Host Dr. Flowers, Co-Host Robin French and VIP Guest Tina Milanesi from the Houstonian Resort and Spa discuss the incredible partnership between the J. Flowers Health Institute and the Houstonian Resort. Tina shares details of the amazing culture of the Houstonian and how the positivity in the workplace at the Houstonian is so contagious!
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UTHC Houstonian
Welcome to Understanding the Human Condition with your host, Dr. James Flowers. Welcome, Tina.
Thank you. I’m excited to be here.
For those who don’t know her, Tina is our liaison between the J. Flowers Health Institute and the Houstonian Resort and Spa. I thought I’d read a little bio about you, and then we’ll get into some good conversation. Tina is a familiar and friendly face who has been in the hospitality industry for over 37 years. Her primary focus over the years has been corporate business travel and luxury leisure sales for national and international markets.
Tina has called the Houstonian home for eighteen years. If you ask Tina what her favorite thing about working in the industry is, it will always be building client relationships all over the world that have turned into deep friendships. Tina’s passions include yoga, cheering on UH and Penn State, and life at home with her husband, John, and children, Dante and Sydney. Welcome.
Very cool.
Thank you for joining us.
What got you into the hospitality industry 37 years ago?
Ever since I was little, I just knew I always wanted to work in this industry. I just was fascinated with hotels, and whenever we would travel, I would always venture out and want to take a tour, and so I just knew.
Have you read the book? What is it? Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups?
Yeah, at the Plaza. To be young and do that would be cool.
It’s cute.
Wouldn’t that be cool?
Houstonian Resort
We have this amazing partnership with the Houstonian. Why don’t you tell the audience about the Houstonian so they understand why we have such a great partnership with them?
The Houstonian is very unique in Houston and in the world in that we are a luxury hotel, but we’re on 27 acres. We’re more of an inner-city resort. On those 27 acres, we have the hotel itself, as well as a private health club, the Houstonian Health Club, and then we have Trellis, the spa. We have the Manor House, which is a place for special events. On those 27 acres, it’s just magical. Once you drive up past the guard house, the relief of stress is there. We are an independent hotel, part of Preferred Hotels and Resorts, but with that independency, we get to do more of what we feel is perfect for our special niche here in Houston.
It does. When you turn left and just drive into the Houstonian, you just take a deep breath and relax. Our patients, we do have an amazing relationship. Many of our folks will stay at the Houstonian while they’re undergoing testing in the Texas Medical Center and while they’re here working on a few things from anywhere around the world. We always just get amazing reviews and raves about the Houstonian. You guys treat not only our guests, but us as well, really well. It’s a treasure. It’s a gem in the middle of the city.
It is. They refer to it as a refuge, a wonderful refuge at the end of the day. There’s really no reason to leave there.
As I mentioned, the grounds are beautiful. You can access the Health Club if you feel like working out, or you can just take a walk. There’s a trail that’s a mile in diameter. It’s really cool because it’s made out of recyclable airplane tires. It’s really good for your joints. We have amazing restaurants. We have Tribute, which specializes in Tex-Lex cuisine. We have Arbor Grill, which is our outdoor restaurant located between the pools. We have, at the club, Center Court as well.
It’s amazing, too.
There are three pools.
Three outdoor pools that are climate controlled. If it’s super-hot in Houston, the water is nice and cold. If it’s cold outside, the water is nice and warm.
That’s right.
Super family friendly.
There’s the resort pool, which has a big slide, and all the kids like that. We have the sports pool, which the swimmer fanatics enjoy, and then we have the garden pool, which is adults only.
You have the Arbor Grill, which is open on the weekends, and I think, is it Memorial Day? It opens throughout the summer.
Exactly. Every day. Throughout the summer.
I can’t wait because the other day I went out there, I was working out in the morning. About 11:30, I was like, I’m going to go grab lunch. I was like, it’s closed. I can’t wait till it opens.
I know, because it’s more healthier fare and a little bit more casual service. We’ve got the big fire pit, and it’s just a nice little abstract.
