Baby boomer has 'dream job'

LINDSAY KEY

In a time when more and more baby boomers reaching retirement age are opting to continue working, one Newark hotel manager plans to do it in style.

Bill Sullivan, 56, took early retirement from Du Pont Co. in 2004 and stepped directly into the managing director's job at the Courtyard Newark at the University of Delaware.

Sullivan had spent more than 30 years working his way up the leadership ladder at Delaware's premier hotel, the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, and had been teaching at UD part-time.

"I wasn't ready to retire when I left Du Pont," Sullivan said. "I still had a lot of energy, and if I could have designed my next job this would have been it."

Originally from Edison, N.J., Sullivan has been with the Marriott hotel since before it opened in November 2004 and is credited with turning it into one of Marriott's top-rated operations for customer service.

Jacques Amblard, former general manager at the Hotel du Pont, said Sullivan was an integral part of many of the hotel's efforts to improve occupancy and prestige.

"He was instrumental in the computerization of the front desk," Amblard said. "He also helped to get an evening restaurant started at the hotel."

Sullivan held a variety of positions with Du Pont, including financial manager, business planning manager and general manager at DuPont Country Club, which was the site of the LPGA Championships from 1994-2004.

"I started as a busboy at Du Pont," he said with a smile. "I would tell my employees, 'I started where you are.' "

Sullivan became general manager at the nearly 100-year-old hotel in January 1998. He was a project leader for mergers and acquisitions in June 2004 when he accepted an early retirement package.

"When Bill was at the country club, he oversaw the plans to renovate the golf course," Amblard said. "He has great vision, and he saw that it would improve the value of our product."

Throughout his career with Du Pont, Sullivan was teaching part time in the hotel and restaurant management schools at both UD and Widener University. When a position was announced in 2004 at the new hotel at UD, Sullivan jumped at the chance to return to his alma mater.

The Courtyard serves local corporations holding conferences in UD's Clayton Hall, adjacent to the hotel, visitors to the university and families of prospective and current students.

Sullivan credits the access to these three groups and being in the campus environment for the hotel's 72 percent occupancy rate.

Customer service has also played a considerable role in the hotel's success.

Since its 2004 opening, the Courtyard has consistently been ranked in the top 5 percent for customer service among the more than 680 Marriott hotels worldwide.

The rankings are derived from customer surveys given to 40 percent to 50 percent of guests after their stays.

Such an image for service is important for the university.

"Often we are the first people who guests come into contact with when they are visiting UD," Sullivan said. "People will pay for good services and facilities, but they will not be happy if you don't deliver."

Sullivan's position at the Courtyard allows him to continue to work in a business he loves as well as share his knowledge with a new generation of hospitality workers.

As managing director Sullivan oversees many of the day-to-day operations at the hotel, and as an adjunct professor he gets the chance to share his expertise with students from UD's hotel, restaurant and institutional management degree program.

"Teaching is just as exciting as working in the hotel," he said. "It's fun for me, and there's nothing more rewarding than seeing my students succeed."

Each semester, 50 students come to the hotel for classes and practical application of the skills they attain in the classroom. This is the only total immersion program of its kind in the country.

"The students work in every position," Sullivan said. "They do everything from my job to cleaning toilets. It's a way to get them ready for the real world."

Sullivan said the thing he likes best about his job at UD is it's "fun and always changing."

"I'm glad to be here at this time in my life, and I'm doing exactly what I want to do."