Ask a New Yorker: I’m sitting with Merrie L. Davis. That’s M.E.R.R.I.
E, unusual spelling. Is that a family name?
Merrie: No, it’s not, but then my mother was very happy when I was born,
so she says!
Ask a New Yorker: And the L?
Merrie: It’s for Lovable (laughter)! Oh come on; you don’t question
that for real? Merrie Lovable Davis, that’s what people tell me.
Ask a New Yorker: Describe yourself.
Merrie: I’m going to do word association: Laughter, fun, humor. That’s
what comes to mind, especially sitting in my office looking at all the toys
around here. It’s a large toy chest that keeps me going and is used for
business.
Ask a New Yorker: What is your business?
Merrie: I’m president and publisher of MVP
New York, which are the leading magazines that go into the hotels to the
traveler. We have five children: an annual–a hardcover “Where”
guestbook, two monthlies– IN New York magazine
and Where
magazine, a quarterly map, and we have New York City Quick Guide which has
itineraries, maps and special offers.
Ask a New Yorker. Is there anything new happening in the hospitality industry?
Merrie: Yes, it’s turning around and getting better, thank God. In hotels,
the occupancy is up, the room rates are slowly coming back and people are putting
their hands in their pockets to spend.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite hotel for breakfast?
Merrie: No way, I’m non-committal on this because I’ve got all the
hotel people listening! Any one serving breakfast is my favorite at any given
time.
Ask a New Yorker: Its 4:30 in the afternoon right now. What was your day like?
Merrie: Well, it started about four a clock this morning, not intentionally.
It’s crazy and insane. But what I love about it is that it is never the
same. So I come in and never know what’s going to happen. I can have a
plan of what has to be handled and if I’m lucky I can get to it at a reasonable
hour. The day can go for a very long period of time. We do over 100 conceriege
events a year because everybody wants to reach them because of the link to 47
million travelers. So the night can end up with a restaurant and then a Broadway
show or a retail store that is catering to the concierge for that evening with
a fashion show. The days are long and involved and always different. You can
never get bored.
Ask a New Yorker: The New York City Association of Hotel Concierges bestowed
upon you a rare title of “Honorary Concierge”.
Merrie: Yes, that was really special because I’ve worked with the concierge
community for 20 plus years. They are a great, great group of people. They really
make a difference to your trip and to the city. They are basically the ambassadors.
The fact that I’ve worked together with them and they felt that the give-and-take
we’ve had over the years warranted this award was very special.
Ask a New Yorker: O.K, let’s switch it up here. Do you have a green thumb?
Do you like to garden?
Merrie: Well, the operative word is present tense. Past tense I grew up with
a mother who had prize winning flowers, rose bushes, hydrangeas, you name it.
And I used to kill philodendrons. And somehow or other I discovered a DNA gene
for gardening. So the answer is, yes I love it! Do the plants thrive at times?
Not totally, but I believe enthusiasm counts for a lot so I really care and
try hard.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you talk to your plants?
Merrie: All the time. What, are you kidding me? Matter of fact, in the little
town that I go to on the weekends I recently purchased 22 cubic yards of mulch
to take care of the flowers in my garden. I could have mulched Connecticut.
I miscalculated.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite vegetable?
Merrie: (laughter) Woe…artichoke. I like dipping, that’s why.
Ask a New Yorker: No double dipping.
Merrie: No, I’m never a double a dipper. I’m a single dipper unless
it’s my own plate then I’m a double.
Ask a New Yorker: I saw Lady Ga-Ga on one your magazine covers. Did you go to
her most recent concert at Madison Square Garden?
Merrie: No, but I think she is an amazing person to have marketed herself in
such a phenomenal way. Anyone who wants to be a marketer should take lessons
from her.
Ask a New Yorker: Where did you grow up?
Merrie: Far Rockaway. Born in Brooklyn, grew up in Far
Rockaway and Manhattan.
Ask a New Yorker: I love The Ramones’ Rockaway Beach, great song. Can
you sing?
“Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum, the sun is out and I want some,
It’s not hard, not far to
reach, we can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach?”
Merrie: Well, there’s a funny story attached to that. In junior high school,
true story, I tried out for the glee club and the teacher said she would make
me a deal. She would make me secretary of the glee club if I promised to mouth
the words because she claimed I was throwing everybody off-key. I was so hurt
by that, my mother had all the records from the 30’s and 40’s actually
all the way up to the 70’s that I learned all the show songs . I sing
wherever I go and as a matter of fact, in the industry we have black tie events
for twenty years. A black tie event is normally boring and dull. I do not do
boring and dull. So there is always a parody written for me to the audience
which I try to tie it to a tune from a Broadway show. This current year we did
the Adams Family. Just recently Carnard Lines had flown my editor in chief and
myself over to South Hampton, England and we sailed back on the Queen Marry
doing seminars on New York City. Everything is in the packaging. We brought
on to the ship $50,000 worth of prizes. And when we talked about shopping, dining,
entertainment we would have questions that had to be answered by multiple choice,
and we gave out prizes everything from restaurants to spa visits to hotels visits.
But the part when they got to the Broadway shows, we had name that Broadway
show tune. They had to choose which show it was from. I figured what are they
are going to do, jump ship? I sang!
Ask a New Yorker: Your junior high school teacher would be proud of you.
Merrie: I’m very good a-capella. I’m not very good with a band behind
me. They throw me off key.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your favorite New York movie?
Merrie: Avatar, wasn’t that filmed here? Am I not in Pandora? Did I make
a wrong turn?
Ask a New Yorker: What would you like to learn that you don’t already
know?
Merrie: I’d like to learn how to draw. I used to paint years ago, not
well. I could copy. A friend of mine just got me back into acrylics. I’ve
been painting , copying again. But my inability to draw makes it much harder
for me. As a matter of fact, very soon I’m getting a drawing lesson.
Ask a New Yorker: Back to your office and its décor.
Merrie: I’m an over sized child. As Peter Pan said, “I won’t
grow up”. The chair collection started when I purchased an eight dollar
twig chair at the Lexington Street fair many moons ago and it’s taken
on a life of its own. I have over a thousand miniature chairs. Miniature is
not necessarily doll-house size. They can be seven, eight, nine inches high.
They’re literally all over the place. I have a lot of chairs and no place
to sit. I love them either miniature or over-sized. I do not like anything normal.
Ask a New Yorker: How do you stay so young and healthy, happy and fit?
Merrie: I do everything from meditation to exercise to E.F.T. (Emotional Freedom
Technique) .
Ask a New Yorker: What’s your mantra?
Merrie: I can’t share it because it’s my mantra, my mantra, ‘My’
being the operative word!
Ask a New Yorker: Besides your mantra do you have any inspirational saying that
you live by?
Merrie: Yes, here’s one: ”If you believe you can or you believe
you can’t, you’re probably right”. There are others…the
bumble philosophy of life. Aero-dynamically, a bumble cannot not fly. But he
doesn’t know it so he flies any way. The business mantra is having fun,
work hard, make money.
Ask a New Yorker: Love the stuffed cat. What’s your favorite toy in the
room?
Merrie: I have two real cats at home who are very much alive, and I’m
very happy that they’re in my life. One of my favorite toys I got in South
Hampton before getting on the ship to do seminars on our way back to New York
City. On a sales calls, everybody is always saying, “I don’t have
money, I don’t have this. I don’t have that”. I call that
the Canal Street mentality of business. So I purchased this wonderful violin
that’s about three inches long. So invariably, if I’m on a call
and somebody starts doing that, I’ll just pull this out and stop talking
and play my music. It cuts through the complaining and gets back to business.
Ask a New Yorker: Last question: Do you have any tattoos?
Merrie: No! Well, yes I have one on my heart (laughter)! No, I’m not a
tattoos person. Sorry, honey. For many reasons, not the least of which is I
hate pain.
