Ken MacKenzie, Dalton & Finegold, LLPThe concept of hospitality is as old as civilization itself, and is an artifact of high civilization. Virtually every culture has well-defined notions regarding the obligation of a host to a guest. The weary traveler is bidden, “come, rest, refresh yourself. You shall sleep safe beneath our roof this night.” For more than 117 years, The Lenox Hotel, a 214-room four-star hotel situated in a prime location at the intersection of Boylston and Exeter Sts. in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, has played a key role in the life of New England and the city of Boston. Since 1963, The Lenox has been owned by successive generations of the Saunders family, dubbed the “Hub’s first family of hoteliers” by the Boston Herald. Dan Donahue, president of Saunders Hotel Group, and the senior executive in charge of management of The Lenox, recently took the time to chat about his hotel, his company’s theory of hospitality, and the events of Marathon Day, 2013, which unfolded directly in front of The Lenox.
The general manager of a grand hotel is at the center of an interwoven network of mutually beneficial business relationships. Donahue’s network ensures that guests of The Lenox will get the best recommendations for things to see, do, eat and drink, all in service of the guests’ having an authentic Boston and New England experience. Any grand hotel is an irreplaceable amenity for a world class city such as Boston, and when that hotel has been owned and operated for more than 50 years by the same family, its relationship with that city is deep, durable, and characterized by trust and goodwill. Who could imagine Boston’s Back Bay without The Lenox and who could imagine The Lenox operating under the flag of a hotel brand?
From its inception, The Lenox has operated proudly as an independent hotel in the city which sparked American independence. The hotel’s name derives from the Duke of Lennox, whose coat of arms bears a lion rampant beside four roses. A plaque appearing at the entrances on Exeter and Boylston Sts. features the lion logo and the motto: “En La Rose Je Fleurie.” Roughly translated, it means “from the bud flowers the rose.” Upon entering the hotel lobby, you’ll see a rug on which appear a lion logo and the words: “The Original Boutique Hotel.” At a time when the hotel industry is awash in ghost brands attempting to move away from the monotony of uniformity, yet adhere to brand standards, The Lenox has followed its own path, created its own traditions, and fostered its own uniqueness in the minds of its guests. Whether the same is reflected as a scent in the air (The Lenox has a custom scent), the warm greeting of someone in the livery of the hotel, a special treat in the room, or a favor or service rendered free of charge, the hotel’s approach to hospitality is to evoke memory. And in that, it has had spectacular success. “We don’t nickel and dime you,” Donahue said. “If you’d like a snack, we’ll get you a snack. Need a newspaper? No problem. Bottled water? But, of course. Toiletries? Crest or Colgate?” All free of charge.
“Who is the most important person in the hotel?” Donahue asked, and said that he asks each new Lenox employee the same question. Mulling the possibilities, I responded “the guest.” With a shake of his head, Donahue said, “no, the most important person is the employee.” Happy employees remain longer in the employ of the hotel, are more productive, are not prone to theft, and deliver a superior guest experience. “We want our employees to jump out of bed and skip to work,” said Donahue. The Lenox employs approximately 240 people, with an average length of employment exceeding ten years. As for senior staff at The Lenox, including Donahue, each one will do whatever needs to be done to further the hotel’s success and enhance the guest’s experience, no matter the nature of the task, however large or small. “We are not the newest, and we may not be the shiniest,” said Donahue, “but I guarantee you that when a guest walks into our lobby, he or she will interact with at least two or three staff members.” Staff take turns being responsible to interact with guests in public areas of the hotel, which duty is affectionately referred to as that of “lobby lizard.”
The Lenox’s interaction with the community goes well beyond greeting guests. Its owners and senior executives have served in board positions at the Back Bay Association, the Boston Groundwater Trust, the Massachusetts Lodging Association, the Greater Boston Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, the Friends of Copley Sq., the Boch Center (a/k/a Wang Theater), the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Ellis Memorial School, Newbury College, and a number of other civic organizations and charities. The Lenox is the sole hotel sponsor of the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Lenox seeks out and maintains partnerships with local boutique purveyors of various amenities, such as Beekman 1802 and Share Coffee Roasters. Donahue researched, and then visited these vendors to meet them and sample their products. Unlike a branded hotel, which can deal only with vendors on an “approved” list, The Lenox is free to deal with vendors whose products will form part of the guest experience The Lenox wishes to create, and free to support the local economy, thus creating local jobs.
Within minutes after the Boston Marathon bombs went off on Boylston St. mere yards from The Lenox’s portico, police evacuated all guests and staff from the hotel. For the first time in 113 years, for ten straight days, the doors of The Lenox were not open to guests, and the hotel could not receive deliveries. The Lenox was cordoned off, a crime scene, its street-level pub an evidence room, its executive offices the nerve center of a massive investigation, and its rooms fully occupied by all manner of law enforcement. While Donahue was unable to share his painful recollections of that time, it being still “too soon” to talk about it, he told a tale of how he and Boston’s other hoteliers played their part in being Boston Strong.
At the FBI’s request, Donahue delivered copies of all video records from the hotel cameras on the day of the bombing, and then returned to The Lenox around 8:30 p.m. The Lenox was empty of all staff, and Donahue wanted to check on the newly renovated suites on the hotel’s top floor, to make sure no faucets or showers had been left running in the rush of the evacuation. Upon opening the door to a suite, Donahue was greeted by two sharpshooters who urged Donahue to return to his office. Shaken, he did so. At about 3 a.m., the senior FBI official in charge of the investigation (Mr. FBI) wandered into Donahue’s office in search of toothpaste. Donahue, still there, fetched Mr. FBI the toothpaste, but then asked him if he was hungry. Turns out Mr. FBI was indeed hungry, whereupon Donahue escorted Mr. FBI to the hotel’s kitchen to make some eggs. Thus began a friendship that survives to this day. Soon, however, The Lenox was running out of food and supplies. The government guests needed to eat, but no delivery trucks could be allowed to serve the hotel. Donahue made some calls to friends at Boston’s restaurants and other hotels, and those friends responded by making daily hand-deliveries of necessities to the checkpoints outside the cordon, which then made their way to The Lenox. No bill was ever presented.
The Lenox’s Lion avenged its guests, its staff and its city by sheltering law enforcement and sending them forth to apprehend the perpetrators of the bombing.
Boston Strong.
Ken MacKenzie is partner of Dalton & Finegold, LLP and a member of the International Hospitality Consultants (ISHC).
Formerly MacKenzie was the co-leader of the hospitality and recreation group at Goulston & Storrs. MacKenzie represents institutional investors, private equity funds, investment managers, pension funds, university endowments, REITs, major lending institutions and developers in the acquisition, financing and disposition of all classes of real estate assets both nationally and internationally.
MacKenzie specializes in transactions involving hospitality assets and has significant experience in large-scale joint-ventured deals, often involving non-profit institutions such as universities or hospitals. He frequently assists clients in structuring their responses to RFPs for complex mixed-use projects.
MacKenzie received his A.B. from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude. MacKenzie is admitted to practice law in the state of Massachusetts.
