By Daily Press staff
Paul Hortobagyi, a veteran of the hospitality industry, leads the staff and sets the tone for the ambiance at Le Merigot Beach Hotel & Spa in Santa Monica. His tenure is considered a major accomplishment in an industry where change is the norm.
Prior to securing the coveted assignment of general manager for Santa Monica’s last city-approved beachfront property, Hortobagyi successfully managed the Georgian Hotel for more than eight years. While at the Georgian, he received the prestigious Manager of the Year award (in the small hotels category) by the American Hotel & Lodge Association in 2004. Other accomplishments included securing a spot on the Top 400 Hotels list by American Lodging Magazine and the award for Best Service Hotel in Santa Monica by the American Film Market attendees.
The Georgian also became a AAA Three-Diamond hotel under his leadership.
Hortobagyi also has been with Southwest Hospitality (flagships include the original Hilton Hotel/La Posada in Albuquerque) where he was considered a “turnaround” specialist. He spent 90 days at a property to assess its needs and implement management directives and soft and hard goods strategies to bring a hotel or restaurant back in the black.
Prior to Southwest Hospitality, clients for whom he served as an independent consultant tapped Hortobagyi’s food and beverage expertise. His signature coffeehouse concept, including development of recipes and menus to design, service and staffing, was in demand by a variety of hospitality entities. Similarly, while employed at R&R Hospitality whose Pea Soup Andersen’s dot the landscape along the historic Route 101 and elsewhere, he functioned as food and beverage director implementing creative and successful operational tactics, innovative menus and service standards. Hortobagyi’s extensive knowledge of restaurants comes from personal experience, as well as from the many high-profile posts he’s held. In the late ‘80s he owned a delicatessen and a New York-style bistro offering casual fare in Orange County.
Hortobagyi has worked in Florida as a regional food & beverage manager for a diversified chain that counted specialty restaurants and aviation-themed venues on the roster. While the picturesque locales of Clearwater, Sarasota, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach were a draw, it was the humidity that pushed him to the perfect climate of another Ocean [Avenue] in Santa Monica.
As an active member of the Santa Monica Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Hortobagyi is on the Executive Board, as well as treasurer, and a Board Member with the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and a Certified Hotel Administrator.
Originally from Hungary, Hortobagyi trained at the revered Hospitality Industry Institute in Budapest receiving a degree in Hotel Management as well as a Masters in Culinary Arts. After graduation and because of stringent Iron Curtain regulations that were still in effect at that time he agreed to join the family business. The Flying Hortobagyis, a well-known acrobatic ensemble of performers, was his ticket out of Hungary during a difficult time.
The family traveled all over Europe prior to coming to Florida as a headlining act with Ringling Brothers. Little did he know this would lead to his reverting back to the hospitality industry in which he trained, a permanent residence in the United States and eventually, a wife. Paul was a Teeterboard Acrobat and met his wife, a Trapeze Artist from Prague, while on the circuit. When the communist government ordered them back to their respective countries in 1978, the two opted to stay in the land of opportunity.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 1, 2005. Read the original PDF.