Ed Pavente has been with Emerald since 2001 in several roles
from Vice President of Operations to Chief Operating Officer. As COO, he is
responsible for the operations, performance, owner relations, and capital
planning for all of the properties in the Emerald portfolio. Under Ed’s
leadership the hotels he oversees have achieved a multitude of industry awards
from several different brands and organizations. We sat down with Ed and got to
know him a little better:
1.
What is your favorite movie? Why?
I have so many favorites it’s difficult to name only one. I guess a movie that really impacted me and is a movie I still enjoy watching at least a couple times a year is the original Rocky movie. The memories of watching that movie with my brother, my cousins, and the guys from the neighborhood, well for better or worse it influenced us in many ways. I even had a coat made like the one Sylvester Stallone wears in the movie. It has a large tiger prominently displayed on the back and I wore that coat for many years back in the day. I like the movie so much because it is the quintessential underdog movie. Maybe it was our age, where we lived, the neighborhood we grew up in or just the generation in general but there was something about it that resonated with me and I still get inspired today after watching it.
I have so many favorites it’s difficult to name only one. I guess a movie that really impacted me and is a movie I still enjoy watching at least a couple times a year is the original Rocky movie. The memories of watching that movie with my brother, my cousins, and the guys from the neighborhood, well for better or worse it influenced us in many ways. I even had a coat made like the one Sylvester Stallone wears in the movie. It has a large tiger prominently displayed on the back and I wore that coat for many years back in the day. I like the movie so much because it is the quintessential underdog movie. Maybe it was our age, where we lived, the neighborhood we grew up in or just the generation in general but there was something about it that resonated with me and I still get inspired today after watching it.
2.
What is your favorite book? Why?
I don’t read a lot of fiction I primarily read autobiographies or non-fiction historical books I am not sure I have an all-time favorite, but I did really enjoy the book “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It’s a pretty fascinating story of Lincolns presidency the critical decisions that were required and how the outcome shaped our nation. It serves as a testimonial to great leadership. It primarily focuses on how Lincoln made a conscious effort to surround himself with his rivals by appointing many of them to his cabinet, where they became his most senior and trusted advisors at a time of great turmoil in our country. I thought it was an incredible book about leadership and it forces you to question you own approach to leadership and to analyze yourself a little more regarding how you can make informed difficult decisions. Pretty fascinating stuff.
I don’t read a lot of fiction I primarily read autobiographies or non-fiction historical books I am not sure I have an all-time favorite, but I did really enjoy the book “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It’s a pretty fascinating story of Lincolns presidency the critical decisions that were required and how the outcome shaped our nation. It serves as a testimonial to great leadership. It primarily focuses on how Lincoln made a conscious effort to surround himself with his rivals by appointing many of them to his cabinet, where they became his most senior and trusted advisors at a time of great turmoil in our country. I thought it was an incredible book about leadership and it forces you to question you own approach to leadership and to analyze yourself a little more regarding how you can make informed difficult decisions. Pretty fascinating stuff.
3.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I don’t have a lot of traditional hobbies. I like to explore new things even if its local to where I live. I like discovering local music venues, outdoor markets, botanical gardens, nature preserves or just hiking and bike riding in new areas. Where I live there is a pretty vibrant art scene with excellent museums and galleries. I also like learning about new things and topics that I don’t have a lot of knowledge of, especially those topics that people are generally very opinionated on, I find those topics interesting and I get a bit fascinated by how certain topics can be so polarizing. Therefore, I tend to spend a lot of time listening to talk radio, audio books, and podcasts with a wide range of topics.
I don’t have a lot of traditional hobbies. I like to explore new things even if its local to where I live. I like discovering local music venues, outdoor markets, botanical gardens, nature preserves or just hiking and bike riding in new areas. Where I live there is a pretty vibrant art scene with excellent museums and galleries. I also like learning about new things and topics that I don’t have a lot of knowledge of, especially those topics that people are generally very opinionated on, I find those topics interesting and I get a bit fascinated by how certain topics can be so polarizing. Therefore, I tend to spend a lot of time listening to talk radio, audio books, and podcasts with a wide range of topics.
4.
What is your favorite place to travel? Why?
It is a more recent discovery for me personally but getting to spend some time in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest recently made me very excited to go back and spend some more time in that part of the country. It was incredible just extremely beautiful and inspiring it very quickly became a place that I wanted to spend more time in.
It is a more recent discovery for me personally but getting to spend some time in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest recently made me very excited to go back and spend some more time in that part of the country. It was incredible just extremely beautiful and inspiring it very quickly became a place that I wanted to spend more time in.
5.
What is the best piece of advice you have
been given?
Early in my career I was working as an AGM and I had an opportunity to meet with the company, VP of Operations. Very early in our meeting he said Ed you are a real natural and an incredibly hardworking, bright guy but especially in our industry you need to remember there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance and it is called humility. Remember that confidence is a smile and arrogance is a smirk. If you can learn the difference between confidence and arrogance you will have all the tools you need to be successful but if you don’t learn the difference and learn it real soon you will miss your opportunity. After that meeting I wanted to make sure I never missed an opportunity, so I make sure I am always trying to make sure I’m smiling with confidence and not smirking with arrogance.
Early in my career I was working as an AGM and I had an opportunity to meet with the company, VP of Operations. Very early in our meeting he said Ed you are a real natural and an incredibly hardworking, bright guy but especially in our industry you need to remember there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance and it is called humility. Remember that confidence is a smile and arrogance is a smirk. If you can learn the difference between confidence and arrogance you will have all the tools you need to be successful but if you don’t learn the difference and learn it real soon you will miss your opportunity. After that meeting I wanted to make sure I never missed an opportunity, so I make sure I am always trying to make sure I’m smiling with confidence and not smirking with arrogance.
