Hotel Recruits Small-Business Owners

Wearing a blue suit and a crisp white shirt, Darrell Davis took a seat in the front row of a conference room at Prince George's Community College before officials from National Harbor's marquee hotel, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Davis, who owns a commercial cleaning business, had come to the college yesterday for a vendor fair. But he didn't need to hear Gaylord's sales pitch. He already knew he wanted to do business with the company.

So did the more than 300 other owners of small businesses who were there to learn how to secure contracts at what will be the largest hotel and convention center on the eastern seaboard. Gaylord National, which will offer 2,000 hotel rooms as well as upscale restaurants and shops, is scheduled to open in Oxon Hill in the spring.

The fair -- the first for any of the four Gaylord hotels -- offered people whose businesses provide flowers, wedding cakes, pest control, carpet cleaning and other services the chance to meet with Gaylord officials to determine whether they qualify to bid on contracts.

"Business has been slow, but that's why I'm here today -- to sign a bigger contract," Davis, who lives in Chantilly, said before the fair. He has operated Davis Commercial Cleaning, which employs 10 people, for eight years. Gaylord worked with a Minority Business Enterprise consultant to organize the fair.

Sheldon Suga, the resort's general manger, said the company is trying to figure out how to incorporate small businesses into its model. At its other facilities, for example, a large nationwide janitorial service might take care of the work at the hotel. But at Gaylord National, he said, the contract could go to five smaller companies.

"We knew from the beginning that we wanted to be part of the community," Suga said.

Dino Wilson, account manger for Commando, a janitorial service based in Clinton, said he would like to grow his 40-year-old company. He said most of his work is in Baltimore, but he hopes that Gaylord will open the door to more work in the county.

"There just hasn't been this kind of opportunity in Prince George's," Wilson said.

The vendor fair allowed business owners to be screened by Gaylord representatives to see whether they met qualifications to bid on contracts. For example, they were told that they needed $5 million in general liability insurance to provide a service that deals with fresh food, or $2 million in insurance for other services. Owners also were asked such things as whether they are "environmentally green" and when they became certified.

Suga said company officials would review the applications and call those who are eligible to participate in the bidding process.

Meanwhile, construction continues on the resort and convention center, where about 2,000 people work daily and $1 million a day is being spent to meet the April opening deadline, company officials said. More than a million room nights have been booked at the hotel. Many of the bookings include individuals and groups that would have gone to other Gaylord properties, including some that had planned to have their events in the District.

"We're excited about this hotel, because it's a flagship for us," said John P. Caparella Jr., the company's chief operating officer.

As the fair came to a close, Davis, the commercial cleaning business owner, began to make his way across the conference room, looking for the representatives from National Harbor.

The Gaylord officials had told him that his business probably would not meet the qualifications for their contracts but that some of the retailers and smaller hotels at National Harbor might be able to use his company.

"Everything is straight to the point," Davis said. "But this has been a very good experience." His wife, Veve, said, "They asked us to talk to the guy from National Harbor because they have smaller contracts."