Editorial Board   Guest Author

Mr. Rudnitsky

Steven Rudnitsky

President & Chief Executive Officer, Miraval Group Denver

Steven Rudnitsky has been associated for more than 36 years with iconic consumer packaged-goods companies, including Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Pillsbury, Kraft Foods and Nabisco as well as leading hospitality companies, including Cendant Corporation, Wyndham Worldwide, Dolce Hotels & Resorts and now, Miraval Group. As president & chief executive officer of Denver-based Miraval Group, he leads expansion of the company's luxury resort, spa and wellness portfolio globally. He also oversees ESPA International Ltd., a United Kingdom-based company that focuses on upscale spas and skin-care products. Both are affiliated with KSL Capital Partners LLC. Prior to Miraval Group, Mr. Rudnitsky was president & chief executive officer of Dolce Hotels & Resorts. From 2008 to 2015, he built the company into a premier branded lifestyle and meetings-focused manager of hotels, resorts and corporate conference centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. During late 2014 and early 2015, Mr. Rudnitsky initiated, negotiated and consummated Dolce's sale to Wyndham Worldwide of Parsippany, New Jersey, delivering approximately a two times return to Dolce's shareholders. Before joining Dolce, Mr. Rudnitsky served the Hotel Group Wyndham Worldwide's as president & chief executive officer. Cendant Corporation, predecessor of Wyndham Worldwide, recruited him in 2002 to improve the performance of its 12 hotel brands and expand its portfolio following the 2001 hospitality industry downturn. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rudnitsky was appointed president of Nabisco Food Service Company in 1999 and subsequently was named president of Kraft Foodservice and executive vice president of Kraft Foods Inc., Glenview, Illinois, following its acquisition of Nabisco. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Rudnitsky was vice president and general manager, food service, for Pillsbury Bakery & Food Service in Minneapolis. From 1984 to 1996, he held positions of increasing responsibility at PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, New York. Mr. Rudnitsky began his career in 1980 with McNeil Consumer Products, a Johnson & Johnson Company, on Long Island, New York. Mr. Rudnitsky earned a bachelor of business administration degree at Temple University, Philadelphia, in 1980 and a master of business administration degree in marketing at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey, in 1985. He received the Stephen W. Brener Lodging Hospitality Silver Plate Award at the 29th Annual New York University Hospitality Industry Investment Conference in 2007.

Please visit http://www.miravalresorts.com for more information.

Mr. Rudnitsky can be contacted at 720-428-6557 or srudnitsky@miravalresorts.com

Coming up in October 2020...

Revenue Management: Maximizing Profit

Hotel Revenue Management continues to evolve at a blistering pace. Driven by technological innovation and new distribution channels, there are some dynamic opportunities for expansion in this fast-growing field. The technology is primarily designed to help revenue managers further refine their operations and pricing models to maximize hotel profit. For example, hotels can't be all things to all people, so a key strategy is to precisely identify their target audience. By employing geo-targeting techniques and analyzing behavior such as previous bookings, on-property purchases and online shopping practices, there is an increased capability to define guest demographics. By segmenting customers in more specific ways, hotels are able to create more personalized experiences which, in turn, allow managers to optimize their room rates. It is also an effective way to fulfill the unique needs and preferences of the individual. Another methodology is to consistently monitor the competition's pricing strategies. There are software tools that analyze a competitor's current rates, and then allow a hotel to make its own pricing adjustments. It is also a useful means to conduct forecasting models. Other technologies that are being integrated into a revenue manager's toolkit include Artificial Intelligence in the form of automated algorithms, and Voice Recognition (VR) for data inquiries, rate changes, and booking behavior. Predictive and analytic software programs are also being leveraged to provide more forward-looking data, instead of the usual reliance on historical performance. These metrics allow managers to be more proactive - rather than reactive - with their revenue strategy. The October issue of the Hotel Business Review will examine these developments and report on how some leading hotels are executing their revenue management strategies.


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