>> tonight on "titans at the table" we talk football and the big apple. >> on february 2 at 6:28, there will be a coin toss right here. >> with the manablying -- bringing it all together. jonathan tisch is co-chairman of the loews corporation and co-owner of the new york giants. he was born and raised in a hotel family of successful hoteliers. in 1959 the family branched out and bought lowe's theaters. today they have assets that generate $15 billion in annual revenue with interest from anywhere from hotels to insurance to oil and gas.

jonathan tisch runs the company together with his cousin and also is the chairman of loews hotels. >> we totally took this area and made it guest friendly. >> true to his roots, just completed the massive luxury renovation of the flagship regency hotel, a place that's near and dear to his heart. >> i grew up in this hotel. >> all that work hasn't stopped him from offering three business strategy books and bringing the super bowl to the new york region. you get six hours of sleep? >> five, six hours. people know you'll get an email from me at 3:00 in the morning or 4:00 in the morning. >> despite a grueling schedule, tisch tries to make it to every giants home game. i finally managed to catch up with him on a blustery day on his team's home turf. >> looks good! > metlife stadium. it's incredible to be out on the field. how does it make you feel? >> it's pretty amazing. i think of my father and what he went through to afford us this opportunity to be partners

in the giants. >> in 1991, bob tisch, jon's father, fulfilled a lifelong dream to own his own sports team when he bought a 50% stake in the giants for a reported $80 million. today the team is valued at an estimated $1.3 billion. -owned by the tisch and mara family. if loews corporation were a football team, what's your position? >> probably the coach because i'm not there day to day. very much true in the hotel business. i can sit in my office on madison avenue but i'm not checking people into the rooms. i'm not making beds. so in that regard, i guess i would be the coach, understanding what is in your -- >> you have to have that big view. >> the playbook and then you have to articulate it and then you have to perform it. and it ain't easy. in the hotel business, it's 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you have to get it right every time. >> i know your family is a big

football family but why do you like football? >> i like watching football because you never know what is going to happen. a play can change the course of the game, a pass intercepted or a runner could fumble. you never know what's going to happen. it's exciting. the fans get involved. people are aspirational when it comes to their players. and that actually puts more pressure on us to ensure that the product that we're putting on at metlife stadium is the best that it can be. because with technology today, it's very easy to sit in your man cave, woman cave and watch a game but we want people to come out and experience it live, to sit in the stadium, 82,500 of them, and really say that it was an enjoyable experience and yeah, i maybe sat in some traffic and maybe the snowflakes fell on my head but that's all part of the nfl experience. >> coming up -- >> some of the greatest games in the history of the nfl have been played in inclement weather. >> metlife prepares for mother

nature. ♪

>> filling all 82,500 seats at metlife stadium is no easy task. the stadium is in east rutherford, new jersey, just across the hudson river from new york. metlife opened its doors four years ago and jonathan tisch was instrumental in getting it built. it's the only stadium that houses two nfl teams, the giants and the jets. it's also the largest nfl stadium in terms of seating capacity. all those seats came with a hefty price tag. >> this is an amazing building. it cost $1.6 billion to build. and people say to us, well, why isn't there a roof on it? that would have been another $400 million. and it's important to note that there is not a dime of public money in this building. the whole thing is privately financed. >> all private? >> all privately financed. it was quite a remarkable accomplishment.

>> the stadium will be in the spotlight in early february when it plays host to the most watched sporting event in the world, the super bowl. >> the super bowl is a great opportunity for this region, for new york and new jersey. this is the super bowl of a lot of firsts. this is the first time that super bowl is being hosted by two teams, the jets and the giants. this is the first time it's being hosted by two states and one big city. this is the first time that the game is being played in a northern city in a building without a roof. >> bringing the super bowl to the new york region has been a decade-long effort for tisch. it all started after 9/11 when he began pitching the idea to nfl local politicians as a way to jump-start the stuttering economy. but it wasn't until the metlife stadium was built in 2010 that the idea caught on. >> the nfl owners like to bring the game to some of the newer stadiums to highlight them so the world can see this great facility. >> millions of people around

