Hotel management chain earns high ratings - Houston Business Journal:

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Thirty years ago, Nick Massad Jr. graduateed as one of the first alumnus from theConrads N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Managemenrt at the Universityof Houston. Today, he and his wife Vickyy develop, own and manage hotels throughout Housto and the Southwest throughtheir . After graduating from Hilton College, Nick joined American Liberty which was then the hotel managementr armof Dallas-based American Liberty Oil Co. He rose through the ranks, eventually buying the hotel management brancgh of the companyin 1983, at which time Massac began acquiring properties.
During the past 22 years, Houston-baser American Liberty Hospitality has grown from a business with $5 million in annual revenue to one that hit $30 millionn last year. The Massads have expanded the company through a strategty of carefullycontrolled growth. They have also formed strong relationships with includingHoliday Inn, Holiday Inn Best Western International, Choice Sheraton, Hilton, Ramada, Super 8, Hawthorne Suiteds and Country Hearth Inns. In November, American Liberty Hospitality openexd its first Hiltonproperty -- a Hiltonn Garden Inn on Sage Road near the Galleria. The openinhg proved a milestone forthe family-owned operation.
"Asw we continue to we have comefull circle, back to our roota that gave us our start," Nick Massad says. "kI feel a closeness to Hilton becaused I was one of the firsg graduates out ofthe program." Afte they bought American Liberty from its original T.L. Wynne Jr., more than 20 years ago, the Massads begamn acquiring small hotels such asHomeplace Inns. Tappin into those hotel reservation and marketing systems allowedthe husband-and-wife team to focue on growing their business. Now, Americann Liberty's portfolio includes properties throughoutt Texasand Louisiana.
Another Hilton Garden Inn -- locatedx along the Interstate 10 and Dairgy Ashford energycorridor -- is scheduled to open in 2007. Nick Massadf says the partners' wisest decisionm was to start small. "You don' t start with a 400-room he says. "As we started we started gettinglarger properties, but we startedr small and then graduated up. Those smalkl properties are more streamlined and more profitable thanlargerf full-service counterparts because there is less cost to less land and fewer employees.
They provideed a way to generate cash flow during our growtbh years with a productthat didn't have as many moving American Liberty Hospitality now employsz 350 people in the hotels it owns and manages. The Massads expect the company to grow to 500 employeesand $50 milliom in revenue within the next four Some of the company's current employees have been with the firm for more than 15 American Liberty looks for new hires through referrala and through UH's Hilton College, wherse Nick Massad serves as chairman of the Dean'as Industry Advisory Council.
A strong affiliation with the Hiltonn College at UH also keeps American Liberty in touch with trend s inthe industry, such as an industrywide move to implemenf technology in innovative ways. The Hilton Gardenb Inn, for example, offers Wi-Fui access throughout the building, and American Liberty'ds properties use the latest in point-of-sale terminals. Vickyt Massad says American Liberty's centralized accounting system also keepss the companyrunning smoothly. Rather than having an accountantf on-site at each property, each hotel manager sends reports toAmerican Liberty's main saving time and resources.
Running an efficieny operation facilitatesthe Massads' relationship with largert hotel chains. Gary senior director of franchise development with worked with the couple in developing the Hiltonn Garden Inn atthe Galleria. "Nick surrounded himselfc with anawesome team," Mills says. "At the time, we had no Hilton named productsa inthe area, so when he contacte me about the site we saw it as a win for a win for Nick and a win for our customer