In May, Pyramid Hotel Group hired industry veteran Richard Holtzman to lead its new Pyramid Resort Group. Holtzman, formerly of Kukui’ula Development Company in Hawaii, will serve as the first-ever senior vice president, resort operations.

Holtzman has more than experience. The resort business is in his blood. His father Dick Holtzman was president of RockResorts, the resort management firm founded by Laurance Rockefeller. The younger Holtzman went to hotel school at Cornell University. He held his first hotel job — front desk clerk at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs — in 1973 at 19 years old.

Pyramid manages The Wigwam in Phoenix, Arizona

Boston-based Pyramid has 65 hotels and resorts — more than 25,000 rooms — under hotel management and asset management. It’s a franchisee of all major hotel brands and operator of independent four- and five-star hotels and resorts.

In the past two months, the company has brought three new resorts into its portfolio. In June, Pyramid assumed management of the Sheraton Keauhou Resort & Spa in Hawaii. That was followed in mid-June by the Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa, Grand Cayman. And, July 1 the company began to transition management of the historic and iconic Wigwam in Litchfield Park, just outside Phoenix.

Lodging Hospitality caught up with Holtzman as these new hotels were coming on board.

What’s first in your new role?
I’ve spent a good bit of my first few weeks trying my best to understand the dynamics of the Pyramid Hotel Group and leverage those strengths to benefit the resorts. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find the tremendous levels of talent within the resort organization as they manage or asset manage 16 resorts with just under 9,000 rooms. I’m trying to harness the existing talent and add to it where necessary to maximize our effectiveness in managing current and future resorts.

You’ve added three hotels in one month? Is there more growth coming soon?
I believe in setting metric goals. We’ve not established one for our growth, but we will in the near term. We have the uncommon ability, because we’re not a consumer-branded management company, to align our interests with resort owners, both branded and independent.

What’s the biggest challenge for a resort operator?
I believe the biggest challenge in this fast-paced, competitive environment is to never lose focus on the end users — the guest — the ultimate decision maker. You need to continue to have that cornerstone idea to do what you need to do to earn loyalty in the mind of that guest.

You’ve been around the business most of your life. How have you seen resorts change?
Resorts have changed dramatically in the 30-plus years I’ve been in the business. They are a collection of several complex businesses, from the expected hotel to the very sophisticated spa to golf to retail to food and beverage. Then, you get into the real estate components which often include complex membership structures. That balance between the resort business and business of hotels requires maximizing profitability and long-term value. The new model has been heavily influenced by the realization and better understanding that the resort business is another form of the real estate business. You need to do what you need to do to maximize the long-term value of that asset and create greater value for the surrounding real estate.

How has technology shifted the industry?
The internet has dramatically changed the business. It’s changed how we communicate with our customers. It’s changed how our guests decide where they will spend their time and money, how they book their reservations. Most are going online and researching their choices. They’re looking at Resort A and seeing that the rates available for that resort at that time are $400. Then, they turn to Resort B, right next door. For the same time period, same room type is $100 less. They’ll make a choice right then, or go back to Resort A to ask them to match price or lose the business. Customers have more negotiating power than ever before. That’s something we need to understand and accept. The only way to confound that is to have a very busy hotel.

I also believe the internet puts an appropriate degree of pressure on the operator to be sure your information is current, attractive and easy to access, to be sure you stand out in a very busy playing field of options.

How does Pyramid standout?
Pyramid has evolved its approach with a ‘differentiate or die’ philosophy. This approach can include developing high-profile entertainment programming, creating a cutting-edge restaurant or introducing uncommon features that make the resort standard apart to engage guests and increase profitability.

For example?
One example is "Hollywood & Wine," a summer-long series of concerts, workshops, themed restaurant promotions and family activities at The Arizona Biltmore. This “edu-tainment” runs continuously from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Each of our resorts has developed some level of programming, though the Arizona Biltmore has taken it to a very high level. For example, Jeff Bridges performed (music from the "Crazy Heart" film) at the Arizona Biltmore during the July 4th weekend.

Restaurants?
The concept and development of new restaurants at Doral, the Arizona Biltmore and La Quinta were designed specifically to enhance and elevate the character and personality of that particular resort.

And, what did you mean by “uncommon features?”
We take a creative and even a bold approach to some of the more simple things, like entry statements, artwork, even uniforms.