the world will be watching super bowl xlviii, but perhaps no venue or staff is better prepared for an event like this. 20 times a season metlife undergoes a total transformation, a staff of about 20 takes two days to change from one team to the other, from jets green to giants blue or vice versa. and that includes the removable end zone. the turf from one team is rolled up and stored under the stands and the other team's turf is rolled out. special end zones will be unveiled for the broncos and seahawks. that's about all the 23468 is -- nfl is saying about the big game. what will be some of the cosmetic changes made at the stadium? >> i'll find out when i find out. >> you don't what the stadium will look like? >> i know we're standing on the 50-yard line. that's not moving. i know on february 2, at 6:28, there will be a coin toss right here. >> together with the owner of the jets, woody johnson, tisch is the co-chairman of the super bowl host committee.

that means making sure the stadium he helped build is ready for the big day. it's a lot of responsibility, though. what keeps you up at night on this? >> what keeps me up at night is the scale, the sheer number of things that have to get done, the sheer number of issues that we have tried to think of, to plan for. power is the big issue. and remember, there was a blackout that affected the game at the mercedes superdome. >> can you guarantee no power failure? >> so much work has gone in to ensuring there will not be a power failure. there's backup, there are contingency plans. there will be generators on site. you never say "never." you just can't promise 100% assurity, but we've done a lot of work. due to the security perimeter that will be built around metlife stadium, we're losing half of our parking spaces so we are trying to call this the first public transportation super bowl. we are working very closely with the mta, with new jersey

transportation authority to ensure that buses and trains will transport people to the game. >> i can just hear new yorkers, and you know new yorkers, they're going to say what, i'm getting out of the city during super bowl. what do you say to that? >> my first piece of advice is don't leave town. there will be a lot of fun, there's going to be some excitement. >> they're going to say look, the traffic and the hassle and how am i going to get to work? >> they're going to say that anyway. new yorkers do complain. but new yorkers are very generous spirit. new yorkers appreciate when something special is taking place. >> another problem, mother nature. >> there actually had to be a rule change in terms of us even being able to bid on getting the super bowl. there was a rule it had to be -- if it's an open, exposed stadium, the super bowl has to be in a sitting where the average mean temperature the day of the game is above 50 degrees. that clearly is not the case in february in the new york-new

jersey area. >> so they changed that temperature rule? >> so the temperature rule for this particular game, that rule went away. >> the stadium has a team of 1,000 at the ready to clear snow from the stands using a network of chutes. dave dirnberger is the vice president of facilities at metlife stadium and he said we're ready for the snow. >> we put a snow melter on the 300 concourse and one on the field. then they have a 600-pound snow melter we can use out on the parking lot. they have a jet engine inside and the heat that's produced from these jet engine is what melts the snow. >> so it a very big operation. >> tisch says no matter the weather, it's going to be a great game. >> some of the greatest games in the history of the nfl have been played in inclement weather. it may snow. it may rain. but it also could be 45 degrees and gorgeous. super bowl xlviii at metlife stadium is going to be very exciting. we want to make sure the renalon knows the super bowl has been here.

>> when we come back, jonathan tisch confesses a secret. >> when people ask me what i'd be doing if i wasn't in the hotel business, i'm a frustrated architect.

♪ >> the regency hotel on the corner of park avenue and 61st street has been an institution since the day it opened back in 1963. in january, it celebrated its grand reopening. >> here we go. >> jonathan tisch, chairman of loews hotels, was onhand to welcome the guests back. >> right here there was a -- >> a few weeks before it opened, we met tisch for a sneak peek of the hotel. workers were buzzing around putting the finishing touches n the lobby. >> the loews regency hotel is our flagship.