Full Menu
The other day, this cold front blew in. I was swimming in the sports pool and finished. I thought, let me go over and grab something. The fireplace was on, and it was so nice sitting outside by the fireplace. It was cold, so I loved it. Speaking of food, it’s been COVID, and we’ll talk about that in the hotel industry as a whole, or hospitality industry. I eat at the Houstonian multiple times a week because I feel like home.
You’ll be there for lunch tomorrow.
When are we going back to more full menus?
Our menu changes regularly. I would think maybe another couple months or so. We want to make sure at the hotel that everybody feels comfortable. We take all precautions to make sure that everything is safe. I think even though some places may be further along, we just want to make sure that the guests are comfortable, and safety is the number one issue. But I’m sure a fuller menu will be coming back soon because I know the regulars, they keep watching for it.
Most hotels resorted to offering limited menus due to pandemic restrictions to make everyone feel comfortable and ensure everything is safe.
Personalized Services
I know. I’ll even sit at a table, the other Friday night, I was having dinner, and the table next to me is there all the time. They’re like, when are they going to expand the menu again? I’m like, I don’t know. The food on there is incredible anyway. Whatever you order is amazing, but that’ll be fantastic. What has it been like for, just like every other hospitality person in the world, has gone through trauma over the last year?
We’re very fortunate. With the Houstonian, we reinvented some things. That, again, is nice about being independent because we were able to think, what do we need to do to change with how everything is changing? Automatically, as far as even banquet staff, it was like, there aren’t going to be any more meetings for a while. “How can we keep the banquet staff?” It was very important to our executive team to keep them employed. The management staff created these special fun events. One was really well received, and it was the movie night. It was a formal movie night in the grand ballroom. It was a four-course meal with wine pairings that were themed with the movie.
While you’re being served during the movie, the service was synchronized service, which was just as entertaining as the movie was. That was great because it brought the banquet staff, it gave them a purpose. Even though there may not be private events, this is something that’s happening. That, I thought, was really good for the morale of the staff as well. We shifted from business, as far as overnight guests, from the business traveler or group traveler to leisure traveler. Our weekends, which were normally a little bit slower, are now very busy.
Really picked up.
They have, and we’re excited about that. A wedding on the wedding side, that didn’t slow down much. The number of guests to a wedding, that changed, but because we have so much space and we have so much outdoor space, many of the guests went ahead with their events. They just scaled it down by 50% or whatever the mandate was. We changed, but we didn’t miss a beat at the same time.
You did not miss a beat because we’re there practically every day. It was amazing just watching the flow and how you guys handled it. You handled it with grace, and what was not probably easy seemed like with ease. Our guests never noticed anything different at all. They really have just raved. It was either Monday or Tuesday of this week, I was leaving the club. Under the oak tree, there was a very intimate small group of people with a grill, maybe the smoker, and one table of six chairs. I was like, I need to host a little barbecue.
Under the tree?
You do that?
Definitely. The tree is a 100-year-old oak tree, and it’s all lit up at night. There are seven miles of light on the tree. I think that the oak tree is one of my favorite entities because it’s so unique. When you drive up at night, and you’re checking into the hotel, you see this beautiful tree. It’s like, what a Texas welcome. We do events under there. We can do different specials, be it a reception, or just a small dinner, or even some proposals under the tree and weddings as well.
The other thing that you guys do really well for your guests is you really go out of your way to meet whatever need it is. As an example, at the J. Flowers Health Institute, we had a husband and wife fly in from Israel, from Jerusalem. They’re Orthodox Jewish. They gave me a list of 45 items that we needed to meet prior to coming in, and so some of them were at the hotel. This is what we need. This is what we don’t need. Robin met with you, I believe, and said, “These are the things we need for this room. This family is Orthodox Jewish, can you do this?” Without hesitation, you guys pulled it off.
Terms of Endearment
They were here for a little over two weeks. As she was leaving, or they were leaving, I said, “Is there anything we missed? How was the stay at the hotel?” She said, “Didn’t skip a beat. Everything at the hotel was just as we asked for.” That was really good. It was amazing for us because one little thing can just throw the whole experience off. Thank you for always doing that. Speaking of movies, Terms of Endearment. Talk to us about that.
