The Modern Hotelier #236: Meet the Chief Development Officer of a Hospitality Management Company | with Brittney Jones
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David Millili: Welcome to The Modern Hotelier. You're the most engaged podcast in hospitality. Don't forget to follow, like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments what you think about today's episode. Steve, who do we have on the program today? 
Steve Carran: Yeah. David, I am excited for today's episode. We have Brittney Jones, the Chief Development Officer from Brittain Resorts & Hotels, and thank you for joining us, Brittney, how you doing today? 
Brittney Jones: Thanks for having me, guys. I'm doing well. How about yourself? 
Steve Carran: Good, good, good, good.
David Millili: So Brittney, we're gonna jump in. We're gonna go through a lightning round. We're gonna get to know you a little bit better, your background, your career, and then we're gonna jump into some industry topics. Sound good? 
Brittney Jones: That sounds great. Let's do it. 
David Millili: Okay. What's something that you wish you were better at? 
Brittney Jones: Oh, you know, I wish I was better at golf. That is something that I started playing once I got into the hospitality industry, and I've worked over at it over the years and still don't seem to get too much better. 
David Millili: What's your most used emoji? 
Brittney Jones: Probably either just kind of the basic smiley face, or the one where the person's kind of like putting their hand into their face.
David Millili: I like that one. What's a luxury you can't live without? 
Brittney Jones: Does a hot shower count. I will admit I've taken trips in the past, um, in other countries and sometimes the water would go from hot to cold and it makes you appreciate a good hot shower. 
David Millili: That's good. Alright, so now if you had a time machine and you can go into the future, or you can go into the past, which way are you going and what year are you going to.
Brittney Jones: I'd go to the best. I don't know the exact year, but I'm just gonna say maybe somewhere in the nineties, maybe early two thousands. And I'd love a little break and refresh. Getting away from social media. 
David Millili: That's a good answer. What's the best piece of advice you've received? 
Brittney Jones: There's really been two for me and it's to continuously thinking about, you know, do the things that make you uncomfortable, and then always just be your most authentic self.
David Millili: Okay. Let us know something that's on your bucket list. 
Brittney Jones: So bucket list and actually it'll be off my bucket list, come two weekends from now, I have been to New York City many time, many times professionally and personally, but I've never been during Christmas, so I've never seen the tree in Rockefeller Center. So I am actually traveling there in a couple of weekends. My husband and I will get to check that off. 
David Millili: You'll love it. I've lived in New York a long time. That's a great place for Christmas. 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, I'm excited. 
Steve Carran: Awesome. Well done, Brittney. So now we're gonna dive into your personal background a little bit more about what makes you tick. So you grew up in South Carolina, is that correct? 
Brittney Jones: That is correct. 
Steve Carran: How did growing up in South Carolina really shape you into who you are today? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah. You know, that's a great question. I certainly think as you, you know, become older and become an adult, those are things that you reflect on where you grew up and how it's made you to who you are. And you know, for me, the way I described growing up in South Carolina and specifically the town that I was in, it was simple, you know, it was very southern, very simple, close knit community, you know, and I think at the end of the day, what I've really grown to appreciate is maybe just the values that taught me growing up in a place where you knew everyone, everyone knew you, you know, it wasn't a hustle and bustle every single day.
And what I just have really grown to appreciate is, is that it made me always think about the things that. I have felt are most important. Right. So for me, it's always been family first, friends next. And then I felt like growing up in a smaller town, you just had to really think about how you treated people every day. And so the relationships, you know, relationships that have now carried into my professional life too is what's important. And I think growing up in a smaller town, for me, it's what's made me grounded. I didn't really have the opportunity to go and visit some of the bigger cities until I was in my early twenties.
And I love visiting the bigger cities. I love kind of the life and the feel and the energy, the bigger city gives you, but at the end of the day, coming back home to South Carolina is where I feel like I'm just meant to be. It truly is home for me. I love being here. But yeah, it's taught me to be grounded and appreciate things in life that are most important.
Steve Carran: I love that. So you won't be staying in New York City when you go to visit. 
Brittney Jones: You'll definitely be coming back for a couple days and then I'll come right back and then I'll spend some days at home and then I'll be in, you know, Miami and then come back. So it's a nice balance. 
David Millili: That's great. That's good. So what led to your decision to go to Francis Marion University and get your degree in marketing? 