50 years ago my father and uncle opened this hotel. it was an intrigual part of how they wanted to build loews hotels, which has today morphed into loews corporation. the hotel business is at the root of where our family started, going back 75 years ago with hotels in new jersey. so this hotel has become very important to the image of loews hotels. it's become very important to the bottom line of loews hotels. i grew up in this hotel. since i was 12, i have been walking the corridors and the back of the house and know many of our workers who have been here, our co-workers who have been here since the beginning. >> you stayed at this hotel yourself growing up? >> yeah. emotionally there is a connection, physically there's a connection, and financially there's a connection to loews hotels, loews corporation to the family. >> tell me, what was the most difficult part of renovating this hotel? >> the challenge we faced was once we got into the building and went behind the walls, i

came to the realization that my father and uncle, god bless them, they didn't spend a lot of money when they were building it 50 years ago. we found some conditions that made it challenging to rebuild at the pace we were hoping to. >> structural issues. >> structural. and because of super bowl, we knew that we had an end date that we really didn't want to go beyond. and we had to scramble. >> you have spent $100 million, which the most you've ever spent in any renovation. why so much? >> we felt the $100 million was necessary to bring the regency back to a place that befits the neighborhood but also the vision that we have for this hotel. the $100 million mark also not only includes the rooms and the corridors and the restaurant and a new fitness center and the salon and the new lobby, but we replaced every window. the windows were 50 years old and i guess -- the guests are going to appreciate that. we're looking to raise our

rates 20% to 25% which is not a small amount but yet we think the product and service will warrant the rate increase. we totally took this area and made it guest-friendly. >> the renovation costs ballooned from an initial estimate of just $35 million to the $100 million. but tisch says it's all part of his plan to grow the brand and boost the image of all 21 of his loews hotels. how long will it take before you're able to make the money back from the money you put into this? >> it's hard to look at a real r.o.i. in terms of every dollar, every penny because not only do we want to certainly get the economic return, but what this hotel means to loews hotels from an emotional standpoint, you can't really quantify. we had to make a commitment to our company that the flagship hotel, a block from our office in the heart of new york city, was at a standard that represents the rest of our organizations because we're continuing to grow. in the last 18 months, we bought three hotels.

we bought a hotel in hollywood, california. we bought one in boston. we bought one in washington, d.c., markets we wanted to be in. we have two hotels under construction from scratch, one in chicago which will open in february of 2015 and another hotel in orlando, our fourth hotel in orlando on the grounds of universal studios. it comes back to new york city, the focal point of the u.s.'s travel and tourism industry, and you can probably make the same statement for the world's travel and tourism industry. we wanted a property we're proud of that will also make a good return on this investment. >> any return on investment for a hotel depends on visitors to the city. tisch has worked closely with the past two mayors to improve new york's gritty image. he helped kick start the makeover and was on a campaign to bring tourists back since 2011. his efforts seem to be working. new york had 54 million visitors in 2013 and the

regency sold out for super bowl weekend about a month before it even opened. but it's not just about keeping hotels full. tisch has tourism is critical for the new york economy. what's it really about? >> it's about jobs. it's about good jobs. it's about the ability for visitors to come spend money so that we can hire more new yorkers. if you look in new york city alone, 330,000 people are making living and some aspect of travel and tourism. and we're also reaching out to the right visitors, that international traveler is extremely important. the international traveler stays longer and spend more money. >> tisch is hoping the locals will return as well. since 1970, the regency has been home to the power breakfast, business leaders and politicians convene every morning over coffee to get their day started. >> if you look at the history of the power breakfast, started 45 years ago by my father. >> your father and uncle, right? >> my father and uncle. and these were the times where new york city was in very dark financial shape and the leaders

of the city at that time came together to really talk about how to save new york city, and they -- >> they did it right here? >> because every morning or every day they would say where should we meet? my father would say, it's a bit selfish on my part because all i have to do is take the elevator but let's meet at the regency and that's literally where the term in the mid 1970's, the term "power breakfast" started. and we will re-establish the regency as home of the power breakfast, the place where people want to come to see and be seen. >> coming up, what kind of a hotel room does $100 million buy? what's the most expensive part this room? >> the bathrooms. the bathrooms are very, very expensive. ♪

