thomas magnuson
Adnan Malik Appointed as CEO of Magnuson Hotels
Magnuson Hotels | December 20, 2023
20 December 2023 – Magnuson Hotels announces the immediate appointment of Adnan Malik as its new Chief Executive Officer. Malik, previously serving as Chief Revenue Officer, brings a wealth of experience and innovative vision to lead the renowned hotel brand into its next phase of growth. Adnan Malik’s extensive background positions him as a dynamic leader ready to build upon Magnuson Hotels’ established legacy. His strategic prowess and commitment to excellence align seamlessly with the brand’s core values, ensuring a continued trajectory of success. Thomas Magnuson, after dedicating 21 years to steering Magnuson Hotels as CEO...
Hoteliers Can Regain Industry Control
Thomas Magnuson | December 5, 2022
By Thomas Magnuson Before 2001, the hotel industry was stable. Owners dealt with seasonality and some occasional minor economic swings, but they could always count on a rebound. Whether operating as a branded or independent hotel, business was built like a layer cake. First, marketing began close to home by identifying all non-leisure business segments within a 50-mile radius of the hotel, such as corporations, factories, industries, energy, construction, transportation, medical, government and educational entities. Direct contact and an offer of direct rates built a base of approximately 50% of the property’s occupancy, coverin...
Until the PIPs Squeak
Thomas Magnuson | March 3, 2022
By Thomas Magnuson We can trace brand standards and the standardisation of hotel rooms back to the 1950s upon the introduction of the interstate freeway system across the US. It was post World War Two and President Dwight Eisenhower decided to completely network the US to create jobs and spur commerce. With this system came an increase in travel and the impetus for the birth of standardisations and chains. At the same time, Kemmons Wilson (the founder of Holiday Inn) was visiting Florida on a road trip with his family. After staying at several motels of uneven quality, Kemmons realized that somebody needed to create a way for travellers...
Heart of a Lion: The Harsh Reality of Entrepreneurship
Magnuson Hotels | February 17, 2021
By Thomas Magnuson There are a billion different reasons which drive people to become entrepreneurs. Some people are driven by a desire to help people and some people just want to go for money. I don’t think Jeff Bezos thinks about money at all and I don’t think Bill Gates did either. I truly think Jeff Bezos was consumed with efficiency and providing more things at a lower cost. I think Bill Gates’ dream was putting a computer on every desktop in the world and imagining the increased standard of living if everyone could have open access to education. Whatever the reason, the reality is the same for everyone, whether it’s rom...
Small Company: Big Technology. Compete Against the Big Boys From Your Garage
Thomas Magnuson | February 11, 2021
By Thomas Magnuson Pepperdine Graziago Professor John Mooney, Academic Director, Executive Doctorate of Business Administration and Associate Professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in conversation with Thomas Magnuson (MBA '89) at January 2021's "Graziadio Day Around the World: Europe." Freely-available technology means anybody can start a global company. Despite today's conditions, there's never been a better time for small businesses to go big. Melissa and I started out of our house with two old Mac computers and 12 small motel affiliates as our first customers. Around 2000, right at the early days of the Internet, we ...
M&R Hotel Management and Magnuson Hotels Rebrand 285-Room New Jersey Conference Center
M&R Hotel Management | July 29, 2020
M&R Hotel Management, a top US management company with operations across 5 states, has selected Magnuson Hotels, the fast-growing franchise alternative, to rebrand its 285 room Magnuson Grand & Conference Center Somerset-Bridgewater located in New Jersey. Formerly affiliated with Fairbridge Inns, the Magnuson Grand & Conference Center Somerset-Bridgewater is a full-service hotel featuring 8,000 sq. feet of meeting/banquet space for up to 300 guests. The hotel is located close to Rutgers University, corporate offices of Somerset, Bridgewater, New Brunswick, NJ Transit in New Brunswick, an hour from New York City. Through th...
How to CEO a Hotel Chain
Thomas Magnuson | September 9, 2016
By Thomas Magnuson, Co-Founder & CEO Magnuson Hotels Now that you know how to build your own hotel chain, let's talk about how to run it right. It is critical to understand that getting there and staying there are two vastly different things. You've developed a good product with clear brand positioning, and as CEO, you now need to develop and articulate the growth strategy. According to my good friend and sales consigliere Frank Cespedes of Harvard Business School, in his landmark book "Aligning Strategy and Sales," it goes like this: "Any coherent strategy statement should specify three components; objectives...
The Dark Side of Hotel Brand PIPs
Thomas Magnuson | August 25, 2016
By Thomas Magnuson, Co-Founder & CEO Magnuson Hotels It is claimed that PIPs (property improvement plans) exist to ensure all franchisees are brand compliant and to drive customer satisfaction. However, it appears big brands such as Choice, Holiday Inn, Wyndham and BEST WESTERN, often use them to push hoteliers out of a market to benefit corporate expansion strategies. So are PIPs really in the best interests of franchisees? Refreshing a Brand Brand refreshes, defined by Property Improvement Plans (PIPs), are initiatives that many major chains have undertaken in recent years and by default, are an essential part of branded hotel own...