Brittney Jones: Francis Ion University is a local liberal arts college, and I say local, it was local to Florence, South Carolina where I grew up. And at the time, staying close to home made sense for me. I had a lot of friends that also stayed close. And I have the advantages of you could take a quick weekend trip to Coastal Carolina and Myrtle Beach, or you could go to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina and, and still experience. You know, that great college atmosphere that some of those other, um, college campuses provide.
But the small school is what felt right to me at the time, and, and certainly there's days that I look back and go, man, you know, it would've been a good experience to go off and go to college, but then I'm also very much a believer that, you know, every decision that you make yesterday leads to decisions for tomorrow, and so I wouldn't be where I am if I had made a different choice.
It's funny, I actually started as a biology major, so coming out of high school I was pretty convinced that I was going to be an occupational therapist, so I started with a biology degree. But I always knew that I wanted to have business as a minor. I just felt like understanding the fundamentals of business was a really great knowledge base to have.
So I was minoring in business. And then my family, whether it's my parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, you know, we're all in business focused careers, so in management and sales, um, accounting, finance. So I grew up around that. So, but I was also working, um, almost full-time. It was more than part-time, but not quite full-time in college, in a retail job, I worked in a children's clothing store, and that was my first.
You know, real job. I certainly did have, you know, like I was a hostess in summers in high school and things like that, but this was my first real job and it taught me that I loved the people industry and I didn't quite know that about myself yet. I would say that. You know, in high school and growing up there, I was very active and involved in whether it was, um, you know, I cheered, so I was, you know, on the cheerleading squad or participated in different organizations in high school, I was relatively shyer and so I felt like this retail job kind of broke me outta my shell, and very quickly I was promoted and started managing some folks. And then I really grew to understand, you know, what it was like to have customers and learn those customers. And for me it was, you gotta know the moms that were shopping for their children and you gotta know the children and what the sizes were.
And I just really enjoyed that aspect of learning about people and interacting with people more. And so both not enjoying chemistry and that job led me to change my major entirely. And so I ended up changing it to marketing because I just have always really enjoyed understanding what makes people tick, and felt like marketing was a good way to learn that. 
Steve Carran: That's great. I also was a biology major freshman year until the end of the year when my professor said I didn't need to show up to the exam because no matter what, I was not gonna pass. And then I realized biology was not for me. But, uh, that is a great backstory as well. We have a lot of very. Similarities in our college days. But one thing that I saw, I believe it was a past podcast you did or article that was about you, is you said that your success has hinged off two traits that are coupled together, your ability to learn quickly and your willingness to adapt. Can you tell us a little bit about how those two things have led to your success? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, and thanks for doing some research on that. So I started in this industry. It's been about 12 years and I began my career with, with a company that was considered a smaller ownership development management company at the time, based in Florence. And I started as a director of sales and then, you know, kind of naturally progressed and grew in the ranks in that discipline of our industry. But what was so nice about being with a smaller company, and I'm at the time and I feel very fortunate to have this experience, is. Is that I got to see and learn firsthand so many parts of the business and the fact that we're, you know, very much whether it's real estate or hospitality and just an ever-evolving industry.
And so I got very comfortable with a couple of things a understand that things evolve all the time. And you have to be nimble and you have to be ready for the evolution. You have to sometimes be forward thinking enough to understand what might be coming in the future. Right. And not just bearing your head or putting goggles on.
And so being a little more open-minded, I think is another way of saying that, but also being with a smaller company, you got a lot of things were thrown at you, and I don't mean that negatively, but you wore, you got the opportunity to wear many different hats, or you were asked to participate in a meeting and sit in and learn and listen. And maybe it was about accounting, maybe it was about human resources, which is not the discipline of the business that I was in. And so just that natural curiosity and want to learn, want to ask questions and then be quick to pivot when you needed to. I mean, one example is at the time, that I was, I wanna say my title was VP of Sales and Marketing. The company did not have revenue management in house. We were using brand revenue management, and it was during that time that we decided to bring it in house. We had enough properties, we had the infrastructure in place, and that was something that we wanted to do.
And so we did, and we brought in a corporate director of revenue management, and after about a year, I was asked to bring revenue management under my purview. And while I'd had experience in revenue management, I have never really, never physically done the job, you know? But you don't say no to those things, in my opinion.
You go, okay, let's do this. Let's figure it out together. I had a great team in place. And I enjoyed managing people. And at that point it made sense because I had sales marketing and to bring revenue management in the entire commercial strategy under one division of the company was the right path forward. And so, when I say being nimble in that way, I really think carried, you know, my success thus far and will continue to do so. 
