites by Hilton.

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So I never worked in a hotel. I started in ad agencies in Orlando, Florida and had a number of travel and tourism clients across the years and across different agencies. I moved to the client side, marketing teams first at Walt Disney World, and then with a vacation ownership company also here in Orlando. And then moved up to DC for a job with Hilton, uh, almost 14 years ago. And I was director of Resorts marketing for the Hilton Hotels and Resorts brand, which was an amazing, amazing ride. From there, I worked on all of our full service brands in marketing and then went over to the brand side and, uh, did what we called, uh, customer experience and innovation for full service brands. And then I have been in this role since July of 2020, and it’s, it’s a great job. I love my job.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah. Well, it’s interesting that, you know, we get a lot of, a lot of people that I interview on these hospitality trailblazers and they come up originally from operations. So I’m wondering kind of, you know, what do you think mindset, maybe lessons learned that were a little bit different being in hospitality a little bit later in your career?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So I think understanding how we get messages out to guests, how we establish who we are is part of what Embassy Suites needs right now. And I, I don’t kid myself about knowing how every little thing happens in a hotel, and I’d surround myself with people who do, and I’m not shy about asking our hotel leaders, if we were to think about doing something like this, how does that affect you? If we were to make a change like this in a guest room, how does that affect what the housekeeper’s life is like? Or did we just create something that’s really cool, but a pain in the neck to clean because it, you know, creates a little ledge or something that we’re not never gonna get, right? So I really, we have tons of folks who know more than me and I love all of them, and we make sure that we have those conversations. And I’d also say my experience on the customer experience and innovation team really taught me how to ask questions and dive into the what ifs. And, uh, that’s been, that’s been really helpful as we, as we think about where this, where this brand goes and what guests are looking for and what owners need.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah, it’s so critical the way that questions can be phrased to owners, guests, associates, as you mentioned before, because you’re right, something could a change that you implement or make at a property, it could ultimately be yes, that’s a good change, but are the effects of it gonna have net negative value to it? So I think it’s fascinating kind of hearing that, having that balance. We’ll talk a little bit about this episode, but we’ve got a big milestone to celebrate. If you’re watching us on our YouTube page, you could see the banner up in Bonnie’s corner there celebrating 40 years. Congratulations on that. It hits in May 2024. When something lasts for 40 years, obviously it’s successful. What do you think after 40 years, something’s clicking between some of the things we talked about, owners, guests, associates, what do you attribute this brand’s longevity to?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
We were based on giving guests more. That’s what the man who created the brand, Hervy Feldman wanted to give guests more. And so a full service all suites hotel with a great breakfast included, which involves our made to order omelets that people know and love, as well as an evening reception to get your night started, right, or end, end your busy workday. So that’s what guests really love about us, and we are very particular about making sure those key elements of our magic formula, the service evening reception, a great free breakfast, and those two room suites are stay core to what we do. And guests, you know, reward us with their business, whether they’re traveling for work for a a group event or a convention, a conference, or for leisure, whether that be team travel, exploring a particular area on a long weekend, et cetera. Um, seven nights a week, we’ve got guests who we are perfect for. And so owners love that consistent business. We’re not just a business hotel, we’re not just a leisure hotel. And so it gives them a steady, a steady stream throughout the week. And they also have a slightly more efficient labor model than, uh, your typical full service hotel. And so that helps with their profitability

Ryan Embree:
Secretly, as I share this into our nationwide podcast, but Embassy Suites is one of my favorite brands. I think it’s like a magical place like it’s known for its atriums when you come in. I remember when I would travel as a child coming into some of these lobbies with, koi fish in a river that felt like it was going right through the lobby. Now we’ve obviously, you know, redesigned and reimagine those spaces in the lobby, but Embassy Suites, just again, what I’ve, I’ve known it for is, and who doesn’t like a second room, right? A suite where you can separate yourself, whether you’re traveling with kids, just making it feel like there’s kind of a different place than just four walls and a bed. So again, big fan of the brand myself, but it is interesting to see how it’s evolved. Let’s talk about that. First off, Embassy Suites recently opened up their Embassy Suites by Hilton Gatlinburg, Tennessee Resort location to travelers. Have you had the pleasure of getting out there yet and checking out the property?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
I have not. Uh, and I am, it is hot on my list. We’ve got Asheville also just down the street and then Pigeon Forge coming early next year, but I’m, I’m not gonna wait for Pigeon Forge to open to go see these two gorgeous properties. The photos are amazing and that resort has a great lagoon style pool, poolside food and beverage. So a pool bar, you can have lunch out there. And then something really unique is that the hotel team has partnered with a local outfitter and they have a space dedicated in the lobby where they will help you set up whatever excursions that you wanna do. So whether it’s hiking or it’s fishing or whatever you’re looking to explore outside, they will help you do that, which I think is, is really unique and a nice add. And then great meeting space with indoor outdoor space. And so for, you know, for a meeting or a special getaway with your team, I think it’s make folks very happy and give everyone a little breath of fresh air.

