T he Westlake Village Inn is celebrating a grand achievement. During an age in which chain hotels are omnipresent, the inn has managed to thrive since 1968. In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Westlake Village Inn won the distinction of becoming the only California member of Summit Hotels & Resorts, a collection of 600 hotels and resorts in more than 40 countries. Founded and owned by John L. Notter, one of Westlake Village’s first developers, the 141-room inn sits on 17 acres, is surrounded by a private lake and next to an 18-hole golf course. The inn recently hosted Tiger Woods, who was in town for his annual golf tournament. In addition to golf, sports enthusiasts who visit the hotel may take advantage of the tennis courts on the premises as well as biking trails. With more than 14,000 sq. feet of event space, the inn is also a popular venue for additional events, most notably weddings. The Business Journal spoke with Notter about how he turned what originally was a 75-room motor lodge into a luxurious hotel, complete with a wine cellar, two-story villa, board room and other perks. A Swiss immigrant who came to the United States in 1941, Notter began his career as president of two Ahmanson Savings and Loan. He then became the operating head of the D.K. Ludwig Group. Notter has served as chair of Princess Hotels International, European-American Securities, American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Credit Suisse First Boston and Hilton Hotels. Three years ago he became a board member of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Question: Why do you think the Westlake Village Inn is still around after all of these years? Answer: It’s different than most places. I put a lot of flower boxes in. I made it more European-looking. I’m always trying to improve the property. We just finished our wine cellar. We’re always working. We don’t stand still. Q: What have been some of your greatest lessons with regards to running a hotel? A: It’s been evolutionary. I’ve been around this industry my whole life. My father was a chef. My uncle was a pastry chef. Q: Who is your target client, and how do you get them to stay at your inn rather than at a chain hotel? A: Amgen and those companies come in all the time. There’s so many companies here — Baxter, Dole. We’re getting much more high-tech companies. With Amgen here, other companies come as a consequence, a lot of high-tech and biotech companies. We also have a lot of social guests, business guests and local guests. We do a lot of weddings here. So many hotels have a drop in guests on weekends. We actually do better on weekends [because of all of the activities]. Q: What are the challenges and advantages of having an independent hotel? A: We’ve always been a hotel that’s given our guests a lot of value. We’ve always been reasonably priced. We’re under-priced by 20 percent. We have rooms on the golf course for $100. A guy can have dinner here, play tennis. We have a lot of land. We’ve owned the property for so long that we don’t have a high capital cost. We keep the debt very reasonable. It gives me the opportunity to put money back into the hotel. We get told that we should be charging more like the Marriott, Hampton, Hyatt or Four Seasons. In the past three years, a lot of hotels have moved to this area, which added a thousand rooms to the area. A chain [hotel] keeps moving. We stay here. The biggest challenge to being independent is not having the benefit of a national reservation system. What we do have is personal service and loyalty. We do have an opportunity to get to know all of our guests. Q: What would you tell someone who aspired to be a hotelier? A: I think it’s a great field. The more you learn, the more it can translate. You want to work in New York, fine, South America, fine. It’s one of those fields where there’s no discrimination. If you can do the job, you’ve got the job. I’ve recommended it to my children. My son-in-law is president of the company. My son is getting involved in maintenance and marketing. Q: You say that you bring a European sensibility to the inn? Can you talk about that more? What touches of Europe can one see at the inn? A: Many times I send tables, things over from Europe — St. Tropez, Italy, Paris flea markets. I’ve been to Europe three times in the past two months. Q: The hotel has a restaurant, a club, etc. What would you say is its biggest draw? A: Bogie’s is the club. Five hundred people line up outside. Bogie’s has a real disco. That’s what they want. People come from all over the San Fernando Valley to go the club. Friday night the young people come to hear bands. Saturday night, older people come for the disco. The restaurant is a separate venue. That’s the real edge on our competition. It’s very difficult running a restaurant if you have to go through a hotel. We also have our banquet business. We have four different businesses. We have everything on our property. Q: You’ve made many renovations, which are the ones you feel will have the biggest impact? A: We’ve added 75 rooms. All of these rooms have fireplaces. Even the banquet rooms have fireplaces. We have a fountain and new landscaping. We have the wine cellar. Q: A lot of hotels are trying to change the way they operate, so they’re more environmentally friendly. Has the inn made any changes to make it more “green?” A: We have new electric carts to transport guests around, recycling, special light bulbs. Q: Has the economic downturn affected the hotel in any way? A: The restaurant business is a little bit down. Banquets are booked a year in advance, so we’ll see the effects [the downturn has] on that in 2009. The hotel is holding its own because we have so many loyal customers. We really have a very loyal clientele. SNAPSHOT – John L. Notter Title: Owner, Westlake Village Inn Age: 73 Education: Finance major at California State University, Los Angeles. Most Admired: My step-dad who adopted me and never made me feel like I was adopted. A lot of people I know who have step-dads have had problems. Career Turning Point: When I went to work for the Ahmanson Company. Bob Ahmanson was my mentor. I’ve been fortunate enough to work for three billionaires, to be the right-hand man for all of them. I worked for D.K. Ludwig. In the ’70s, he was the richest man in the world. I worked for Barron Hilton. It was just luck, timing, being in the right places at the right time. They just gave me opportunities to keep taking more responsibility. Personal: Married with three children and 11 grandchildren.