The Manor House, which is located on property, when the hotel first opened, that house was one of the original homes in that neighborhood. At the Houstonian, you could stay at the hotel, or you could stay at the house. When the movie Terms of Endearment was being filmed, Jack Nicholson stayed at the Manor House. One of the reasons why he stayed at the Manor House is because Shirley MacLaine, who’s also in Terms of Endearment, was staying at the hotel. It gave him some separation from filming the movie.
Shirley MacLaine stayed at the hotel, which is one of my favorite stories because we have a few rooms where the windows do open. She had to have one of those rooms because, at night, when she would go to sleep, her spirit would travel throughout and needed to be able to come back to the room. It had to have a window that was open.
There you go. I love it.
Interesting.
Whenever we tour the guest rooms, and you’ll see one with the window open, then we usually tell people, “This was Shirley MacLaine’s room.”
I’ve never seen that. Notice that room. You’ll have to show it to me sometime. That’s fun because I, too, love a window that opens.
There’s only a couple of them.
Only a couple.
I just did a staycation. I don’t even know if you know that. I checked in on a Friday and stayed Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and took the kids out to the pool and just had an absolute blast for the weekend.
Did you?
Yeah, and everybody just kept coming out and checking on us. It was a great weekend but went out of their way.
That’s awesome.
The kiddos, 13 and 14, went and did a chef pastry tour.
Did they enjoy it?
Yeah. They loved it. They got to make cookies and decorate cookies.
Good. The nature hike too?
Yeah.
Good. Awesome.
You set it all up.
I didn’t know if they were going to follow through. Kids, they might be like, “I want to do that,” but I’m glad they did it.
It was a lot of fun.
Awesome.
Very cool.
They do picnics there too. If you give them a 24-hour notice, they’ll pack a picnic basket. You can take it on the grounds at the meadow, as they call it. That’s fun.
That’s so cool.
G7 Treaty
I know I have a little note here to ask you about. I’m not sure what this is. Robin says, weren’t there a few treaties signed at the Manor House?
Yes, so the Manor House is also home for George H. Bush. When he was vice president of the United States and head of the CIA, that is where he and Barbara lived. That again was when you could stay at the house and not necessarily stay at the hotel. When he became president of the United States, he would stay at the presidential suite at the hotel. When he was president, the economic summit was here in Houston. At that time, then the, I believe it was the G7, treaty was signed at the Manor House. That was with Margaret Thatcher.
I did not know that. You weren’t there?
No, I wasn’t there. Supposedly it was a really historic moment for Houston and for the Manor House.
I remember when it was here, and it was historic for all of us in Houston, but especially for the Houstonian. That’s amazing.
Workplace Culture
Let’s talk about the culture of the Houstonian employees because I office there now. I interact with them daily, and there’s just something special about all of them. There’s just a really positive attitude. Everybody loves working there. Really. They rarely ever leave, so what’s the secret?
When you say you office there, you office there on behalf of J. Flowers Health Institute.
I do.
Not for the Houstonian.
I office there for J. Flowers.
That’s okay. You can be part of it.
Everybody listening probably knows that we have outgrown our space once again. We’re a size 10 foot in a size 7 shoe at J. Flowers. I office at the Houstonian, which works out well so that I can tour the clients and be there for them.
We’re happy to have you there. Nice to see you.
Just added value, hopefully, but again, I see you guys walking around, and everybody just loves working there. What’s the secret sauce?
I think it’s just the ownership and the management team really believe that we’re all passionately committed to serving others. It’s a quote that even when you walk into the employee’s entrance, you see it back by the loading dock where we walk in. I feel they really try to make sure that everybody has a balanced life. A lot of hotels, you’ll come in, and you have to do so many things, and you’re always putting out fires and stuff, but at the Houstonian, they hire people who are good at what they do, and that’s what you do.
