Welcome to Escape N Stay

Santosh Kuruvilla

Principal

Business Strategy & Operations

As a father of two young sons, Santosh Kuruvilla’s downtime is all about family time. Sometimes, that’s playing a game of Uno, Cover Your Assets or Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. Other days, it’s a game of cricket or tending to the family’s vegetable garden. “Whatever my kids are into is what gives me enjoyment. I love seeing big smiles on their faces.” In the evening, he and his wife pop open a nice bottle of wine and enjoy a few sips as they reflect on the day. Making people happy—it’s the secret to a joyful family life and a successful career in hospitality. “It’s all about people taking care of people.”

He should know—when it comes to hospitality, he’s covered a lot of ground. A quick tour:

• He studied hotel management in his native India, then moved to Switzerland and earned an advanced degree in hospitality management at the prestigious César Ritz Le Bouveret.
• He’s held management and executive positions at hotels across the country and around the world, and played a critical role in the openings of some iconic properties—the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, the Atlantis in Dubai, the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the InterContinental Danang, among them.
• In California, he served as hotel manager for the Irvine Company’s Resort at Pelican Hill, where he implemented a CPOR (cost per occupied room) calculation model that resulted in $400,000 in labor cost savings over one year and spearheaded guest experience initiatives that helped it earn Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond ratings. He then managed the opening of the company’s Villas Fashion Island and developed an immersive training program for employees at the 525-unit multi-family luxury living complex, which boasts resort-style amenities and generated $2.2 million in annual rent during his tenure.

More recently, he’s played a critical role in the success of industry disruptor TMC Hospitality, with its Bode and Drift brands’ unique concepts here in the U.S. and Mexico. His work has been wide-reaching, overseeing everything from openings and annual budgeting to property acquisitions and technology. Proof of his prowess: His new hotel protocol strategies—aimed at increasing revenue, building an employee culture and enhancing guest experience—resulted in a profitable operation within four months and landed a #1 ranking on Trip Advisor. Because hospitality is all about making people happy.

Chad Bustos

Founder / Managing Director

Sales & Brand Marketing

If you ask Chad Bustos about his weekend, his 10 horses and 6 dogs likely factor in somehow. That’s the way it is when you live on a ranch. He moved to Arizona with his wife about five years ago—in a leap of faith, of sorts. They wanted a change of pace, and a place where they could keep their horses right in their yard. The couple found the perfect spot—for that and more. “I like to ride my horses in the morning, and a couple of days a week I’ll take off on my gravel bike. And I still do a bit of running.” Of course there’s that—he’s an avid runner who’s competed in his share of marathons and Ironman competitions. If you’re getting the sense that he’s an authentic, down-to-earth kind of guy, you’re spot on—both personally and professionally.

“I think honesty and integrity are really important.” Chad, who’s got 20-plus years as a sales and marketing professional and a Ph.D. in philosophy under his belt, knows the keys to success include listening, understanding and taking action. That means hearing what a client has to say, embracing the company’s goal, and formulating a plan that takes the organization to the finish line.

His career accomplishments prove the methodology is sound. A snapshot:

• At KSL Resorts, he played a strategic role in the company’s repositioning as it expanded from a portfolio of three hotel properties to a powerhouse brand with 11 mega-resorts—then to a sale that landed the company some $800 million.
• While at the Irvine Company, he held several executive posts, and launched sales and marketing initiatives that helped establish the Resort Division as a leader in the hospitality industry, with the world-class Resort at Pelican Hill as its flagship.
• And early in his career, as Alaska Air Group’s director of electronic marketing strategies, he shepherded the company into the world of e-commerce, making it the first airline to offer online tickets sales.

Today, he welcomes opportunities that allow him to use his wealth of experience to help clients achieve their own goals. “I want to work for the right people for the right reason, and we all have to be in agreement that this is a win-win all the way around—even if the win-win comes to an end at some point because we were successful in implementing a plan.”

Ralph Grippo

Special Advisor

Acquisitions & Operations

“If you love what you do, you never have to go to work” It’s a mantra Ralph Grippo embraces with the same gusto he lives his life. A transplanted Southern Californian from the East Coast who was a collegiate athlete and remains extremely active today, running, skiing and an occasional game of beach volleyball. (He now lives along the shore of the Pacific, in Newport Beach’s Corona del Mar Village.) He’s driven, passionate, still competitive. He’s also an adventurer who’s traveled the world—Italy’s Amalfi Coast and the Turks and Caicos Islands rank among his favorite places. And he’s lived abroad with two young children in tow. That was in Shanghai, while working for the Ritz-Carlton. He moved there with his young family to oversee the opening of hotels throughout China. “Living in the hotel with two kids and being in Shanghai—it was pretty special.” The property was Ritz-Carlton’s flagship in China, and he became its vice president and China area general manager, responsible for hotel openings and in the pipeline under development.

Ralph’s roots in hospitality run even deeper. At a glance:

• He studied hospitality and business management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and worked at hotels and restaurants throughout college. “I went to work for a Howard Johnson, and I remember the owner telling me that I was good with customers and quick on my feet, and he said, ‘Maybe you should go into hotel management.’
• During his 18 years with The Ritz-Carlton, he worked in Shanghai, Pasadena, Boston, Japan, Marina del Rey and New York, moving from Coast to Coast and Asia.
• He was named president of the Irvine Company Resort Properties in 2007, and spearheaded the launch and operation of its premier destination, the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, while overseeing the company resort portfolio of hotels, golf courses and marinas.

He’s worked at every level of operation and gained a lot of insight from some of the world’s most talented hoteliers. This breadth gives him a distinct perspective on the industry. He knows the importance of fostering a strong company culture and creating a unique guest experience and being the best at what you do. And he sees the value of empowering managers to think like an owner/operator: “Most hotel managers don’t automatically think like this, but it can be learned, and it’s invaluable.”

Of course, he’s having fun all along the way. “If you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.”