Steve Carran: Very well said. Very well said. So now we're gonna dive into your career, how you got to be, uh, the Chief Development Officer at Brittain Resorts. So after college, you stayed in that sales and marketing role. You worked at ServPro, then at Hotel Florence, and then at kind of what you just were talking about, you worked up your way to VP of partnerships at Rain's Company. A couple questions. What did those early days teach you that you still take with you today? And then I have a follow up question as well. 
Brittney Jones: Ooh, great question. What did the early days teach me? You know, I think the best thing that you can do is just. Always be a team player, you know, from the very beginning that was one of the things that I really enjoyed most is, is having a great team beside you and, and understanding when to step in and help out.
Right? And it goes back kinda that curiosity and nimbleness. You know, being a director of sales, that was my first role. I had a wonderful GM that I would, had the opportunity and was very fortunate to work alongside. And you know, there was a lot of things that she taught me, but she taught me. How to come in and assist in the ways that may not have been in my typical job description. You know, instead of saying, no, that this isn't part of my job, it was, yes, let me come in and let me help, and how can I do that? And that's something that I still carry with me today. I always wanna step in and help when I can.
You know, there was times where, you know, small examples we have hurricanes obviously here on the East coast and in South Carolina and you know, on down, and there are many times where that was an all hands on deck situation because you had guests that were, you know, either vacating your hotel and you might have messes to clean up depending upon where you are, or in other parts, you may have an influx of guests coming to your hotel because they're having to vacate. And so it was even though I was on the sales side, and, and that tends to lean toward more towards operations, it was like, nope, get in there. Get your hands dirty. Do what you gotta do to help make this a success and easier on everybody, and those were some of the most rewarding times that I've had. 
Steve Carran: I bet. Was there a moment, whether it was working in a hotel or at Rains when you're like, wow, I love working in hospitality, or that moment you fell in love with the industry? 
Brittney Jones: I don't know that there's truly. A specific moment, I'll give you a little background of, of how I got my first job and this, this may give you a little more light. So I was with Serro at the time, as you mentioned, and I was planning a client event for my current clients and potential clients. And so I went to Hotel Florence to see if Hotel Florence would've been a good fit for hosting the event. And it was the first time I had been into the hotel Now. Some background.
As again you guys know, I grew up in Florence, this particular hotel had been open about two years, and it was the catalyst of a downtown revitalization. So in an area that I'd never really spent any time in. All of a sudden there's this beautiful hotel that's an historic adaptive reuse project and has a wonderful restaurant inside you see the other retail and office space that is coming to the area, the jobs that it's creating generational events that were happening such as, you know, live after five events. And those just weren't something that we had had before. So you walk into this hotel and you immediately kind of feel this sense of history and pride being somebody from the area.
And so I left a wanting to host to the event there, but more importantly, I left feeling so inspired and so energized that I called back yesterday and said, I don't know a thing about hotels. The only thing restaurant wise I've ever done is be a hostess, but my degree is in marketing my background is in sales.
I wanna be a part of this. And so I mean, I really do think it was, it was that day of walking into that hotel that I felt incredibly energized about, about that hotel. But I didn't even know the magnitude of how I felt about the hospitality industry. And, and I did, I interviewed a couple of days late later and started about a month later. So it's really been a spark from day one for me. 
David Millili: Very cool. And so for the past year and a half, you've been at Brittain Resorts as the Chief Development Officer. And for those who are listening who aren't familiar, can you tell us more about Brittain Resorts? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, sure. So we are an 80-year-old family owned organization. We are developers, we acquire, we're also operators and third party operators. We are headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and today have 30 hotels and resorts in our portfolio that are in key destination markets in the Southeast. And we really specialize in what we say are more complex assets, larger and key count, full service resorts. And then we do also have some condo hotels in our portfolio as well, which are, you know, certainly something that I've only learned about since being at Brittain, and it's such a beast all on its own. It's been fascinating to learn and the majority of our portfolio is independence, so it's been really nice for me, um, having a branded background and mostly in select serve branded to now be in the full service independent space and you know, having started my career in a boutique property where you had flexibility to, you know, make your own own rules and make the property what you wanted it to be and, and give it the experience that it needed to pro put the programming in place to truly make it something different.
It's really been rewarding to be back in that space and with such a great team such as Brittain, and we're focused right now on growing. We're looking to continue to grow in the southeast. We feel our expertise is in these key leisure destination markets and we've had some really great success so far and look forward to what's to come in the future.