A hotel with a good workplace culture will hire you based on your expertise and will not make you do multiple things outside of your actual responsibilities.
You don’t necessarily get caught up in having to do multiple things. I think it pays off because people are happy, and it is very positive. Everybody’s very positive, and I think everybody enjoys working there. Even at the club, the trainers have been there for a very long time. At the spa, the hairstylist or the masseuse, they’ve all been there a long time. Those are industries where there’s a lot of turnover as well.
Even in the resident locker room, the gentlemen that walk through and help pick things up have been there for years. I always say hello to them and sit and talk to them for a few minutes. I always say, “How do you like working here?” I’ve said that in the hotel, and I’ve said it in the restaurant because they all know me at this point. Everyone just goes overboard about how amazing the Houstonian is and what the culture is like, and how it is to work there, and how you guys treated them during this last year, which was amazing. Not one person has ever said anything negative.
I think it’s really true. You feel when you work there, you are working somewhere special, especially in the hospitality industry. You do feel people care about you. I think that, in turn, creates that energy where you want to make sure that, like J. Flowers Health, we care about you because you help us. Especially during this time period, we were very appreciative that you all were so busy and helped us.
Barbecue Cook-Off
I grew up in rural South Texas and often was out on the ranch and things like that on weekends, and you guys just had a big barbecue. It was a big outdoor barbecue, and I came to that. The Houstonian is this retreat in the middle of a city where you would look up and say, “Where am I?” Yet I also love the Texas feeling about the Houstonian and the barbecues. Talk a little bit about the barbecue and events that you guys do.
That was the first one that we did that you and Robin got to come to, and it was a barbecue cook-off. We had Levi Good of Good Company be the official judge, and there were professional barbecue teams as well as amateur teams. I did not realize this, and I’m a native Texan, but when you cook barbecue, it’s like an all-day, all-night thing. You start at night, and you smoke and get the meat cooking. It was funny because we also had a wedding the day before, and the evening manager was saying that after the wedding, the bride and the groom and, I think, the parents of the bride all went and joined in with the barbecue chefs because they were up cooking and smoking and stuff like that.
They enjoyed some cocktails with them and stuff. With the barbecue at the Manor House, we have a lot of those events outside on the lawn of the Manor House, and it gives you this elegant Texas feel. You feel at home, but yet it reminds you of good memories maybe that you experienced. But then it’s a little bit more luxurious and pampered.
Glamping?
Yes, and one of the first ones they did was during the Super Bowl. We had so many VIP guests staying with us, and so our general manager had this great idea to do tailgating in the parking area of the Manor House. They brought out an old Ford pickup truck, and they did barbecuing from the back of the truck and all the stuff, so it’s very authentic Texas.
Your next event, you’ve got that big outdoor hunting something or other coming up.
That will be in the ballroom, and it will be for all hunting enthusiasts. It’s like a dream come true, so they’re having select vendors that cater to these special outdoor hunting events, fishing, and skeet shooting and stuff. There’s an artist that does those hunting paintings, and so they’ll be there. The guests get an opportunity to mingle with them, and then the chef has prepared this amazing menu for that event.
Is that sold out yet?
No, not yet.
We’ve got to talk about that.
We do. We missed the crawfish boil though. How was the crawfish boil?
That was Sunday, a couple days ago, and that did very well. They had over 120 people, and I don’t know how many pounds of crawfish they went through, but they said it was really good. Perfect weather, they had great weather for that. Then on May 5th will be Cinco de Mayo, and they’re doing an event there and outside on the Manor House as well.
Nice.
Very cool.
Spa Treatment
The spa, I got to use my J. Flowers gift certificate from Christmas a couple weeks ago, and it was, that place is just a little slice of heaven. Seriously, I walked in, there was all white, and there was water dripping, and I swear there were angels singing. It was crazy, but it was really pretty. Tell us about the spa.
