Leona Helmsley did not let being married to a man worth approximately $5 billion stop her from continuing to advance her own career. Leona switched from real estate to hotel management when Harry and his hotel managers started taking her suggestions seriously. In a daring decorating test, Leona drew up and presented her own design ideas, which her husband liked far better than those of Park Lane's decorators. As her flair for management became increasingly apparent, Leona soon found herself in charge of her husband's newly acquired national chain of Hospitality Motor Inns, selected Sheraton Inns, and other assorted hotels scattered throughout a dozen states. In 1980 Leona took over as official spokeswoman and president of Helmsley Hotels Inc. By 1983 occupancy rates at the Helmsley hotels averaged from 75 to 100 percent, beating the New York industry average of 74 percent and showing significant improvement over pre-Leona days. She generously gives her husband much of the credit. "I learned a lot about the business from Harry," she told Marketing Communications. .
Considered a harsh taskmaster by many Harley Hotel staff, Helmsley has always maintained that her greatest joy in her work was not making money or amassing power, but rather the opportunity to work near the man to whom she remained devoted until his death in 1997.
Leona takes her role as president seriously. So do her employees. She frequently surprises them with unexpected inspection visits, grills them on the details of their specialties, and demands perfection from everyone. No one is safe, from the busboy to the vice-president. "I can tell you what's happening at each hotel, when a lifeguard's goofing off or when a maid's not doing her job," she told New York. "You're dealing with people who don't live here, whose name isn't on the building, who get away with what they can. I give them reason to want to get away with less.
How ethical was Leona Helmsley? According to me, Leona Helmsley wasn't ethical at all. ... Leona as a leader was controlling, demanding, rigid, strict. ... How did Leona Helmsley's abuse of power affect the way she did business? Leona abused all her powers and that brought down her estate. ...