Photography: Justin Calhoun

In this day and age of standardization, a hotel room in Topeka, Kan., has a good chance of looking like a hotel room in Newark, N.J., or Portland, Ore. Hotel chains have their business down to a science – so much so that because of small profit margins and rigid regulations, many chain hotels look identical. 

Valencia Group, headquartered in Houston, is breaking that mold.

“These are unspoken rules, but everyone knows them, and everyone is afraid to violate them,” Executive Vice President John Keeling said.

Keeling is referring to the formula that hotel chains and boutique hotels usually construct their hotels around. Dimly lit lobbies and oversized furniture are industry musts. But the people at Valencia Group don’t see it that way. 

Valencia Group owns and/or manages Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, Hotel Valencia Santana Row in San Jose, Calif., and Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE in Houston. Each hotel ensnares the essence of its area and brings charm to an otherwise charmless industry.

“Our vision is to recapture that classic hotel of the ‘40s and ‘50s,” Keeling said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to go retro. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be a museum piece that’s like something that came out of the ‘40s and ‘50s.”

Valencia hotels are far from museum pieces. The select hotels pair the class of an earlier time with the best aspects of the 21st century such as high-speed Internet and high-definition televisions. Influences of European culture and local flavor seep through each building.

“If you remember the great hotels of the ‘40s, ‘50s and early ‘60s, those were great classic hotels, and they epitomized the culture of their day,” Keeling said. “They were a hub of society.”

Founder and CEO Doyle Graham Jr. grew up surrounded by hotels. His father, Doyle Graham Sr., was in the hotel business. When Graham Jr. set off to start Valencia, he saw that the industry needed to be injected with certain uniqueness.

“To me, it was just amazing how standardized the industry had become,” Graham Jr. said.

The three hotels Valencia Group currently maintains are just a starting point. The group looks to add more later this year, including one in Savannah, Ga., made from a historic building, which Keeling said will be “the best hotel in Savannah” when it is finished.

While most hotel companies look for major tourist destinations to put up their product, Valencia looks for cities that offer lesser-known tourism with plenty of local charm. The market selection process is another thing that sets Valencia apart.

“We’re looking for strong demand generators, so the market is there,” Graham Jr. said. “We’re also looking for situations where there are high barriers to entry so that it’s a difficult market to get new products built in. Thirdly, we like it to be in a market where there is a lot of entertainment in walking distance.”

To Valencia, the hotel should be just as charming as the area for which it is made.

“Customer experience, other than just a place to sleep, really has been removed from our industry,” Executive Vice President of Operations Roy Kretschmer said. “And that’s where Valencia Group really comes back into the equation.”

Keeling said interior design, architecture and the latest technology all help bring a hotel to life, among other things. One quick look at Valencia Group’s website will show you how important design is in the group’s business concept. 

And as Kretschmer said, Valencia thrives on its ability to be flexible. Without having to comply with the rudimentary standards of many chains, each Valencia hotel is tailored specifically to the area in which it is located.

“Without getting ourselves locked into the very strict standards and policies, we allow much more independent and customized experience that can deviate from these rigid policy and procedure manuals,” Kretschmer said.

The future is bright for Valencia Group and its business model. In addition to the existing three hotels, Valencia is looking to open the Savannah hotel soon and possibly a hotel in New York City.

The company has a lot of respect for the systematic approach from the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world. It also respects the luxury that hotels such as the Ritz Carlton offer.

But Valencia doesn’t want to be any of those companies. Quite frankly, the company is happy being a four-star hotel that breaks the mold of the standard hotel.

Keeling talked about Valencia’s customers, but it was almost as if he was describing Valencia, as well.

“Today’s consumer wants to be self-expressive,” Keeling said. “They want to go into places that are interesting, have an experience and they don’t want it to be so predictable.”

If Graham Jr. and the company he has built have anything to say about that, hotel-goers won’t have to suffer through the mundane as long as Valencia is around.

For more information about Valencia Group and its hotels, please visit www.valenciagroup.com.