Steve Carran: That's great. And as Chief Development Officer, can you tell us a little bit more about what you focus on the day to day? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, I mean, in short, I came on board at Brittain to lead the growth of our portfolio. And so while that does include development opportunities, it does include acquisition. We are mostly focused right now expanding via third party management opportunities. And so for me it's really leveraging the relationships, um, that I've had in the past and developing new ones. I attend many of the industry conferences. I am on the road a lot introducing ourselves to owners and developers that are throughout the Southeast, and just trying to find the right opportunities.
Certainly do the underwriting as well for those opportunities, but my role is so relationship driven. At the end of the day, it's a lot of phone calls, it's prospecting and I call it an awareness campaign as well to who we are and what we do. 
Steve Carran: That's great. So now Brittney, we're gonna dive into the thought leadership portion of the podcast. So first question for you here, where do you see owners and operators most often getting out a sync? And what does it look like when that alignment really clicks? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. I really allude to the relationship between owners and operators no differently than if you're trying to personally dating, right? It's being very upfront and transparent from the beginning and it's asking the right questions. In my opinion, it is not trying to convince someone that you're the right fit for each other, but it's also discovering if you're the right fit.
So no different than in the beginning of a a relationship personally. You may say, well, do you wanna get married? Is that important to you? Do you wanna have children? Is that important to you? You should be asking those same types of important questions on the operational side to the ownership group. You know, what is your investment strategy? Where do you see this hotel in five years? How would you like to see it positioned and coming to those same, what I will say, what needs to be realistic, right? Those same realistic expectations for the property and, and are you going to be a good fit for each other at the end of the day. 
And I think that takes time. I don't think it's something that happens overnight. And so I think, yeah, that's what's most important. I mean, alignment just means that you have clear expectations and goals set from the beginning. 
Steve Carran: Well said. I love that dating analogy too. Yeah, that was good. Good one. 
Brittney Jones: It's true. It's very true. Any relationship is like that.
Steve Carran: Yeah, absolutely. 
Brittney Jones: Business or personal? 
David Millili: So in competitive resort markets, what's your approach to building a strong development pipeline and what makes an owner or a project a great long-term fit for Brittain? 
Brittney Jones: Yeah. You know, like I was saying, for us, I mean our development pipeline can consist of new construction. It can consist of acquisition it, it will consist of management opportunities as well because we are active in all three. But I mean, I would say that we're very intentional. Selective about the projects or partnerships that we choose to get into, you know, on the acquisition and management side, I mean, we look for assets where we feel we can provide clear operational upside, that's always really important for us, and especially in the independence space. You know, one of the first things that we will look for is what is this hotel's OTA reliance today? And can we provide upside there? Which we can, I mean, that's certainly one of our strengths is our marketing department led by our chief marketing officer, Patrick Norton.
I mean, that is what his team does. And it's oftentimes what either a hotel may not have the support of, or they may be outsourcing. And the fact that we have that in-house as one of our strengths. So, I mean, that's one thing that we'll typically look. For, and then, you know, we're also, like I said in an earlier question, I mean, we look for assets that we consider to be more complex, right?
And we want assets where we can drive the experience, we can implement the programming. We see opportunity on the f and b side as well that F&B is also something that we have in-house. We do operate over 45 f and b outlets. And that's everything from, um, we have nine Starbucks to a full-service restaurant that is not inside of a hotel and everything in between. So we look for those additional revenue streams as well with opportunities and that's where we think there's going to be long-term success. We're especially right now where we're seeing that room revenue is, you know, pretty stagnant, just rooms alone. But it's the ancillary revenue streams that are really driving that top line performance right now. 
Steve Carran: So, Brittney, I'm gonna put you on the spot here. I am an owner of a hotel and I'm looking for a management company. Aside from looking at the fees. What else should I be looking at for a management company and how does Britain kind of stand out?
Brittney Jones: That's a great question. I alignment, you know, like we already spoke about. I mean, that's certainly key, but I always tell other owners too. To always pay to pay attention to the underwriting that's being done or that a management company may be presenting you. I've certainly seen opportunities where the underwriting may feel like it's a stretch.
