Westin bets on Gambold's experience, game plan

November 15, 2006 His second day on the job, and Barry Gambold was already missing in action.

"I got lost," said Gambold, dressed in a suit and a hard hat as he emerged from between the steel beams and concrete pillars of an unfinished wall.

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"I was trying to find my office."

Gambold is the newly named general manager of the Westin Beale Street Hotel that is slated to open in March. On Tuesday, he got his first tour inside the construction site.

Like a principal walking the halls of a new school, Gambold inspected every corner, envisioning opening day.

"The first week is going to be sold out," he said, "Somebody is going to walk in there and it's going to be a higher price point than the other hotels in the market, but it's going to be a higher level of service as well."

Managing the first Westin in the Mid-South, Gambold is banking that the brand's reputation for high-class service will make guests look beyond the $200-a-night average that is higher than some neighboring hotels.

Booking all 203 rooms before the ribbon cutting and training some 140 employees on the service standards of an upscale facility will be a feat, but industry expert Chuck Pinkowski said Gambold is the right man for the job.

Pinkowski, owner of the hospitality consulting firm Pinkowski & Co., said that an effective GM must be a "buck stopper," and Gambold has that kind of tenacity.

"The thing I like about working with Barry is that he knows how to define a situation, determine what needs to be done and then execute it," said Pinkowski.

David Jones, president and CEO of Senate Hospitality Group, the hotel's developer, concurred.

"Barry's experience and credentials, especially in the upscale segment of our industry, along with his great knowledge of the area, make him a perfect fit for the job," said Jones.

Gambold was chosen from a field of about six local and national candidates after several months of interviews.

He is president of the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association, treasurer of the Tennessee Hotel and Lodging Association and serves on the board of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau. He was general manager of Downtown's Wyndham Garden Hotel before he became Westin Beale's first employee.

The $40 million, nine-story hotel on Lt. George W. Lee Ave. is bordered by the Gibson Guitar factory on the south, Beale on the north and FedExForum on the east.

Senate COO and CFO Glenn Malone called the location the "Times Square of Memphis."

Adding even more attractions to the entertainment district, the hotel will feature a Starbucks, a swank bar open to the public and the Daily Grill restaurant, a chain comparable to Houston's.

As he stood inside the bare space during the tour, Malone painted a picture of the final product.

"This is going to be tricked out," he said excitedly. "Every room will have a high-definition, flat-screen TV. No hotel in Memphis has that."

Every room will also have walk-in showers, detached bathtubs and the Westin's custom-designed Heavenly Beds. One floor of suites has been supersized with larger beds and taller ceilings, doors and shower heads to accommodate NBA teams and their 6-foot-plus players.

Currently, teams stay at The Peabody, the Madison Hotel or the Downtown Marriott when in town to take on the Grizzlies, but the Westin hopes to snare some of those contracts.

And that's where Gambold's years of experience come into play.

"We need to get some sales people on staff. That's the number one goal," said the general manager, calculating a game plan as he walked through the site.

"I think its going to be a great challenge and a great opportunity to pick the team."