We just finished a renovation to Trellis in February, and it is the largest spa in Texas. It’s located on our 27 acres, but it is the best spa, definitely one of the best spas in the country. One of the unique features about Trellis is you can come in and have one treatment, be it a massage or facial or whatever, and you can be there all day. There are water treatments that are there for you to utilize, take advantage of the saunas. There’s a flotation pool, so they recommend you come early for your treatment so you can take advantage of these water features. Then you’re completely relaxed, so when you go into your treatment, it’s much easier for them to do the work they need to do.
After your treatment, you can order lunch or whatever you want. Then you can go into my favorite place, the tranquility room. It’s super cold, and it has overstuffed lounge chairs or chaises, and then there’s blankets for you, a fireplace, and you can just take a nap there. For people who normally go to a spa, it’s definitely one of the better spas. For people who’ve not gone to a spa, if it’s their first time, they may be a little nervous at the beginning about what to expect, but then they don’t want to leave. They easily adapt.
I was in Mexico City for Easter weekend, and we were having Easter brunch at the Four Seasons. The table next to us turned around and said, “Where are you from?” and I said, “Houston.” We were with a group of people, and they were a huge family, a large table, and said, “Houston.” The woman, the grand dame of the table, said, “When is the Trellis Spa reopening?” having no idea that I knew or not what the Houstonian was or the spa. I said, “It just opened,” and she said, “We’re coming to Houston.” You guys have a large contingent of guests that are typically Mexican nationals. They come up and visit the Houstonian for the weekend, probably shopping.
They do go to Trellis, and then we also have Celaya, which is our second spa in River Oaks. When Trellis had to close down for the renovation, they thought, “We have too many people that come regularly, they are not going to understand this.” We purchased a space to create a second spa, and now you have a choice of either one.
I love that. How are you guys handling the reservations for the cabanas at the spa? Because I imagine that’s like the biggest fight in town.
I don’t know, stay on your lane.
They are very popular. A nice thing is if you stay at the hotel, you get a discount rate if you just want to do a day spa. You can do a day pass, and normally that’s open to anybody. It’s $125 a day, but if you’re a guest at the hotel, there’s a discounted rate of $100. You can reserve your cabana.
That’s great.
Good to know.
When you reserve a space out at the cabana, it’s not necessarily that you’re doing services out there. You’re just going out to the cabana.
To the different pools that are out there.
Amazing. That’s great.
Club
Let’s talk about the club because you and Michael are members. You’ve been lifelong members.
We’ve only been members for two years.
I thought you’re long-time members, that you’ve been going there for twenty years. Talk about the club because that’s a pretty special place too. There are so many activities there.
The club is rated as one of the top health clubs in the country, and it is really unique, a 175,000 square foot building.
It is just huge.
It is big. I believe there’s something over 26 classes available a day, and the staff there is the best. The trainers, many of them train professional athletes, and they’ve been there for a very long time, and they have quite a following. The Pilates studio, they have the top equipment available. The yoga studio, it’s the best teachers in the city who teach there. Upstairs, where all the workout machines are and the track upstairs, the individual machines have their own TV so you don’t have to watch whatever’s on. You have control of your own remote, so it’s very easy to work out there.
It’s undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation, which is amazing and is looking fantastic, always does. They did an amazing job throughout the last year and the difficulty of going to a gym and being in public. I am so proud that the Houstonian stood behind the mask, whether you call it a mandate or whatever, but wearing masks. When you drive into the Houstonian, there’s a huge sign that says mask up everyone, which I love, and it’s in several different locations. It’s amazing because we have a lot of guests from California that fly in, who stay at the Houstonian, and Californians are freaked out that Texas is as open. Every single guest has said, “That hotel is amazing.” They’re like, “Wear your mask.”
Forbes Certification
You also just won an award for being one of the cleanest. Talk about that award. It was some certification that you have.
It’s a Forbes certification, and you have to explain to them all the things that you’re doing that are in place to help keep everything safe and sanitized, and we have so many things in place. Be it, at the very beginning, the temperature control, hand sanitizations throughout, and so Forbes did give us that certification.
That’s great.
That’s huge.
