When William Maloney assumed the role of General Manager at Hilton Pearl River in 2003, after teaching high school math and physics in Jamaica and pivoting from a career in environmental engineering, he was already well-prepared for the job. As the third-generation owner of the family business, Maloney grew up working a broad range of jobs in the hotel, from collecting trash to working the front desk, and a few others in between. “I was the doorman, probably when I was about 12,” Maloney remembers fondly. “Everyone thought it was cute. And then I was automated out of a job when we got the electric doors,” he jokes.
While Maloney may have lost that particular job to automated doors, he seems confident that his team – he notably uses the word “team” to refer to the staff – at the Hilton Pearl River provides an experience which cannot be replicated or replaced by machines. He believes that the desire for genuine human interactions will keep the hotel industry strong in the face of ubiquitous artificial intelligence.
Maloney talks about the special connection that is made when customers realize that they are patronizing an independently owned business. “We focus only on this one hotel and have for nearly 40 years. I think that gives a unique experience to guests…they recognize that although they are staying at a big brand hotel, they’re dealing with a small business.” Similarly, for the hotel team members, knowing that the owner of the hotel is onsite, working alongside them every day towards the same goals, is part of what makes the Hilton Pearl River unique.
While the business benefits from the cachet of the Hilton name, Maloney has made a great deal of effort to ensure that his hotel is not a cookie cutter franchise. “We don’t want to be a hotel that could exist anywhere,” he emphasizes. “We love existing here in the Hudson Valley, in Rockland. We think this is a very special, unique part of the world.”
His commitment to creating this connection to the local community is evident in certain details throughout the property. For example, he and his wife Jessica chose to highlight the work of local artists from around the Hudson to adorn the guest rooms and high-traffic areas of the hotel. Working with the hotel’s design team, they even came up with a special shade of paint called “Hopper Green” for the guest room doors during a recent renovation, as a nod to the American realist painter Edward Hopper, who is a native son of Nyack.
This connection to the local community goes beyond aesthetics. “It’s wonderful to be a home for so many,” says Maloney. The hotel is a community hub to which local families and organizations return for milestone celebrations and annual fundraising events. Maloney notes that the property is a popular venue for many young adults who have moved away from the area but wish to come back home to get married.
“Being able to do what we do to give people a space to be together and connect” is not something he takes for granted. He remembers how particularly emotional it was to welcome corporate groups back to the hotel following the impact of COVID on meetings and travel. “I think the renewed recognition of the value of being together is a big change. I think that we didn’t know how important that was before,” he says with a sincerity that illustrates just how much he values the role the hotel plays in making these connections.
After almost 40 years in business, it would be easy to define success based on the multiple awards and recognition bestowed upon the Hilton Pearl River, including Trip Advisor’s “Travelers’ Choice,” “Best Overall Service” among Hilton hotels in the tri-state area for 9 out of 10 consecutive years, as well as recognition from The Knot and Wedding Wire as a top wedding destination.
But for William Maloney, it always comes back to the people. “Being in Rockland just affords an incredible mix of people from all over the world that have found a home here in Rockland,” he says. “One of the best parts about travel is exploring the world and getting to know people and cultures elsewhere. When you come to a hotel that’s in a place like Rockland…we have always benefitted from the incredible mix of people that make up our team.”
“One of our greatest strengths, undoubtedly, is that we tend to be able to hang on to people who do a really good job,” he notes with pride. More than half of the Hilton Pearl River’s employees have been at the hotel for more than three years. Like Maloney himself, many have worked in different positions throughout the company. He encourages team members to explore different roles, a strategy which has been beneficial for both the employees and the business. For example, the hotel’s controller started as a night auditor, while the food and beverage director started as a storeroom clerk. There are multiple stories like this among the almost 200-person team.
The hotel is now seeing the adult children of long-time employees joining the team, further solidifying the Hilton Pearl River’s status as a “family business.”
“If we’re able to provide an opportunity for our team members to succeed, they in turn, help us succeed,” he says. “I think that’s a great measure of our success.”
For more information about Hilton Pearl River: hiltonpearlriver.com
Hilton Pearl River
500 Veterans Memorial Drive
Pearl River, NY 10965