Tom Donovan, the new managing director at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, officially began his duties on March 29, after running a 780-acre resort in Hawaii. He replaced Giuseppe Lama, who left in January after leading the property for nearly a decade.
The Irvine Company-owned resort features Italianate architecture, two golf courses, a spa, restaurants, pools, and 332 rooms and villas, and is one of several local upscale properties from Dana Point to Huntington Beach. It opened about eight years ago under the leadership of Irvine Co. owner Donald Bren.
Pelican Hill is overseen by Irvine Co. Resort Properties Division President Ralph Grippo—Donovan’s boss.
In a Q&A with the Business Journal’s Paul Hughes, Donovan described some of his early ideas for Pelican Hill and alluded to long-term goals. He also consented to a “speed round” of queries to give a peek into his personality. (see box)
His responses have been edited.
Q: Tell us a little about your career.
A: My first managerial job was with a little company called Ritz-Carlton, and I spent 23 years with them at properties in Arizona, Colorado and Hawaii. The last 3 ½ years, I was at a Waldorf Astoria resort, Grand Wailea on Maui.
Q: Pelican Hill has a recognizably Italian theme, with the architecture, the food. Is that going to change?
A: It’s always going to have that theme. It’s the sense of place we have here, and it’s the vision of what Mr. Bren wanted to create.
We can make our restaurants more approachable—we’ve changed the look of our team members, taken off the ties and vests. The Coliseum Pool & Grill is a very casual uniform now, with jeans. There’s no dress code for the guest, and OC is more casual, so we’ll do that, too. We’ve also relaxed some of the pricing.
We’ll still have our traditional Italian entrees—fresh pasta made on-site—but we’ll offer new items, such as ahi dishes, poke bowls … We’ve got new weekday items, so our restaurants aren’t just visited on that special occasion—we want you to come regularly.
Q: Pelican Hill’s training program is known in the local industry as rigorous—a 10-point process of employee preparation that the resort strongly emphasizes. Any changes there?
A: We’re figuring out the culture for our team, how to empower them to always focus on guest experience. We’re looking at recertification every year to regularly retrain employees on our standards. We want to be nimble in our training program. Guest expectations evolve over time, so we have to, as well.
Q: Pelican Hill is one of several OC resorts—what are your plans for how it will distinguish itself?
A: I’m learning a lot about how that will go. I know Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, I know Monarch Beach Resort owners KSL Capital Partners LLC. Montage Laguna Beach is incredible.
Pelican Hill has that comprehensive resort experience for couples, families, group business … our sweet spot is often the board meetings that book 25 to 30 rooms … There was a car launch here last week, with dealers and so on.
We’re very well-known in Southern California—in less than 10 years, this resort has made quite the mark. We can take that nationally and globally—get more press coverage and work with current clients to expand our reputation.
Q: What’s an area of growth?
A: We’re doing a lot of weddings, and we’re seeing more of them on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday—there are only so many Saturdays in the year. We’re seeing destination weddings, where people are here several days, and more ethnic weddings. My first weekend here, we had a Persian wedding, and they brought their own chef to work with our chef to make sure the food was just right.
Last Words
Donovan was born in New York and graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. His wife, Brandy, is a real estate agent and a master sommelier, level 2. They’re looking for a home in Corona del Mar.
He answered some fast-and-furious questions about himself at the end of our interview:
Two words about your career: Passion and fun
One word about Pelican Hill: Perfection
Favorite movie? “Air Force One”
Last book read: “The First 90 Days” by Michael Watkins
Go-to cocktail: Ketel One martini with bleu cheese olives
What would you have been if you hadn’t gone into hospitality? Lost
Last purchase over $100: Plane tickets to OC
Favorite baseball team: New York Yankees