It may feel as though it's not obtainable, but yet as an owner you see those numbers and you want your hotel to be as successful as possible. So you might buy into, well, okay, this operator is telling me they can do this. I think sitting back and understanding if that's a realistic number is important. You know, typically for us and for myself, our underwriting comes in more conservatively, right? I would rather underpromise and overdeliver and so I just would say have some caution. And I think as far as what makes Brittain stand out, like I said, it's the fact that our underwriting's conservative we're going to be transparent.
And then I think it's the fact that we've had decades of experience, right? And where, like I said earlier, we're selective about where we go. I am not going to tell you we are the right fit to be an operator in New York City that just doesn't make sense for us. And you know what I love to say too is one of the reasons what, what made me very attracted to Brittain Resorts and hotels when I was interviewing with them was, was two things that not only did Matthew Britton's, CEO say to me, but it was also other team members.
And it was two things specifically. It's that Brittain will always say, at the end of the day, do the right thing, and they will always be good partners first. And so to see them carry that through their employees to investors that they work with, I knew that they would carry that to other owners that we may be working with and throughout other relationships. And so that just mental note of how they operate, you can tell it's very personal to them, meant a lot to me and it aligned with the values that I have also. And so it's nice to be able to carry that message forward and feel very confident about it. 
David Millili: So with the current investment climate in mind. What trends in ownership and development are, are you watching most closely, and how are they helping your teams and owners plan for the long-term growth? 
Brittney Jones: This is a great question. You know, as I mentioned earlier, one of the spaces that we are in is the condo hotel space, which is very different. And so what I've really seen over the last year is. Kind of a resurgence of that space, whether it is the traditional high-rise condo hotel, and markets such as Miami, or we're seeing it evolve a little bit. So, you know, as an example, there's a group that I'm working with who is looking to do with what they are calling a residential resort community, and it's beachfront horizontal development that has four bedroom homes. It has town homes and it has condos, membership based, great pool experience, multiple F&B outlets. But these homes, town homes, condos, are individually owned and then put onto a rental management pole very similar model to what we do in the condo, hotel space, or even in this point we'll go into my next trend. We've seen the same thing with an upscale RV resort. So likewise, and this is my next trend that I was going to talk about was kind of this outdoor experiential trend that we're all experiencing right now, but same thing that blends those two trends potential for an upscale RV resort, it has RV lots, but it has manufactured homes. The homes are individually owned, put onto a rental pool, and it is, it sits on a body of water. On the other side is a national park, so it's just surrounded by wilderness. And the programming that will be implemented in the future will be everything from fishing, canoe riddles, kayak rentals ATVs, you know, guided walks through the park. I mean, just a place where you can feel away from everything and secluded, but still have all the great amenities to keep you entertained. So again, the outdoor experiential is another thing that we're certainly paying attention to. And look, I mean, we're seeing the brands are getting more into that now. Right? Marriott launching this outdoor collection, they're seeing big opportunity too, so that's another one. And then, I mean, just another one that we recently completed three major renovations earlier this year at three of the properties in Myrtle Beach. And on the design side, one of the focuses for us was these really to implement multifunctional spaces and think about the way people are living now and their daily lives, meaning, you know, this trend on work, live, play community. So how do we take a hotel and transform it into that? If you have folks you know, such as myself who work remotely, but they travel a lot for work, they might blend some personal time in there too, because that's what makes sense. You know, how do you take a lobby and it's a good work space, but then transform it later to also be a social nightlife spot later? Or how do you make sure in a leisure destination market, the rooms feel big enough for families to be in, but how do you have pieces of furniture that can be multifunctional. How can they function as a desk when dad needs to sit there and work and mom and the kids are at the pool, and then transform into another piece later. So that's something that we are continuing to think about and and model our hotels accordingly, so that, again, we're primarily in leisure destination markets, but we're very attractive for the person that needs to do remote work as well.
Steve Carran: One final question here. What advice would you give to somebody who would be interested in being a C-level executive for a hotel management company? 
Brittney Jones: Listen, I think at the end of the day stay curious and be humble. You know, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be intimidated, you know, by others grow your network. I think that's, that's absolutely key to this industry is just growing your network and expanding and expanding the types of people you get to know too. I've found that a lot of times people can be very shortsighted and the what can you do for me? Right now mentality. And I think that is, is not the way to think about the long term people move around, right? And so that relationship, while it may not seem to pay off right now, it can later on. So grow your network. Be curious, be humble. Those things have served me well today. 
Steve Carran: Love that. Love that. So Brittney, we've been asking you the questions this whole time. This is where we're gonna turn the tables and let you ask David and I a question. 
