by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
When the Adam’s Mark Hotel says it can cater to your every need, it’s more than a slogan.
“I’ll create anything to fit any budget,” said Bill Tuminski, the hotel’s new senior catering sales manager. “We can accommodate parties from two to 2,000.”
Tuminski comes to the Adam’s Mark with a long background in the hospitality business. But he almost went in another direction after earning a bachelor’s degree in public relations and broadcasting at Eastern Kentucky University.
“I did have dreams of doing broadcasting, but I was more drawn to the promotional aspect, the public relations,” he said. “I enjoy promoting more.”
He has plenty of opportunity to do that now as he spreads the word about the hotel and the city to a broad range of industries and groups.
“Basically, I’m in charge of all the large local catering groups,” said Tuminski. “My primary markets are transportation, banking, insurance and medical fields and the military.
“I contact them, do a lot of solicitation and build the relationships. I’m out cultivating business for the hotel.”
Tuminski began his career at 13 as a waiter — and, eventually, senior waiter — at Hall’s on the River, an upscale seafood restaurant in Winchester, Ky. While attending college, he worked at the Omni Netherlands Plaza.
After graduation, he moved to Atlanta, where he worked at The W Hotel, part of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts chain, and at the Atlanta Hilton & Towers. He transferred to the Omni in Jacksonville and, most recently, was event manager at the Sawgrass Marriott.
“Working at Sawgrass was wonderful,” said Tuminski. “I really liked it there. But then I got a call from the Adam’s Mark, offering me this promotion. It’s a great opportunity to advance my career one more step.
“The Adam’s Mark has a great reputation. The product here is absolutely wonderful. The sleeping room-to-space ratio is perfect. It’s a state-of-the-art hotel with a perfect location.”
Business these days is “great,” as the hotel prepares for the Christmas season, Tuminski said.
“I’m getting a lot of inquiry calls,” he said. “I’m also researching the groups that have been here in the past, contacting them and introducing myself. Then maybe I have them in for lunch and do a tour of the property.”
The Christmas season is prime time for the catering business, but the other seasons also feature special events.
“There are different things going on at different times of the year,” said Tuminski. “In the spring, you have your proms and spring formals and military balls. In the summer, it’s more family reunion-type events or class reunions.”
Drawing convention business also keeps Tuminski and the rest of the staff busy.
“We are a convention hotel,” he said. “That is a big part of our business. Then I plug the local businesses into the rooms remaining after the large conventions are in.”
When it comes to accommodating a customer’s needs, the menu selections “are flexible,” said Tuminski. “We can be creative.
“If we don’t have something listed on the menu, we can still get whatever the customer wants. We have phenomenal support from the line staff. There is a great amount of teamwork here.”
Not only is the food “the best in the city, I can’t say enough about Bravo! and the singing waiters,” he said. “It’s a terrific place.”
Quantity is flexible, too, said Tuminski, who handled receptions for 2,300 and 1,900 guests while at the Atlanta Hilton.
Setting up outside the Adam’s Mark can take half a day for a relatively simple arrangement to an entire day if the seating is more variable.
“The thing I’ve found most about about planning those large events is, once all the internal parts are working, everything goes pretty smoothly,” said Tuminski. “The stressful part depends on the type of party it is.
“Those large parties are stressful because they’re large. You can do a wedding for 200 people, and it’s a whole different kind of stress. It’s just a matter of the kind of business you’re working with.”
Plans are already being made for handling the crowds that will be in town for the Super Bowl, crowds that will need rooms and services a week before the game. Tuminski is eager to show what he, the hotel and the city have to offer.
“I’m happy and proud to showcase the Adam’s Mark and Jacksonville,” he said. “Our size, our location, our service are wonderful. We want to show off to the people who live and work here and to everyone who’ll be coming in from far away.”