Walking Trail
That’s fantastic. I’m a former or retired marathon runner, and I’ve run 28 marathons in my life, and my left knee says, “Don’t go to Memorial Park and run anymore, go to the walking trail at the Houstonian.” I do walk that trail a lot. Talk about that trail and how beautiful it is.
The trail is one of my favorites too. It is right under a mile in diameter, and it goes around all the property. It’s padded very thickly with the recyclable airplane tires, so it’s really good for your joints, and it just blends in though with the nature. When you’re on there, you may see a little rabbit or tons of squirrels or whatever, and it brings you close to the bayou, so you get a little bit of a nature hike as well. The trail is very good for your joints.
It is. I can feel just the cushion of it as I gently walk. My routine is the fitness center, the swim lanes, and walking on the trail. No more running.
I’m waiting for bikes. I hope they can get some bikes there. I think that would be wonderful.
It is, we really need them. I think so.
They’ve got them all over the city, those red bikes, and you can rent them. Have you ever done that? Rented bikes?
Yeah, sure. I was going to say not the Houstonian. I don’t know how difficult that would be at the Houstonian because of just the space.
There’s a bike barn at Memorial Park, and so we can always take you there to get a bike, and you can go around Memorial Park, come back to the hotel if you wanted to, and go back.
Which brings us to a complimentary car service, but it will take you up to three miles if you’re staying at the Houstonian.
It’ll take you Uptown Park, the Galleria, I was going to say to your office, but your offices are miles away.
Let’s talk about that.
Redstone Building
We will do. We’re running out. We’re right here, why don’t you break the good news. We’re so excited.
That we’re moving to the Redstone building?
Yes.
We are a size 10 foot in a size 7 shoe in our office space, but we’re going into the Redstone building, which is on the property of the Houstonian.
We got to pick out finishes, and I was just showing you the colors that we chose.
We’re so excited. We can’t wait to have you all on our 27 acres.
Can you imagine? You’ll get tired of this ugly face.
Never.
It’ll be so great for our clients and all of it.
Everything will be encompassed on one campus, which is amazing.
Fingers crossed, July?
July-ish, yeah.
July-ish. We’ll leave it at that. Let’s hope, but it’s the city, with contractors, permitting, and things like that, you never know how long that’s going to take. We’re hoping around July, August, or something like that. It’s a beautiful building, and the Houstonian is really one of my favorite retreats in the city. I love coming there, and I love that our guests get to stay with you guys and have that opportunity, and that we have the opportunity to partnership with you guys in the way that we do, so thank you. Is there anything that we left off?
No, we want to thank you all as well, though, because you all give us great support, and it’s great seeing you all there all the time. We feel like you all are part of our family, and especially during this last year, we appreciate everything. Thank you for having me here.
You bet. I’m so glad that you were here. Robin?
Hiring Opportunities
I wanted to also mention the one thing that we didn’t talk about is that you’re hiring. On LinkedIn, there are 50 or more jobs out there, for those that are listening and looking for a really great place to work.
The good thing is travel is back, and people are venturing out. They’re doing staycations, and business travel is slowly coming back too. Meetings are happening, and we have openings for housekeepers, the front desk, concierge. So LinkedIn does have everything if you’re interested.
People are now back to traveling and are starting to venture out. Staycations and business travels are slowly coming back.
In the last two months, I’ve been fully vaccinated, so I feel comfortable traveling. I’ve been to Los Angeles, I’ve been to Puerto Vallarta, I’ve been to Mexico City, and a couple of other places, and every single flight that I have been on in the last two months is 100% full, even the middle seat. So I really feel like it’s coming back even stronger. I’m so excited.
Episode Wrap-up
If anyone wants to reach you or the Houstonian, what’s the best way to get a hold of all of you?
Just to go to our website, Houstonian.com.
Perfect. Dr. Flowers, what’s the best way to reach J. Flowers Health Institute?
Exactly the same way, JFlowersHealth.com or you can call us at 713-783-6655. J. Flowers Health is the best. Thanks, Robin.
Thank you. Thank you, Tina. Talk to you next week, bye.