Ryan Embree:
Well, I mean, it’s super unique bringing elements like that. And then obviously keeping up with the trends. We know group business is coming back very, very strong in 2024, you know, since it is one of the new Embassy Suites. You already talked about kind of some of the things that make it more unique, but when you go through these designs and you’re looking at new locations and properties, just walk us through a little bit. Obviously so much has changed over the past 40 years, but walk us through a little bit maybe how you’re using those trends and how the design prototypes maybe differ from the ones of a couple decades ago and the look and feel of it?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
You know, from some hotels that are near you and that you’ve, you’ve experienced at the time the big atrium filled with lots of trees and plant life and maybe some koi was luxurious and very different over time. Certain things get dated, but space is always a luxury for many of our travelers who maybe live in cities and their home life isn’t necessarily a standalone house with a big backyard. That open space is part of the luxury as well as the space in the room. Whether if you’re a business traveler and you don’t wanna do a call with a bed in the background, or you just want the close the door between your kids and you, then those things are priceless. So we kept the space in both the rooms and in the lobby area. So when you enter one of our newer prototypes, it’s still at least a double height entry area. We wanna make sure that that feels spacious. And then in the rooms, same thing. We’ve adjusted the floor plan so that there’s more natural light, the windows are bigger, the living room space has a, you know, has a window as well as the bedroom. In some of our older room types, it’s more of a linear suite with the parlor and the back and the bedroom up against the window. So we know that, again, light and space is something that people have come to really value. So we’ve, we’ve leaned into that. And then the things that go with technology like surfaces, easy charging, easy access to power in multiple spots in both rooms. Those are so important because those are something that is not apparent until it’s not there.

Ryan Embree:
Right. And, and I think, you know, as a traveler, when you’re looking for a plug, you know, you start to see and you’re like, uh, okay, where is a plug? So making sure you incorporate the right technology too, that doesn’t become stale over time, I think is really important. I remember those iPod docs that were like, such the craze, right? Like a decade ago and now you like walk in and you’re like, yeah, I don’t think I’m gonna use that anymore or can’t even use that anymore. But it’s so important to make those decisions that, you know, with a brand like Embassy Suites that’s been here for 40 years is gonna put you in a position for success for the next 40, you know, and, and one of the things you alluded to, Bonnie, was that this property really caters to every segment from leisure business group. You know, the properties have really become kind of destinations themselves in a way with everything that they have to offer. You mentioned some of the markets that you’re getting into as you look across the industry. Do you think there is more room to increase market share in any particular segment right now and how that has evolved during the tenure at Embassy Suites?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So I think our market share is pretty good without going into numbers. So, but we, we see the balance shifting post covid back to closer to a 2019 segmentation in our hotels. Obviously that varies by day of week and location, but we’re getting back to more of the, you know, third group, a third business travel or non-group business, and then a third leisure. So that’s roughly where we are group is what’s growing now as, as things come back and leisure starts to balance out just based on, on people’s in the office work habits and things like that.

