For years, my wife Andrea and I have enjoyed staying at a boutique hotel in a quiet neighborhood on the north side of Newport Beach, just a block from the ocean. Things felt different on our last visit, though. When I went to check in, no one was at the front desk, which was unusual for this hotel. Instead, there was a sign with a phone number to call.
I dialed the number, but no one answered. From a back room behind the desk, I could hear someone talking and laughing loudly on the phone. I called out, “Hello?” but still no response. Several minutes later, I tried calling the phone number again, with still no response. Finally, after waiting a while, I called Andrea to explain the situation. Just then, a young man popped out from the back room and exclaimed, “I was eating!” Then he asked, “Did you call this number?” When I told him I had called twice, he grinned and said, “Oh, that was you!”
He asked if we had stayed there before, and I said, “Yes, many times.” That’s when he told me his family had purchased the hotel a few months ago. Then he informed me of a new $50 daily parking fee. Sensing my surprise, he asked if the previous owners charged for parking. They hadn’t, but he didn’t seem to care.
He pulled out a sheet of paper with my details and asked if my phone number was correct. It wasn’t. But rather than fix it, he told me to just take a picture of the room code written on the page. “We don’t give out key cards anymore,” he explained.
Andrea and I hauled our luggage up to the second floor. No luggage racks were available, so it was awkward to manage everything while looking up the code on my phone. Worse, the code didn’t work. I went back down, and the young man casually tore off a piece of paper, scribbled a different code, and said, “Try that one.” It worked, but later I overheard him giving the same code to another guest. I had never appreciated key cards as much as I do now.
When we finally got into our room, it wasn’t as clean as it used to be, and several amenities were missing. Ants crawled all over the bathroom. I’m not a picky customer, but when I pay good money for a hotel room, I expect at least the same quality I’d experienced before. It was clear the new owners were cutting costs with no regard for how it affected guests.
Andrea and I agreed we’d never stay there again. We mourned the loss of what had been such a wonderful place and dreaded the hassle of finding a new favorite spot. A part of me even hoped the new owners would fail so that someone else could take over and restore the hotel to its former glory. I couldn’t help but wonder, did the previous owners have any idea how quickly the experience they created had been ruined?
How to Protect Your Legacy
Have you ever thought about how selling your business might affect your customers, your employees, your vendors, and even your community? If you don’t care, you can sell to whoever pays the highest price. But most business owners I know do care. They take pride in what they’ve built and want the fruits of their labor to endure.
Of course, there are no guarantees. But asking potential buyers the right questions can help you determine who is most likely to carry on your legacy. Consider asking:
- Why do you want to buy our business? How does it fit into your long-term vision?
- Which of its current strengths do you want to preserve?
- What changes do you envision making to enhance the customer and employee experience?
- How do you see our current employees fitting into your culture and operational structure?
- What is your philosophy on employee compensation, benefits, and career development?
- How do you plan to maintain or improve the level of service our customers have come to expect?
- Do you anticipate changing any pricing, product/service offerings, or customer policies?
- Can you share examples of what happened to the customers and employees of other businesses you’ve acquired?
- Can I speak with the previous owners or employees about their experience with the transition?
When you sell your business, you’re not just transferring assets. You’re entrusting your legacy. Just as Andrea and I experienced the loss of a place we once loved because of careless new ownership, your customers and employees could feel the same if the wrong buyer takes over. The questions you ask today may be the difference between seeing your business decline or watching it thrive for years to come.
