THE SANDMAN HOTEL GROUP: A BC Hotel Company on the Move
by Jonathan Niven

Celebrating their 40th anniversary year, The Sandman Hotel Group is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, the chain, which was founded by Bob Gaglardi in 1964, is the fastest growing privately held hospitality organization in Canada. 

Sandman currently has 35 properties representing 4,000 rooms with an additional two hotels opening in the next quarter alone. By 2010, that number will climb to over 6,400 rooms with new properties planned for Langley, Abbotsford, Prince George, Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Markham, and Oakville. 

Managing this amazing growth is the responsibility of Taj Kassam, the President and COO of The Sandman Hotel Group who is also Vice President of Northland Properties Corporation, Sandman’s parent company. 

Taj was born and raised in Tanzania, East Africa until he moved to Scotland where he completed a Bachelor Degree of Arts in Hotel and Catering Management. He stayed in Scotland managing several hotel and hospitality properties until immigrating to Canada in 1980, when he started with Sandman Hotels in Calgary. He briefly moved back to Scotland as an Executive Regional Director of Stakis Hotels (now owned by Hilton) before rejoining the Sandman chain as Vice President of Operations of both the hotels and real estate divisions. 

Taj helped to bring the company through a difficult period in the late 80s and oversaw a restructuring, which focused on the company’s core assets and values. Since that time the growth of Sandman and its parent company, Northland Properties Corporation, has been phenomenal. Northland Properties has five divisions consisting of the Sandman Group, Denny’s Restaurants with 37 locations, Moxie’s Classic Grill and the Shark Club with 50 locations between the two brands, Northland Asset Management with office buildings and land holdings as well as Northland Construction which builds all the new hotel and hospitality properties in the group. 

The latest addition to the Sandman portfolio is Sandman Signature Hotels and Resorts with a new property that just opened in Richmond boasting 438 rooms. According to Taj, the Signature brand, available in primary Canadian markets, will provide clients with a higher-end property from a hotel chain they already know and trust. “We are very strong in the mid-market,” explains Taj. “We can now offer mid to high level offerings to our clients to capture senior executives who may be staying in other properties.” The ethos behind Signature is best described as “elegant, relaxed comfort, and will manifest itself as a higher level of service including upgraded room décor, more meeting space, larger fitness centres, lobby coffee bars as well as more restaurant options on-premise. These gorgeous hotels and resorts will have an upscale feel, but with a very welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere.

One of the key visions of the company was to get away from hotel restaurants in order to provide guests with a branded foodservice offering. This concept has been beneficial in several ways. Firstly, guests are familiar with the restaurant chains such as Moxie’s and Denny’s and therefore tend to eat on-property more often. These restaurants also provide room service to guests. Secondly, the concept allows the hotel’s general manager to concentrate on hotel operations without the worry of restaurant and foodservice issues. 

Another key to the success of the operation is how the company treats and works with its employees. When talking about the company’s 6,000 employees, Taj’s eyes light up. His passion for his staff is not something that is just talked about; it’s a culture that he has developed over the years through his own action and that of the management team. Taj refers to the Sandman culture as being “the WestJet of Hospitality”. Creating this culture has taken a great deal of effort and time, but it is something that he feels strongly about and it shows in the many policies and procedures in place today. 

Taj is committed to being “a fair and equitable employer, making fair and equitable decisions”. Fairness includes such policies as employee benefit plans being basically the same throughout the company.

Everyone kicks in to help when necessary. When opening a new hotel, Taj himself can be found helping to set up guestrooms. This echoes the “team work” mentality of the company and can be found through all levels of the organization. Annual employee surveys receive his immediate attention and the top 5 issues on the survey get addressed right away. 

There is an extra phone in Taj’s office. When I asked him about it, he explained that the phone is a confidential 1-800-line which anyone in the company can use to bring anything to his attention, if they have not had the situation resolved to their satisfaction by following the established protocols. 6,000 employees have a direct line to the president. Now that’s a commitment to staff! 

Treating employees with respect has tremendous benefits for both the organization and employees alike. Career growth within the organization is fostered and employees quickly realize the potential they have for advancement. Taj admits that today’s economy and job market make the hospitality industry particularly vulnerable to turnover. Attracting and retaining quality staff is a major priority with Sandman and its goal is to become the employer of choice in the industry. Employee incentive programs include flex hours, tuition credits, and staff referral programs. 

In 1998, Taj introduced a company succession plan for every level of the company. It helps employees plan career paths and keep a consistent, ever-growing level of service delivery. With the corporate structure laid out, staff know the lines of communication, where their next job opportunity lies, and what is expected from them. For new hotel openings, Taj personally interviews each and every prospective employee before they begin with the company. 

This type of commitment to the company and staff keeps him on the road for much of the year, but after 27 years with the company, he and his wife are still enjoying their 36 years of marriage. 

With the Olympics around the corner, the future for The Sandman Hotel Group is bright. The company has plans to further expand in Eastern Canada with a strong focus on performance and providing guests with a superior, value-based experience. When asked what keeps Taj Kassam coming to work each day, he simply says, “Seeing our people grow with us and be successful.”