James Lavenson had a solid head for business and a personal devotion
to fine service. He was a specialist when it came to promotion and
marketing in the hotel industry.
As president of the New York Plaza
Hotel, he revitalized the enterprise and kept it on a highly
successful level until it was sold in 1975.
In 1973, Lavenson delivered
his
Think Strawberries:
Everybody Sells speech, before the American Marketing
Association in NYC.
Lavenson had a stroke and died on
September 19, 1998, at Rockport, Maine.
By the way, in January 1975, Western Hotels International bought the
Plaza from the Sonesta International Hotels Corp for $25 million
bucks and started extensive remodeling. In July 1988, Donald Trumped
that with $390 million.
And here is the
website.