Ryan Embree:
Which is great because you never want to be, you know, too top heavy in one of those segments. So being able to offer an owner and developer a way to say, Hey, listen, you’re gonna be pretty good in all of these segments. So if something does happen right now, there’s a lot of external factors out there, you still have that kind of cushion to, to feel good at night to say, you know, maybe leisure drops a little bit, but group business is a big opportunity that I’m set up for in the future to be able to capture, especially with that meeting space, we’ll see kind of over these next couple years, you know, maybe continues to be this remote work where they’re trying to, businesses and groups are trying to travel to a specific destination to get everyone at a place to do maybe like a quarterly meeting. I’m sure that sets up amazing for something like Embassy Suites and to be able to host them and then maybe even extend their stay into that little bleacher side of things that we hear so much about. So recently Hilton was named World’s number one best Place to Work. Congratulations to you and your team on that. In our industry staffing shortages, they’ve remained an issue over the past couple years. We’ve talked about it, several, you know, I feel like more than several times on the, on this podcast, it obviously takes a lot more to run a 200 suite embassy suites than it does a 70 room Hampton Inn. So how do you leverage Hilton and the Embassy Suites name and reputation to combat these staffing challenges that again, have been kind of plaguing our industry right now?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
You know, I could, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been with Hilton for 14 years, they’re gonna have to kick me out. So when it comes to our hotel teams, we make sure that the benefits of working for and with Hilton, whether you’re a franchisee or managed by Hilton, that all of that is strong and competitive in the market and are enabling our management companies with new technology that we see team members looking for like being able to access pay prior to payday. And so those are options that are available to our teams in our hotels for Embassy Suites. When you look at the tenure of our team members at some of our older properties, it is absolutely amazing how many folks have stuck around for how many years and the family environment that they feel and love. And part of our anniversary that you just talked about is just taking a look and honoring those team members that have been with us for 30 plus years. We have original team members at our very first hotel in Overland Park, Kansas. They have been there the entire time that hotel’s been there. And if you wanna find somebody who knows where all the stories are and what all the, you know, intricacies are of a building, find an engineer who’s been there for many years and those folks are priceless and it’s awesome. But the reason they stick around is because of how they’re treated and how they feel and their coworkers.

Ryan Embree:
I mean, absolutely. And, and like I said, I mean, it, it does take a lot more people, I’m sure that means more room for opportunity within those properties. It helps when you have such a big footprint across the nation too, to be able to say, Hey, it can go from one Embassy here to becoming, you know, to getting a promotion to another Embassy over here. And you still feel that comfort level of knowing kind of how you’re, how you’re running your business and property there. And we have heard examples of things like you were talking about pay, but flexible working hours, uh, you know, technology to help the, the hospitality staff. It’ll be interesting to see if this, the staffing shortage continues to stick around what brands, uh, and properties are doing to try to retain talent and kind of the creative solutions that they’re doing. But I’m sure it helps when you can use the reputation of number one, you know, world’s best place to work as, as kind of your, your jumping off point there.

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So, or our travel benefits are pretty popular with our team members. So there’s a number of different things of course, that, that are out there. And we’re seeing it’s more market specific and there’s pockets that are, are feeling the labor shortage. But I think any employer needs to be thinking about why does somebody wanna spend their time here?

Ryan Embree:
It’s a good conversation to have and a good, I think you’re right Bonnie, it’s refreshing to kind of take a step back and say, okay, how can we be more attractive to candidates maybe that are not working in hospitality right now? Because a lot of the stories that we hear about, a lot of the journeys that we hear about in hospitality necessarily don’t start in hospitality. They come in and they kind of have, find a passion for it through there and you know, next thing you know, they’re being interviewed on the Suite Spot. Anyways, I, I wanna switch gears to talking about owners and developers and you know, I’m sure you obviously have a lot of conversations with them, but when, when an owner developer comes to you and says, you know, I wanna build an Embassy Suites and put the, put the Embassy Suites flag on on my property, what do you think the interest and appeal of this brand is even after existing for 40 years? What are you hearing from owners and developers when they come to you?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
Obviously they like the seven night a week business and the, and the strength of the brand. There’s certain things about us that are simpler to operate than some other other options. We also are a category of one, no one does exactly what we do at the upper upscale level. So some may have free breakfast, some may have, uh, cocktail in the evening, some may have all suites, but no one does all three with the service level that we do. And so most developers or owners who are looking to do an Embassy Suites probably have another hotel, this is not their first hotel and see the need and see the value. We do very well in markets where their might not be another full service property, but the market has grown to a place where the demand is great enough and the price point would be high enough to make the ROI on construction work out because it, it’s not cheap to build, but the return is there and we’ve got, you know, a number of owners who love the brand and, and keep building more, which is fantastic.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s a compelling argument to say that Embassy Suites has really found a niche, I think, um, in, in the traveler segment and what it’s been able to offer travelers. And I think, you know, after 40 years you would think, but everyone I think can close their eyes and imagine what an Embassy Suites looks and feels like in that type of experience that you’re gonna get there. So, um, and that’s not, that’s not easy to do because I think a lot of brands shoot for that and they might walk into a different type of prototype and be a little like, this isn’t what I’m used to. But the Embassy just has kind of a feel to it, you know, no matter what market you’re going to, I mentioned this before, spoke to a couple Hilton brand leaders over the last month, hunter LivSmart Studios, Spark, Home2 Suites, now Embassy obviously. And one of the interesting conversations we follow upon is talking about what we alluded to earlier was the balance between guest feedback from guest associates and owners and the tweaks or changes that are made based on that feedback. You’ve set a couple examples, but anything in particular that maybe you’re looking into now or tools or methods that you use to collect that data to say, okay, we’re thinking about making this change. How do we go about doing that? Like to walk us through that process.

