DALLAS – February 19, 2016 – UniFocus, the Dallas-based provider of the service industry’s most comprehensive workforce management systems and financial tools, has named luminary hotelier Richard Moreau to its board of directors.
A 37-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Moreau was most recently chief operating officer of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, an industry-leading owner and asset manager of 17 high-end hotels and resorts which was recently acquired by Blackstone Real Estate Partnership for approximately $6 billion. Strategic has an aggregate of 7,921 rooms and 847,000 square feet of multipurpose meeting and banqueting space under brands such as Fairmont, Four Seasons, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, InterContinental, Marriott, Loews and Westin.
“As a member of the UniFocus board, I look forward to speaking with decision-makers at the property, regional and ownership levels about how important strong, efficient labor management is,” commented Moreau. “There is so much value in UniFocus’ initial survey, and businesses will recoup the cost within the first 12 months. It will, in fact, give you a better product, better service, and better productivity – it’s not just saving labor.”
He continued, “My relationship with UniFocus goes back to 1980. Most recently, I worked with UniFocus at Strategic for 10 years, where its solutions became a systemic part of our success, improving our gross operating profit dramatically. UniFocus began with an initial assessment of the business – measuring tactics, measuring time and effectiveness. From there, we would develop the actual labor standards – the actual specs behind how people are scheduled: how many rooms per day per housekeeper, how many covers per meal per server and busser, how many cars parked by time of day, etc. UniFocus provided a method for forecasting specific sales measurements, built into a model that allowed us to schedule with a focus on efficiency, safety and training. We retrained people to understand and do their jobs better, which resulted in higher-quality work with less turnover.
“I am thrilled to add such an illustrious figure to the membership of our board,” stated Mark Heymann, chairman of the board, founding partner and CEO of UniFocus. “Strategic Hotels has been a longtime “partner” of UniFocus, and Richard’s unwavering commitment to improving the bottom line while maintaining the highest level of service resonates strongly here. With his extraordinary level of experience with cost-containment and revenue-enhancing initiatives, we very much look forward to his contributions to the future of UniFocus.”
Prior to joining Strategic in 2003, Moreau served as a principal of Gremor Hospitality and executive vice president of Inn Corporation America. His earlier career included positions at Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and the Howard Johnson Company.
Moreau joins a prestigious slate of top executives on the UniFocus board. Other members include Don Landry, former president of some of the world’s largest hotel management, real estate and franchise companies; John Peiser, partner in Goldin Peiser & Peiser LLP; and Jim Rebello, managing director of Duff & Phelps and principal of Southwest Mezzanine Investments.
