Necessity is the mother of invention. For the Collinsville Hotel Venture (CHV), owners of a 228-room, full-service property in St. Louis, it was necessity that led them to Meridian Hospitality Group, Inc. (MHG).

After years of neglect resulting in eroding guest satisfaction, reduced market share and decreased profitability, CHV decided it was time for a dramatic change. In January 2004, they went in search of a new management company that could reverse the poor strategic decisions made by the previous management group. They found MHG.

When MHG assumed day-to-day direction of the property, a premium on “Guest Focused Quality” was put in place immediately. The result? Overall satisfaction scores increased dramatically and are now 10 points higher than brand average. CHV owners also saw a 55-percent increase in GOP and a 300-percent increase in NOI, all in the midst of a major renovation.

“Meridian literally saved my hotel,” says BC Gitcho, general partner of CHV. “When it became clear that the property was no longer being operated in the guests' best interest and by extension, my best interest, I knew I needed a unique and talented management company to assume responsibility for repositioning my hotel. I've been extremely happy with the results MHG has delivered.”

“It simply starts and ends with the customer,” states Shaun Burchard, president and CEO of MHG. “We deliver a positive emotional experience that is very difficult to find in the industry today. Our teams truly care. The MHG philosophies and internal systems allow us to deliver a consistently superior experience which, in turn, allows MHG to deliver improved business performance for our clients.”