Exemplifying OTO’s Guiding Principles

April 21, 2023 | Awards

OTO Development is built on a foundation of Guiding Principles: Integrity, Partnership, Humility, Principled Entrepreneurship, Initiative, and Fulfillment.

These principles are not independent of our business; they are the core of the business. Our Guiding Principles provide the framework for how we make decisions and execute strategies, and we cannot succeed in our business endeavors absent of these principles.

We create value for our team members, partners, customers, and communities by acting in accordance with these principles, which ultimately leads to a stronger company culture and better business performance.

We recently honored the team members who best exemplify each of our Guiding Principles:

• Integrity: Bruce Hoegg, Accounting Support, Training & Compliance Manager
• Partnership: Dorindia Cianci, Director of Operations Support 
• Humility: Shelton Blue, Director of Sales at Hyatt Place National Harbor  
• Principled Entrepreneurship: Kevin DeMark, Senior National Director of Facilities
• Initiative: Tammy Morrison, Accounts Receivable Supervisor
• Fulfillment:  Seema Bandukda, Senior Regional Director of Operations, Southwest

When asked how they put the Guiding Principles into action, here's what they said: 

“To describe Integrity, I’ll quote what many have said before: ‘Do what is right, even when no one is looking.’  Early in my career when I was an executive housekeeper, I used to remind the room attendants that ‘if it is almost clean, it is dirty.’ The same applies to the principle of integrity — if it is almost right, it is wrong. If I follow these two simple statements, Integrity should follow.”  — Bruce Hoegg

"Partnership is an important Guiding Principle for me. As part of OTO’s task force, I move from property to property and work with many different people. My goal is to bring best practices into every hotel to ensure success — but I don’t know everything. Whether I’m there to train employees or assist with rolling out new procedures, I must lean on the hotel team to help me understand all the intricacies of their particular property, from staff to guests to market. Likewise, hotels can tap into so many great resources from our corporate office. And that is what Partnership is all about: a great team effort.” — Dorindia Cianci

“Humility is a profound concept. It’s characterized by a soft focus on the self, a real sense of one’s accomplishments and worth, and an acknowledgment of one’s limitations, imperfections, mistakes, and knowledge gaps. Being humble means being teachable. Humility is being honest, empathetic, and self-aware; it’s about valuing collaboration and leading with a spirit of generosity. A leader’s genuine humility empowers everyone else by offering the proper context and ingredients for others to succeed, building mastery and competence, and providing clarity and, in the end, purpose. For me, humility means don’t just be good or great; always strive to be better and bring everyone else along with you, too.”  — Shelton Blue

“Principled Entrepreneurship guides everything I do at OTO, where I’ve been given so many opportunities to grow my career among inspiring mentors and amazing colleagues. Over the past 18 years, I’ve learned the best way to work with internal and external partners to ensure we provide a fantastic guest experience. OTO is on a quest to become the best company in lodging, and sometimes that requires taking calculated risks, modifying old habits, or embracing change to properly maintain our assets and achieve profitability. I use every Guiding Principle, every day, while interacting with vendors and colleagues, and I encourage my team members to do the same.” — Kevin DeMark

“Initiative is all about taking charge and solving problems. Initiative can also mean a personal quality that shows a willingness to get things done and take responsibility. I do all of these things on a daily basis while heading OTO’s Accounts Receivable department.  Working with our hotel general managers is very rewarding and helping them succeed is my goal every day. Making their job easier and keeping their day less stressful makes me feel rewarded and fulfilled. I have always had the confidence to face challenges head-on while finding solutions to any situation that may arise, and I’m glad I can put this Initiative to use here at OTO Development.” — Tammy Morrison

“Fulfillment is reaching our highest potential. I want to make a difference in this world, so I give 110 percent to my family, my colleagues, and my neighbors. I don’t do an average job at OTO; I work hard to be the best. While I pour a lot of energy into my work, there’s always time for my husband, my mother, and my dog. I also prioritize service, whether that’s spending time with a grieving family or sharing my experience with a fellow cancer survivor. Fulfillment isn’t only what we accomplish in our careers. It’s the meaningful character we bring to our homes, our workplaces, and our communities.”  — Seema Bandukda

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