6.
What is the best part of working in the
hospitality industry?
My areas of responsibility have changed over the years but I think the thing that draws a lot of us to the industry is what draws me to the industry and still does in many ways even today and that is there are so many different things involved in the “hospitality” industry. The customer service aspect the challenge of providing the best guest experience, the strategy involved in all the various Revenue Generation efforts and the precise execution of the operations. Those aspects have always interested and motivated me, and they still do. There are so many different facets and it almost never gets boring!
My areas of responsibility have changed over the years but I think the thing that draws a lot of us to the industry is what draws me to the industry and still does in many ways even today and that is there are so many different things involved in the “hospitality” industry. The customer service aspect the challenge of providing the best guest experience, the strategy involved in all the various Revenue Generation efforts and the precise execution of the operations. Those aspects have always interested and motivated me, and they still do. There are so many different facets and it almost never gets boring!
7.
Do you have any special travel tips and
tricks?
I have never mastered any incredible techniques all my recommendations are very boring and basic. Don’t over pack, be reasonable with what you will really need based on the purpose of your travel. Give yourself enough time whether it is arrival to the airport or your final destination. If your plan involves everything going to perfection, then you are already in trouble. Plan and prepare proactively and the actual trip will most likely be more enjoyable. Taking a little time to think things through and to plan will ultimately pay off. Travel generally becomes stressful because we aren’t prepared for when things go awry, or we didn’t prepare at all.
I have never mastered any incredible techniques all my recommendations are very boring and basic. Don’t over pack, be reasonable with what you will really need based on the purpose of your travel. Give yourself enough time whether it is arrival to the airport or your final destination. If your plan involves everything going to perfection, then you are already in trouble. Plan and prepare proactively and the actual trip will most likely be more enjoyable. Taking a little time to think things through and to plan will ultimately pay off. Travel generally becomes stressful because we aren’t prepared for when things go awry, or we didn’t prepare at all.
8.
What three habits will improve your life?
I would encourage people to explore meditation, I believe in the benefits of meditation both physically and mentally. While there are things to learn about the practice of meditation in order to improve at it, I would encourage people to just start with a basic meditation routine and you will see instant benefits and want to explore it further.
Second, be grateful every day. I realize it is not necessarily unique thinking in fact it is the basis for most self-help platforms but in my personal life I can speak to the benefits of practicing gratitude on a daily basis and how my life improved on many levels when I worked at the practice. Whether you embrace formal methods like journaling or just practice verbal affirmations I think it’s important to stay consistent with acknowledging what you are grateful for every day. For me, I want to focus on what is going well as much or more then what is not going so well. I find that solutions to the problems that ail you often come from focusing on what you do well.
Third, give relationships the value and time they deserve. Learn to nurture the ones that give you joy, find peace and forgiveness in the ones that no longer can serve you well and hold on to the ones you had with those that are no longer here but are still with you in spirit. They all mean something, and they all have their purpose give them the attention they deserve.
I would encourage people to explore meditation, I believe in the benefits of meditation both physically and mentally. While there are things to learn about the practice of meditation in order to improve at it, I would encourage people to just start with a basic meditation routine and you will see instant benefits and want to explore it further.
Second, be grateful every day. I realize it is not necessarily unique thinking in fact it is the basis for most self-help platforms but in my personal life I can speak to the benefits of practicing gratitude on a daily basis and how my life improved on many levels when I worked at the practice. Whether you embrace formal methods like journaling or just practice verbal affirmations I think it’s important to stay consistent with acknowledging what you are grateful for every day. For me, I want to focus on what is going well as much or more then what is not going so well. I find that solutions to the problems that ail you often come from focusing on what you do well.
Third, give relationships the value and time they deserve. Learn to nurture the ones that give you joy, find peace and forgiveness in the ones that no longer can serve you well and hold on to the ones you had with those that are no longer here but are still with you in spirit. They all mean something, and they all have their purpose give them the attention they deserve.
9.
If you could have lunch with one person alive
or dead, who would it be?
I was brought up in a large Italian American family where Sunday dinners were large and often included most of my relatives. My parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and family friends would gather weekly for Sunday dinner. Many of those family members have passed and life tends to happen so traditions fade and those Sunday dinners no longer take place. It would be so cool to have one of those epic Sunday dinners again so my kids could experience how awesome it was. How much fun we all had, how much love was in that room, it was incredible, and I would love to experience that again and to have my kids experience it. So, I can’t pick one, but I would love to have everyone together for just one more of those Sunday dinners.
I was brought up in a large Italian American family where Sunday dinners were large and often included most of my relatives. My parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and family friends would gather weekly for Sunday dinner. Many of those family members have passed and life tends to happen so traditions fade and those Sunday dinners no longer take place. It would be so cool to have one of those epic Sunday dinners again so my kids could experience how awesome it was. How much fun we all had, how much love was in that room, it was incredible, and I would love to experience that again and to have my kids experience it. So, I can’t pick one, but I would love to have everyone together for just one more of those Sunday dinners.
10.
What Would Your Perfect Day Be Like?
Truthfully this may be cliché, but from my current life perspective…every day I wake up and can be present. I really try to think, every day is the beginning of the perfect day. I haven’t always been that optimistic and it isn’t easy to feel that every day, but I sure do try.
Truthfully this may be cliché, but from my current life perspective…every day I wake up and can be present. I really try to think, every day is the beginning of the perfect day. I haven’t always been that optimistic and it isn’t easy to feel that every day, but I sure do try.
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