Morgan's at the desert - La Quinta Resort and Club
Great luxury real estate personal and
company branding is all about telling a great story that engages your
target market, establishing trust by building credibility and sparks
word-of-mouth advertising. High net worth consumers are interested in
knowing about your history, your roots; they want to know about your
provenance. Here is a story within a story, within a story about
personal and company branding that exemplifies the added value of
provenance.
Recently, we had the privilege of
staying at one of the most storied California hotels, La Quinta Resort
& Club, the longest running resort in the Palm Springs area. It
originally opened in 1926 as a quiet hideaway for the Hollywood elite –
including film legends Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, Frank Capra and
Clark Gable; and today is a host to a number of other celebrities.
During our stay many of the world’s top tennis celebrities were there
for the ATP Tournament, which took place in the adjacent town of Indian
Wells.
When we booked our stay we had the
choice between La Quinta Resort & Club and the Hyatt Indian Wells
Resort & Spa. Both have golf courses, a spa, and a signature
restaurant. Both are in the same price range. The Hyatt, a multi-story
building with a giant pool, has a very contemporary, austere design. In
our opinion, it lacks charm, warmth and character. La Quinta Resort is
a legendary getaway with unattached Mediterranean style haciendas (no
more than two stories). It has 41 individual smaller pools, each with
hot pools with water jets, this, in addition to a large pool adjacent to
the spa and tennis stadium.
Although, La Quinta Resort & Club
retains its own brand identity, it is one of the Waldorf Astoria Hotels
and Resorts, now a sub-brand of Hilton Hotels. The original
Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York was the first hotel to offer room
service, which changed the industry completely. It was also influential
in advancing the status of women, who were admitted singly without
escorts. Can you get the sense of La Quinta’s provenance and the added
value that a heritage brand can provide?
People can have provenance, too. And,
that is one reason why personal branding is so important. As a luxury
real estate marketing professional, you must clearly let your target
market know what you stand for so they can quickly assess if you are a
match to their personal values.
During our stay, we dined at the
signature restaurants of both La Quinta Resort and Club (Morgan’s in the
desert) and at the Hyatt Resort and Spa (Lantana). The food at both
restaurants was excellent. But, Morgan’s, (magnificently remodeled to
reflect its history), offered a remarkable dining experience with
exceptional service and a menu that was masterminded by a celebrity
chef.
Chef Jimmy Schmidt
Chef Jimmy Schmidt is a one-man-brand who has his own provenance.
In 1977 he became executive chef and executive general manager of the
London Chop House in Detroit, where he became one of the first chefs to
win Cook’s magazine’s 50 Leaders in American Food and Wine
Awards (which was later renamed the James Beard Awards). He then moved
to Denver in 1985 to open his first Rattlesnake Club, for which he was
nominated for the James Beard “Best Chef Southwest” and “Best New
Restaurant” Awards.
Chef
Schmidt is one of the pioneers of “Farm-to-Table” dining. He sources the
best local products to create deliciously simple, rustic and healthful
dishes at Morgan’s. We enjoyed his Pistachio Crusted Rack of Colorado
Lamb immensely.
The
history, the physical setting, the architecture, the celebrity chef, the
service and the ambiance all contribute to the personal and company
branding stories of La Quinta Resort & Club. Watch for Part 7 of
this article series where we showcase two market-leading luxury real
estate professionals in Santa Barbara who have established their unique
provenance as part of their personal brand story.
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