The day's guest speaker was David Hart, president and CEO of Hart Hotels, which owns and operates the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celoron. The company is also celebrating its 40th year in business. The company was started by David's father, and he took over in 1992. David has an estimated 40 years of experience in developing, operating, and managing hotels and restaurants. Under his leadership, Hart Hotels operates 13 hotels with 2,000 hotel rooms in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Texas. It has held franchise affiliations with Curio, Hampton Inn, Hilton Hotels, Homeward Suites, and Holiday Inn. Hart Hotels also operates five unaffiliated hotels, including the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celoron, the Thousand Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, N.Y., and the Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel at Seneca Lake. David is a Past Chairman of The InterContinental Hotels Group Owners Association and a Past Chairman of Visit Buffalo Niagara. He was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, and received his degree in Business Administration from SUNY Buffalo. In the year 2000, he was inducted into the Buffalo State University Athletics Hall of Fame for his involvement in the school's basketball program. He is also a member of the inaugural class of Leadership Buffalo. He lives in Orchard Park with his wife Nancy.
As part of his presentation, David shared a brief history of his family's involvement in the hotel and hospitality industries. He said his father, William Hart, came to Buffalo with his parents after World War II. After graduating from high school he served in the US Army in the Korean War. After military service, he studied civil engineering on the GI Bill, and soon found work with the EJ Fuhrman Construction Co. That company won a bid to build four Holiday Inn franchises in Western New York in the early 1960s for Belz Enterprises, a franchisor of Holiday Inns. David said that at the time, having a franchise hotel was a novel idea but it soon became apparent that it was a sound business model. The Belz family was so pleased with William's work that they hired him to oversee the construction of eight more hotels. In 1977, he became president of the Belz hotel management company as it developed more hotels, including the famed Peabody Hotel in Memphis, known for the ducks that swim daily in the lobby bar fountain. Renamed the Peabody Hotel Group, the Belz organization became one of the largest Holiday Inn franchises in the country. In 1985, William started Hart Hotels with the purchase of four local Holiday Inns from his partners.
David became involved in the hotel industry in 1983, working at the Holiday Inn in White Plains, NY as manager. Two years later, when his father started Hart Hotels, David joined his team and worked to help manage the four Holiday Inns located in Buffalo. When his father retired i n1992, David took over as president and CEO and has held that position ever since.
David said that one of the biggest changes he's seen during his 40+ years in the hotel industry is the development of independent hotels. He said that when he started in the industry, it was challenging to market an independently run hotel and build brand awareness. But with the advent of the internet, it became easier to market an independent hotels. The first independent hotel built by his company was The Harbor Hotel in Maine, developed in partnership with fellow Buffalo native Peter Krog. Other Harbor Hotels were also built in Watkins Glen, on Seneca lake and along the St. Lawrence River in Clayton, NY.
In 2016, Northwest Bank approached Krog and Hart Hotels about developing a Harbor Hotel in Celoron, on land that the bank had recently acquired through foreclosure. With the help of the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) and Empire State Development (ESD), the project moved forward with ground being broken in 2017. In 2018 the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel was completed and opened for business. David said that without the business assistance from the CCIDA and ESD, the project would not have been able to move forward.
David also talked about giving back to the community and supporting charity. He said that since 2009, Hart Hotels has raised more than $600,000 for various causes, including the Child Advocacy Program (CAP), which benefits locally from the annual Fire & Ice fundraiser at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel. He said that the hotels also serve as an economic engine for their local communities, with the three Harbor Hotels in New York State being located in less populated areas, compared to those in larger cities. He indicated that between the three Harbor Hotels in New York State, the annual payroll is $9 million.
For the Q&A portion of the presentation, the question about Chautauqua Lake water quality and weeds came up - specifically, how it has impacted the Harbor Hotel in Celoron. David said that he doesn't know what the ultimate solution is, but does feel that if the State wants to promote business and tourism in Chautauqua County, it needs to come up with an answer and not ignore what has become a detrimental issue for the local economy. He indicated he has talked with the Department of Environmental Conservation about the impact of weeds on the lake, and he hopes that they are listening and will take action to finally address the issue.
