Editors’ Note

David Chase has worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years, beginning his career at The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. After relocating to the east coast and working in Boston, he settled in New York to open the first W Hotel in New York City. Since then, Chase has held management positions at prestigious hotels such as the St. Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, as General Manager of Trump SoHo, and, most recently, as the General Manager of The New York Palace.

Property Brief

Conveniently located on 52nd Street between Madison and 5th Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, Omni Berkshire Place (omnihotels.com) is near Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall. Guestrooms and suites were designed with the feel of an Upper East Side residential townhome, while keeping them spacious and larger than most Manhattan accommodations. The property boasts 398 luxury guest rooms including 45 suites; a 17th floor sundeck overlooking midtown Manhattan; 24-hour in-room dining; state-of-the-art fitness center; 7,000 square feet of function space; and a 24-hour business center.

What excited you about leading Omni Berkshire Place and has it been what you expected?

It’s a historic property, a real pillar in the heart of Midtown, and at this location – 52nd between Madison and Fifth – we are literally in the greatest part of the city; just steps from Rockefeller Center and a few blocks from Central Park and Park Avenue offices.

This hotel is equally important to the leisure guest because of the Fifth Avenue location as it is to the financial community on Park Avenue because of customers like JP Morgan and BlackRock.

Is there strong recognition of the type and level of service that Omni offers?

I have known of this hotel for many years but our 60-hotel group, overwhelmingly located in North America, is a great, solid luxury chain that has some of the most wonderful hotels in some of the most important gateway cities in the country such as Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

We are so well established with such incredible hotels that even I was not completely versed in all we had to offer. Once I joined the group, I realized the significance of our loyalty program called the Select Guest program, and the loyalty of the customers of the Omni brand. This is an incredible benefit to this hotel that I didn’t realize was going to be part of the package.

Are you happy with the condition of the property and are there changes on the horizon?

The property is in fantastic shape. We had a room renovation a few years ago, and the rooms remain in exceptional condition.

We do have a conversion of the restaurant planned in 2016. It will be a several-million-dollar boost to the lobby and restaurant area. We believe this will add a lot of life to the intimate lobby of the hotel.

Are you concerned that the New York market can sustain all of the new supply and is it challenging to grow in this environment?

The supply of these past several years has been a challenge for all who operate in the city.

The strength of the Omni brand, driving my loyal guests through the Omni Select Guest Program, is something that keeps our head above water.

The location of this hotel and consistent execution of service delivery by its tenured team helps us when it comes to delivery.

This hotel embraces and will continue to deliver important amenities like 24-hour room service and a three-meal restaurant, and we’re going to continue with luxury amenities. Much of the growth in the market has come from very limited service hotels that have let go of the art of travel and providing true hospitality to people.

We have continued to offer the full-city hotel experience and that has allowed us to continue to get more than our share of the room occupancy.