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
We just introduced a new prototype, there aren’t any in the wild yet, uh, at the end of 2023. And so we just went through this process.

Ryan Embree:
This whole process?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
Yeah. So involved some, some research, you know, online and, and kind of intercepts where we ask what they’re looking for, what’s most important ranking, what’s most important in a room to you figuring out what’s, you know, nice to have, what’s worth paying for. On the flip side, we had some theories about ways, things that we could change, which would also decrease construction cost or make things more efficient based on how you lay, lay it out in the room. And I said, my dumb idea, I said, well, what if we got rid of the additional sink at the wet bar? So outside of the bathroom you have a full bathroom, but in every Embassy Suites there’s also this wet bar with a sink. The microwave, the safe is typically there and then the mini fridge. So what if we got rid of that and we did research and people like it. If you’ve got a larger group, it’s an additional place for somebody to wash their hands to get ready. There’s a mirror there and people like to fill their water bottles there because that has a gooseneck faucet. And so we said, all right, well people use them, people like them. We will, we will stick with that and we’ll find other ways to make, to find efficiencies, which, which we did. We adjusted how bathrooms line up so that all of the plumbing is stacked and that saved almost a half a million dollars in construction cost if of a, you know, a baseline prototype.

Ryan Embree:
Wow, I love hearing, I can listen to those stories all day ’cause I know exactly where you’re talking about. And you know, you think that’s, that’s could be something where it’s like, well, is anyone really using this? Is is this kind of repetitive? You know, but then you get into the data, you start asking guests and they’re like, no, no, no, this is where I use this. And I’m sure with those types of responses, you could even use that in the future to be like, we see so many people filling up water bottles there, maybe we add a filter or something like that. And so it kind of leads you on this path of innovation to kind of keep you fresh, kind of keep you in the guest experience and, and have a pulse on that guest experience so they know what they’re doing, how they’re utilizing the room. So again, absolutely fascinating. So, so glad you shared because it’s some of the ideas that don’t make it to the new prototype and I think those are some really fun stories to, to uncover. So really cool that you were able to share that with us. Now we talked about, we touched on technology a little bit earlier. Obviously Hilton recognized as a very, very innovative company, when it comes to the Embassy Suites brand, where do you kind of see there being space to implement more technology? Do you think it’s at a good place with technology? Because you know, at the end of the day this is hospitality, right? So people serving people industry, where’s that balance and do you see, uh, more technology being integrated into the guest experience at an Embassy Suites?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So, first and foremost, the technology that happens across all of our Hilton brands, most of it powered by our Hilton Honors app is amazing. And you don’t see it at scale in other brands. So digital key, being able to choose your room, being able to confirm to know that your rooms are connected. So if you’ve got a large party, if you’ve got kids that’s game changing in your trip, then those are available to everybody. My favorite of those is digital checkout because I always like to let the team know I’m leaving and it’s six in the morning or seven in the morning, so housekeeping doesn’t need to wait until noon to get into my room. It’s, I I think it’s like paying it forward. It’s good karma. You let the hotel team know and then maybe this afternoon somebody gets into their room earlier, you know, when they, when they arrive. So that’s my favorite thing to be able to go, oh shoot, I just got into my Uber, I’m just gonna press the checkout button and we’re good. When we think about brand specific and tech that happens just at Embassy Suites, we are very careful about where we integrate tech and making sure that it doesn’t goof up the service and the personal interaction and that we are not over kiosk different places. So, uh, we’ve got some things in test to make maybe omelet ordering a little bit smoother, but we don’t wanna take away that morning magic that happens between the omelet chef and the guests. So like I said, we’re pretty careful about making sure we don’t take away those connections because people get to know those faces in the morning, they make relationships, they know your order. And so it’s, um, we’re very careful about not goofing with the mojo.