Brittney Jones: Oh hmm. Okay. What is your favorite place that you've traveled to? I could take this one. Either one of you. 
Steve Carran: One could take this one first. David, one of my favorite places I've went to is Duro Valley in Portugal. It's like the Napa Valley for Portugal. We stayed in a four bedroom hotel that had a restaurant in it, and we were overlooking just all the vineyards in Portugal. So that was one of my favorite experiences that I've been to. 
David Millili: Yeah. I think for me, I've been fortunate to travel a lot. For some reason, I think it's because I spent so much time in New York. Like I really just feel at home in London. I mean, obvious, some obvious things, you know, it's language, things of that nature. But like I just feel like if tomorrow I got a phone call and the most amazing opportunity happened, sorry, Steve and I had to go to take a job in London or something. Like I wouldn't, I wouldn't even think twice. So for me, there's just something that just kind of resonates with London for me. 
Brittney Jones: I have one more. Okay. If you were not in hospitality, what would you be doing, man? 
Steve Carran: David, you and I went first, last time. Now I gotta think about this one. 
David Millili: Yeah. I'd be doing something involved in, in sports because, you know, I thought I was, I always wanted to be a baseball player, like growing up I was like, that was my passion. And even, you know, I stopped playing football because I was afraid I'd get injured for baseball.
So I think I would somehow, you know, I got bit by the hospitality bug when I was in college, but I think somehow I would've made it into something to do with sports, just because I love the competitiveness and the team, which is very similar to kind of hospitality. But I just love the team aspects and the competition of sports. So something with sports. 
Steve Carran: I don't know what industry I'd be in, but I'd be doing sales some somewhere, that's just what I've been doing since I was 18, always on the sales side and got lucky enough to get in technology, sales and hospitality, which is how I ended up here. But if that never would've happened, I'd be. Probably be selling, I don't know, sales somewhere else. 
Brittney Jones: There you go. 
Steve Carran: So, well, this has been great, Brittney, our producer, Jon has been listening this whole time. So he has one question for you and then we're gonna get you outta here. 
Brittney Jones: Okay. 
Jon Bumhoffer: My last question is from your side on the management side at any level you've been at or at any company you've been at, do you have any success stories or things you can share? Like property you or ownership you worked with, that once the management took over, you really saw, you know, big improvement or big results from, from that partnership?
Brittney Jones: That's a great question. I'm trying to think if there's, gosh, anyone in particular that stands out. I'm certainly one of these people, you guys that. The small wins matter most sometimes, and I think you get this, Steve, if you're in sales, like you have to hunt for those small wins. A lot of times being, you know, something rather recent, I'll reference with Brittain, we took over management of providence hotels and resorts earlier this year owner operator that decided they wanted to move away from the operations. And their portfolio consists of eight hotels throughout Florida, kind of spread throughout, throughout Tampa, the Keys, and then in Miami as well. And so, you know, certainly take taking over that many, taking over any, your processes can take some time to put in place and it can take a little bit of time to see things evolve the way you would like to. But one of the things that we were able to do rather quickly was put Provident Hotels and resorts onto our call center. So we have a 300 person call center in Jamaica that services not only our properties, others in the hospitality industry, and also others in other industries, and we use our call center for both inbound and outbound calls. So again, that was something that we were able to implement rather quickly. And then the first, and you know, I wanna say it was around the first 60 days we saw an increase, um, and outbound calls. It was a number, I wanna say it's close to about 40%, but it drew about 12% more in bookings and 12% compared to the 40, that doesn't seem like a huge number, but. 12% in just a matter of 60 days is, and then that would, you know, just continue to increase over time. So it was a small win very early on that we were proud of and the owners were excited about as well. 
Jon Bumhoffer: Very cool. And that's a example, like you mentioned earlier, earlier, those resources that you guys have as a management group that, that when you bring a property on board, they get access to all that as well.
Brittney Jones: That's correct. 
David Millili: Cool. Well that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier, Brittany. This is where you get to let people know how they can find out more about Brittney and how they can get in touch with you. 
Brittney Jones: Yeah, absolutely. You can find Brittain on our website, www.brittainresorts.com. I am also on LinkedIn, always welcome anyone you know, please reach out via email, and that's brittney.jones@brittainresorts.com
David Millili: Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier, the Most engaged podcast in hospitality. Whether you're watching or listening, we appreciate you and hope to be with you again soon. Thank you for joining us, Brittany.
Brittney Jones: Thank you for having me.