Name: Offer Nissenbaum
Title: Managing director
Company, city: The Peninsula Beverly Hills; Beverly Hills, Calif.
Number of employees: 464
Recent project: We redesigned a 1,500-square-foot suite for Suite 100, a year-long hospitality promotion coordinated by the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau for the Beverly Hills Centennial.
First job: Mail and information agent at The Park Lane Hotel
Little-known fact about you: I played NCAA ice hockey (goalie) and soccer (striker) in college. I occasionally play in an adult hockey league.
Your Business
Essential business philosophy: My approach centers on process management: we deconstruct every hotel process and refine each element to elevate the guest experience. An innovation committee made up of staff from every department generates ideas for services, policies and amenities, then tests and implements the best concepts. Recent initiatives include in-room check-in, a dedicated pet menu, expanded children’s programming and enhanced in-room dining options.
Best way to keep a competitive edge: Maintain humility and avoid complacency. Continuous innovation and a commitment to improving the guest experience keep us relevant and distinctive.
Yardstick of success: Awards and accolades matter: The Peninsula Beverly Hills has been the only AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Five-Star hotel in Southern California for 22 consecutive years. Equally important is guest loyalty—our roughly 70 percent repeat guest rate confirms we are delivering on expectations.
Offer Nissenbaum as a Traveler
What is the most important item you take when traveling? Photographs of my three children.
How do you spend your time on board? Catching up on reading and seeing a movie.
What is your favorite restaurant in the world? Small restaurants in Positano on the Amalfi Coast that serve farm-to-table produce and fish caught that day.
What is your favorite destination? Italy, Israel and the South Pacific.
About The Peninsula Beverly Hills
What can guests expect from The Peninsula Beverly Hills this year? Suite 100 has been redesigned to celebrate the hotel’s roots in the 1990s and the modern luxury that followed. Interior designers Cynthia Forchielli and Helen Glynn of Forchielli Glynn, LLC, who led the redesign of our guestrooms, suites and private villas, created a glamorous environment reflecting the hotel’s role during awards season when Hollywood VIPs visit. The living and dining areas feature photographic murals of red carpet arrivals, dramatic black wood floors and lush seating upholstered in velvets and silks. A crystal ring chandelier accents the dining table. Throughout the year, guests can book a Suite 100 package that includes VIP amenities such as a private poolside cabana, a body scrub and spray-tan treatment for two in The Peninsula Spa, and personalized evening plans curated by our chief concierge, James Little, known for securing sought-after restaurant reservations and premium seats at concerts and sporting events.
This fall we will begin renovating The Belvedere, our signature restaurant and the only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant in Los Angeles for 20 consecutive years. The renovation will expand the patio to increase outdoor seating and remove partitions in the main dining room to enhance garden views for all guests. Executive Chef David Codney’s updated menu will focus on simply prepared fresh fish and organic farm-to-table salads and entrées.
Following numerous awards, including being named “Best Hotel in the United States” in the 2013 Global Traveler GT Tested Reader Survey, we are offering a “Celebrate With Us” one-night package throughout the year. The package includes a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne and daily American breakfast for two.
What makes The Peninsula Beverly Hills unique? The Peninsula Beverly Hills blends a resort-like atmosphere—lush tropical gardens and a rooftop pool—with the intimacy of a city hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills. Our service is deliberately guest-centered: for example, “Peninsula Time” offers flexible check-in and check-out times at no extra charge when availability permits, allowing guests more control over their schedule.
What is the most challenging aspect of running The Peninsula Beverly Hills? The highest challenge is sustaining and exceeding the standards we’ve set for ourselves. Having established a reputation for exceptional service, we are continually raising the bar. Creating ever-more memorable guest experiences is an ongoing challenge that drives our team to innovate and refine every detail.