The Hermitage Hotel Nashville

Tom Vickstrom The Extra Mile and Other Life Lessons

Sometimes a vegetable can lead the way, and so it was with Tom Vickstrom, controller at The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. In the late ’70s he was a college hospitality major, working a summer job at Harrah’s Hotel & Casino in State Line, Nev. and leaning towards a career in operations. Vickstrom worked the buffet, made coffee and carved an occasional roast beef; but mainly he was a runner, dispatched to restock the tables. One night as the buffet was about to run out of carrot sticks, he was dispatched for a bus tub of carrots located on another floor. He and the carrots were expected to return to the buffet line immediately. Vickstrom says, “Having had no culinary training in using a knife, I did my best; but it took far too long. The supervisor was furious until I pointed out that I’d done exactly as asked and showed how precisely the carrot sticks were produced, with quality workman¬ship and instruction accurately carried out.”

His supervisor wanted carrot sticks not sculpture, and experience told her that Vickstrom did not belong in the kitchen. She suggested his vocation lay in auditing, where methodical, precise work is a prized quality, albeit done more slowly. Vickstrom first resisted her remarks, but they sunk in later. He says, “A lesson learned is when you need to hurry, then move fast, even if the thoroughness and workmanship is not 100 percent. Sometimes it’s more important just to take quick action and get results — to make things happen. This speedy approach is against my natural tendencies, however.” His tendencies are more deliberate and analytical.

At an early age, his intuition told him that the hotel business would suit him. In elementary school his best friend’s father owned and operated a sea-side resort, The Lighthouse Inn on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, which is still in operation. Vickstrom spent school breaks roaming the uninhabited building and grounds during the off-season with his buddy. They rode in the dumbwaiter, climbed the old wooden steps up the lighthouse tower, and had a secret hiding place on the roof for forbidden cigarettes. As they prowled the extensive building, Vickstrom says, “It felt almost as if a great personality permeated the place as one walked through the lobby, dining room and “back of the house” places like the maintenance shop, storerooms and laundry.” He says, “Without knowing it at the time, I was steeped in the traditions of operating a full-service resort, in an old school classical sense, with extra insight from close association with the owners.”

He continued to work at the Inn during high school summers, moving up from dishwasher — “hot, steamy, sweaty work” — to dessert man, preparing buttered toast at breakfast, and then plating cakes and pie à la mode for dessert. During his last summer he was a waiter, a challenging job for a self-pro¬claimed introvert. Vickstrom says, “I will forevermore respect and admire the talent that it takes for waitstaff to accomplish this job properly — with a sense of timing and appropriate tableside conversation, while placing and picking up multiple kitchen orders at different stations.”

The program required students to take relevant summer jobs, and since Vickstrom was intrigued by the West, he made a 3,000 mile cross-country road trip ending in Lake Tahoe. He met new people, made new friends and enhanced an abiding love of the outdoors that originated with his parents, brother and sister while exploring New England during childhood years. Lake Tahoe and that summer of ’74 adventure was a great experience for a young man and helped build his confidence and independence.

The next summer taught him another lesson. He planned to live at home and work at a colonial inn nearby. However, the job had evaporated. Vickstrom packed and drove along Maine’s seacoast with a map, hotel directory and pad of notepaper. He applied for work resort by resort. Vickstrom says, “I persisted for three days, visiting something like 50 establishments, while sleeping in my car at night, and soon I had my pick of several job offers. Another life lesson learned — those who actively seek work can usually find something rewarding.”

His new position was night auditor at a motor inn in York Beach, Maine where, “I gravitated towards the procedural and organized nature of the hotel business.” After receiving his associate degree, Vickstrom decided to go for a four-year degree and took a number of courses at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In the summer of ’76, he headed for Miami and Florida International University (FIU). FIU had a great reputation and a work/study program — it was, and still is one of the top hotel schools in the country. Vickstrom’s favorite class was Hotel Accounting, and he eventually decided to become a hotel controller. He says, “College was so enjoyable I kind of stretched out the experience, taking six years to ultimately achieve a bachelor degree. This was a time of pure dedication to acquiring hotel knowledge and work experience — almost a 24/7 quest.”

While working the front desk at the Coconut Grove Hotel and as a payroll clerk at the Miami International Airport restaurant, Vickstrom graduated on the Dean’s List in 1978 and received the Howard Johnson’s Scholarship and his bachelors in hotel management.

He was recruited by The Sheraton Corporation into their management training program and his first post-college job was as assistant controller of the 380-room Sheraton Columbus Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Right away he found himself in over his head. “I had never managed people and had to learn by dumb mistakes. You can’t order people around, they have to want to do it — for themselves and for you. Eventually my confidence reached a low point; however I persevered.” It was a sink or swim situation. “Sheraton had great financial procedures and controls, the best in the industry. I felt lucky to be part of it.”

Vickstrom says, “One of the blessings of accounting is that each month (each day in some cases) there is a repetitive cycle to most of the work, and previous reports and records can usually be used for reference. Sometimes it seems like you’re a carpenter building houses — one can really master this craft.” His efforts and hard work paid off when his memo critiquing a new company policy came to the attention of the director of financial controls at company headquarters. Vickstrom was selected for a home office assignment. He says, “Company transfer and promotion is a proven way for career advancement. I felt like a jet aircraft taking off on the runway.”