Ryan Embree:
Just look at places like TripAdvisor and, and other places where online reviews and where that person making your omelet is mentioned almost on like a weekly basis or is part of the, the breakfast experience there versus being at a kiosk. I think that’s super fascinating ’cause we always talk about technology as like, we have to get there, we have to get there. But I feel like on this episode we’ve touched a couple places where it’s almost like, no, let, let’s pull back and make sure it doesn’t have a negative impact on the guest experience because you’re gonna have just naturally with an Embassy Suites, you’re gonna have more touch points, more ways to impact the guest than you would at a regular select service where you could just come in, check in online or check in on your phone, get into your room, and then check out right out the door. No, you want to have that evening reception, you’re gonna have the breakfast in the morning. Those are all spaces where you can make a guest experience extra special and have that impact that other brands just, they don’t have, they’re not fortunate enough to have those times. A guest could just walk in and outta the lobby without ever interacting with a staff member. So you mentioned a couple projects you’re excited about, but any, any other in the pipeline that, that are unique or that we should be on the lookout in the future?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
For sure. So we talked about our Smoky Mountains triple threat. The beginning of last year we had three beach properties open right in a row. Aruba Resort, Virginia Beach Resort, and Panama City Beach Resort here in Florida. Those are all fantastic and great adds to our already solid beach offering. So St. Augustine in Florida and Deerfield Beach just got renovated, which is fantastic. Right around the corner we have another property in Orlando, sunset walk down near Kissimmee for folks who are familiar. And then Madison, Wisconsin will open in June. That’s a gorgeous 260 room property with meeting space very close to the capital, very close to the university. So that’s gonna be a great downtown add for us. And then in May we will enter Dubai for the first time, which is very exciting. Our second property in the Middle East, we have one in Doha. The Dubai property is a tower right in Business Bay and the bottom floors will be Hilton Garden Inn. The top floors will be Embassy Suites, great fourth floor pool area overlooking the city. There are rooms on the side of the building that face the Birch Khalifa with balconies. So great viewing spot New Year’s Eve to watch the fireworks from the Birch Khalifa. So really exciting property, for us to, uh, to see open. So there’ll be a trip there in my future. Gatlinburg and Dubai will be my travels this year.

Ryan Embree:
Yeah, what an amazing footprint and it’s so cool to see the brand growing and I think that’s, that’s a, a sign of strength, you know, here hitting the 40 year mark of the expansion plans. They’re not just, you know, in one area, they’re really nationwide and even internationally. So, you know, as we wrap up, looking kind of into the crystal ball, Bonnie next 5 to 10 years down the line, is there more international growth? What, what are you seeing down the road for the future of this brand, maybe as we celebrate 50 years, and 10 more years?

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
So I do think there’s more international space for us to grow. We’ve got a couple in the pipeline and there are certain markets that are right for Embassy Suites or Embassy Suites is right for the market and for the audience there. So look to see that continue, look to see, um, our service continue to be a really core part of who we are. And for us not to mess with that magic formula, how we deliver it can always be improved, but the things that people value is what, what is more important. If we see those things start to change, then we may need to adapt with that. But so far, you know, we get their day started the right way and we end their day the right way and give them a great place to sleep and relax or work. And that’s core to who we are.

Ryan Embree:
And the next time our listeners are filling up their water bottle at that second sink, we can thank Bonnie there for, for keeping it in there for us. And, you know, we’ll continue to look for all the innovations, the new prototype that you said that’s on the horizon as well. Bonnie, congratulations again on this incredible 40 year milestone with Embassy Suites. Really excited to see what the future holds for the brand.

Bonnie Campagnuolo :
Fantastic. Thank you so much.

Ryan Embree:
All right. Thank you so much for listening to the Suite Spot. We will talk to you next time. To join our loyalty program. Be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.