An example of service.

• Author: Oswald, Lori Jo
• Position: Regal Alaskan Hotel

In an overglutted hotel market, why is Anchorage's Regal Alaskan Hotel so successful? The hotel grossed over $50 million in 1998. First it is the location. Second, the emphasis on personal service to hotel guests. And third is the realization that doing business in Alaska requires a different approach than in other states.

The Regal is situated at the end of Lake Spenard, planted in what used to be the outskirts of Anchorage but now is the connection point between the airport and downtown.

General Manager Max Lowe, who opened the hotel 13 years ago, found doing business in Alaska much different than in other states. Previously, he worked in hotels in a number of other locations, from Princeton, New Jersey, to Billings, Montana. But doing business in Alaska, he says, is unique.

"We've always tried to understand the uniqueness of our marketplace in spite of how things might have worked successfully in other locations," Lowe says. When Lowe arrived in 1985, a few months before the hotel opened in June 1986, he says he learned very quickly that Alaska "really and truly is different from any place else, and we try to keep that in mind when we are making decisions."

How is Alaska different? Lowe says the difference is in the people. "It is amazing that in Alaska you can still do business on a handshake. Unfortunately, there aren't many places in the world where you can do that anymore. Alaskans live by their word in many cases."

Selecting the Right Staff

One place this knowledge is essential is with the Regal's sales staff.

"What we have to keep in mind more than anything when doing business," says Lowe, "is that we don't want to overcommercialize ourselves in the marketplace. We need to have a more laid-back approach. We are not 'east coast aggressive.' Our sales people are not as pushy or overbearing as you can or need to be in other places."

The Regal was recently recognized by Lodging Hospitality Magazine as the seventh highest performing airport or highway hotel in the U.S.; this is the eighth year that the hotel has been recognized in the top 10 in the nation. The hotel has the highest percentage of commercial and business travelers in Alaska. Another key to the hotel's success, according to Bill Remmer, director of sales and marketing, is Regal's attitude toward its employees.

"The environment of the hotel is that everybody is on a first-name basis, whether you're talking to a manager or anyone else. We put a lot of emphasis on hiring the...