Frank Dolley is finding his way around a new hotel

Frank Dolley has been loyal to the Hyatt Corp. for nine years. He has helped manage its hotels and resorts since a few days after graduating from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. He went wherever Hyatt needed him, be it Orlando or San Diego.

Frank Dolley EVAN WILLIAMS / FLORIDA WEEKLY "I love it," he said. "I like hosting people, taking care of people. I like seeing smiles on their faces. I've always been told I show a lot of passion in my job."

This year he took on a new position, the general manager of Hyatt Place Coconut Point in Estero, a 108-room hotel inside the sprawling Coconut Point mall, a magnet for locals and tourists alike.

"(The Coconut Point mall) is a selling point," Mr. Dolley said. "Other than having an ocean in your backyard, I can't ask for anything better than this. It sells itself."

It's the first time Mr. Dolley, 31, has been responsible for all the day-to-day operations of a hotel.

"It's very unique, very different," Mr. Dolley said. "There's so much for me to learn."

The Hyatt Place brand — one of eight owned by Hyatt Corp. — is structured without separate housekeeping, restaurant and human resources departments like many other hotels. With the help of one assistant, Mr. Dolley finds himself playing many roles.

It's a streamlined approach to management. The hotel's 20 employees are divided into three groups all working under Mr. Dolley: housekeeping, maintenance and "gallery hosts," whom simultaneously check guests in and work in the cafe. But all are considered "hosts," meaning they interact with guests.

Ultimately, Mr. Dolley feels, that means a better experience for guests, because it reduces the disconnectedness and confusion that can result in having many departments all working to help one guest.

"Everyone does everything," he explained. "I provide the service the guest wants on their terms. If you need something we're going to do it, but we don't have a (separate) department to do it for you."

The Hyatt Place brand is also built around a concept called "purposeful service," which means taking a personal interest in guests' comfort.

"Purposeful is about greeting guests, making contact, sharing a moment, sharing a compliment," Mr. Dolley said.

To that end, his first stop every morning — after doing a walk through on the property — is the hotel's 24-hour café, where he mingles with guests at breakfast. He's not hard to spot: a dapper gentleman with a friendly smile in a pressed suit and tie.

After breakfast, it's hard to know where to find him. He might be handling a food and beverage order or health department inspection, calling a landscaping crew, training a new employee or even being a bell-hop if needed.

The hotel had a soft opening on Feb. 24 with season in full swing. Things had slowed down by the time of the grand opening April 2. Weekdays are generally filled with business travelers, while weekends bring transient visitors, Mr. Dolley said — mostly from Southwest Florida and some from the East Coast.

"I think this year you see a lot of people taking local trips," he said.

Mr. Dolley has lived in the area for four years, but grew up in Beverly, Mass. A gogetter from the get go, his first job was a paper route for the Beverly Times.

"I made bank," Mr. Dolley said, meaning that he earned a lot of cash, at least for what the job was. "I was very eager."

He also made bank working at a Bell's grocery store, then at a Friendly's restaurant and in college as a fine-dining server at Grappa, an Italian restaurant.

As soon as he graduated from Johnson & Wales, Mr. Dolley was assigned to a management position at a Hyatt brand hotel in Orlando.

"I liked Florida," he said. "I'd vacationed here before."

Then he was transferred to a Hyatt brand hotel in Loyola, Calif., where he worked for nine months, before heading to the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego. Four years ago, he was transferred to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Estero, as a front office manager and executive housekeeping manager. His wife, Joyce, still works there, right across the street.

Originally, Mr. Dolley had planned to go into hotel ownership. But now he says that dream is on hold as he focuses on an even brighter future: a 10-yearold daughter, 2-year-old son, and one more on the way. When not working, he might be picking up one of his suits — he buys them from Men's Wearhouse at Coconut Point — from the dry cleaner. But more often than not, he's with his family. "If it's going to the beach, sitting in the pool, shopping, I am just basically engaging with what's going on in their lives," he said.