In the fall of 1980, he became a financial control analyst at Sheraton’s World Headquarters, located in Boston at the time. There, Vickstrom and a counterpart produced the company’s weekly activity report, a summary of financial results organized by division from some 160 hotels worldwide. They communicated with hotel controllers to compile budget variance explanations. This became his specialty, one that required a certain amount of perseverance and dedication to accuracy. He says, “It took a real art to get cooperation from people — another lesson I am still and will forevermore be learning.” Vickstrom was encouraged to write company policies and procedures that were published and implemented company-wide. “This was an exhilarating experience. I felt like an executive.”

Project controller at the Sheraton Savannah Resort in Savannah, Ga. was his next position. The hotel was undergoing a total renovation, which allowed him to pair up with a skilled project manager and to learn something new. He also met his future wife Patsy, and they married in June of 1984. Vickstrom now had two stepdaughters Denise and Jodie, and soon, another new job at the Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Md.

There he refined his project controller skills at the 337 room business hotel being constructed downtown near the busy waterfront. His primary job was tracking furniture, fixtures and equipment orders against a $5 million budget, then coordinating delivery and installation, and verifying and approving all invoices for payment. “I never knew,” says Vickstrom, “what a pile of parts an employee locker room can be prior to assembly. Seriously, it is an amazing thing to start with an empty building and fully furnish it with everything from carpet to nightstands to signage to room service trays. Then see the staff hired and trained for first-class service and to help make the business come alive with registered guests.” He had hoped to be named hotel controller, but that slot was already filled. Nevertheless Baltimore was good to him. He enjoyed the city and nearby camping opportunities and spent quality time preparing the new hotel’s budget and potential staffing levels. All would be good preparation for his next post, the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va. The hotel, slated for total renovation, would be another pre-opening post with Vickstrom as project controller — only this time he would continue on as controller after the re-opening as the Jefferson Sheraton.

This property with 276 guestrooms and suites first opened in 1895 and occupies a full-city block. Vickstrom describes the public spaces as awesome, “like walking through a museum, except better.” During his six years there, Sheraton recognized his job performance in 1989 with the President’s Award and Controller of the Year. His daughter Jamie was born in Virginia and all was good until Sheraton lost the management contract and the top dozen managers were out of a job. Vickstrom interviewed for and got the post of controller at Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tenn.

He remained nine years, under four different general managers and through a corporate change from Sheraton to Starwood and a Chapter 11 process. An extensive workload fell on Vickstrom’s shoulders and by early 2000, he had burned out. He stayed in Nashville and for the next three years worked with a commercial development group on Hilton Garden Inn projects, which was varied and challenging work, but Vickstrom now had time and energy to begin backpacking as a hobby.

Although he’s a member of Tennessee trails association, hiking out West is his favorite. He’s trekked through Zion a few times and in the Grand Canyon for two nights, three days. “It was almost a life-changing experience, and I highly recommend it.”

With the move to Nashville, Vickstrom had become active in HFTP where he has alternated as chapter president and vice president for several terms. Through HFTP contacts he learned in 2003 that the controller spot was opening at the newly renovated 122-room Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, a five-star and five-diamond luxury hotel. Vickstrom describes this as a high point of his career, and it’s personally a perfect match for a man who enjoys reading about grand old hotels and researching hotel history.

Built in 1910, The Hermitage Hotel has Italian Sienna marble in the entrance, a grand ballroom with wall panels of Russian walnut, and a cut stained-glass ceiling in the vaulted lobby. A parade of famous guests have signed the hotel guest book and The Capitol Grille and Oak Bar are award-winning dinning spots. Vickstrom urges his fellow HFTP members to visit the Hermitage saying, “It’s a grand style of hotel not built anymore.”

Anticipating the upcoming HFTP Annual Convention & Tradeshow, September 24 – 27, in Nashville, Vickstrom also urges attendees to see the first-rate exhibits at the Country Music Hall of Fame and walk around downtown Nashville, observing the character and international importance of the music industry here. “There are dozens of small clubs with aspiring young artists in blues, jazz and classical music. Some streets are honky-tonk, and you can hear the music as you pass the open doors. We also have a brand-new, $140 million symphony hall downtown, and the Frist Art Museum. Nashville is much more than country music, though. A diverse economy includes health care services, publishing, automotive manufacturing, education and much more.”

Vickstrom, whose name is a Swedish translation of “where the stream meets the bay” credits his hotel career with enabling him to stay connected to a wide spectrum of people. “The cross section of people who work in hotels helps keep you well-grounded. It’s important to say hello and make a genuine effort to put forth a positive example. Staff tends to look up to management, and we have to provide the right image of optimism and leadership. I find that younger people tend to seek direction and look up to older people who have greater industry experience, if the communication and guiding actions are there. Respect must always be earned no matter what age; and energetic effort is critical each and every day.”

Every step in his career has provided a life lesson for Vickstrom. Some of these were hard to take at the time, but all become punctuation marks in his life story. From the get go, he has been a prodigious worker, absorbing his surroundings and learning from each job. At Sheraton he discovered the value of going the extra mile. “I realized that doing things right creates a lasting impression, even if it takes more time. Quality is always worth the extra effort.”