February 03, 2016

043 | How to Find, Train and Keep Good People with Rick Takach

LODGING LEADERS

Rick Takach, Jr. is President and CEO of Vesta Hospitality – a fully integrated hotel development and hospitality management company based in Vancouver, Washington. In less than 20 years, Vesta has grown their portfolio to 13 properties under management in 8 states.

Last year, Hotel Business ranked Vesta Hospitality #78 in their Top 100 Management Companies of 2014 report.

In 1996, Takach co-founded the company with a vision of creating unique hotels that offer the finest in quality and service. With more than 30 years of experience in the hotel industry, he has earned a reputation for attracting and retaining talented hospitality industry professionals who in turn create award-winning hotels with outstanding customer satisfaction.

Before forming his own hotel management group, Takach served as regional manager for the Marriott Corporation in Bethesda, Maryland, and spent seven years as executive vice president of Dimension Development Company of Natchitoches, Louisiana. He has served on Hilton Hotels’ Advisory Council and as past-Chairman of the IAHI, the owner’s association for InterContinental Hotels Group. Takach is currently the Chairman of the IAHI – Asia Pacific Region. Takach also serves on the Board of Directors as a Management Company Representative for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).

Takach graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in business administration and has since gained first-hand experience in every aspect of hotel operations, management and development.

Takach is an active community leader generously giving his time as an active member to the Vancouver Rotary Club and the Vancouver Historic Trust. Takach also serves on the board and is the Chairman for Clark College Foundation in Vancouver, Washington.

In This Episode, Rick Talks About:

The importance of a good team, and how that applies to our industry.
How to find good people, and he reveals strategies Vesta uses to properly orient and train them.
Evaluating your staff, and how they use a Employee Scorecard they developed to fairly, and thoroughly, measure their performance.
Retaining your staff, and he shares some amazing and innovative strategies Vesta uses to honor their team and incentivize them.