>> just before it reopened, jonathan tisch, chairman of loews hotels, gave me a tour of the newly renovated loews regency in east midtown manhattan. >> here we go, betty, after

you. >> all right. >> welcome. >> a newly renovated room. >> 1920's of the regency hotel. reyou designed pretty much -- or you picked out everything in this room. >> i can tell you stories behind the carpet, behind the finish on the dresser, behind the artwork, behind the pillows. you start with carpet and have a color way, a color idea, and they'll come in and maybe present a gray scheme and they'll present a warm gray scheme and a cool gray scheme and then you -- >> and this is what? >> i would say this is a cool gray scheme. >> ok. the regency has 380 rooms, each one brand-new with almost all of the design elements selected personally by tisch himself. the most expensive part, the marble bathrooms. >> because the bathroom has become a point of competition. a lot of the new holtzes being built in town have big bathrooms and they sparkle and we wanted the bathroom to be comfy. >> i noticed the television in

the bathrooms. >> we have a television in the mirrors and every bathroom has a tv in it. >> i have to can you, do you test the mattresses out? >> i've tested many mattresses. >> you'll come in and sit there and -- >> my wife and i stayed in the hotel. >> is it comfortable? >> it is pretty comfortable, i must say. you do this in every one of your hotels, you pick every piece of fabric? >> we have lots of renovations underway. we bought a hotel in hollywood, and we finished a renovation. and in nashville we spent money on a new lobby and restaurant and redid all the guest bathrooms and i picked every fabric. >> what's is like, you walk in a room and say yes, yes, no, no. >> i sit with the designers and they'll show a lot of different fabrics and i say can you make this a little greener, can you make this a little bluer? can it be darker, can it be lighter? and literally we'll be in their offices or in our offices throwing fabrics around looking at swatches. >> did you already sort of have an idea this is what the room is going to look like, these

are the color schemes? >> i did but took us a few iterations to get to the point that we as a company were happy. when people ask me what i'd be doing if i wasn't in the hotel business, i really quickly admit that i'm a frustrated architect. >> so you love this stuff? >> i do. i really do love it. >> someone would go nuts having to make all those decisions and look at all that. >> i love it. and i get excited about what we can create. >> and it's a good thing tisch likes picking out the wallpaper because the lifespan of soft goods in hotels, things like pillows, carpets, chairs, drapes, is only about six years. a major renovation like this is a major gamble for tisch and he admits it will take some time before he knows if his roll of the dice was worth it. >> you make decisions that you hope are right and you're not going to know the answer really for six months to a year to see how your revenue numbers start to come in. and believe me, i'm losing a

lot of sleep over it and my wife tells me, what are you worried about? and i say, what happens if no one likes it? >> i might have reason to worry, the hotel business is a fickle one. the industry tends to rise and fall with the economy and the big chains dominate. >> the hotel weiss today, because there are so many good operators, lots of companies that are very, very good at what they do. there are lots of options. so if somebody checks out here and they see that they paid a couple hundred bucks and weren't happy, all they have to do is walk out the door on park avenue and take a right -- >> there's half a dozen other hotels. >> there are great hotels to the south and great hotels to the north and now with social media, you have to find a way to differentiate yourself from the competition and offer a product or service that people can relate to and feel good about using. >> specifically, how do you make sure loews differentiates itself from a marriott or a hilton or any of the smaller operators? >> so when our new hotels under construction are done, we'll have 21 properties and much,

much smaller than some of the biggest names in the business. we could be competing against a hyatt, a weston, a fairmont or a four seasons or ritz carlton. why people want to come back here is about the service. that they say betty, welcome back to the loews regency hotel. >> it's a welcome tisch is extending to many, including nfl fans, new york tourists and most importantly his regency hotel guests. for tisch, a lot is riding on the simple hope, that they enjoy the new hotel as much as he does. >> it's our best shot at it, and we spent $100 million to reinvent the loews regency hotel but always coming back to the basics of great service, but now in a new box. ♪

>> it's the biggest restaurant chain in the world, feeding 69 million people a day. >> we are a lightning rod. because of our size. >> the food is fast, but what mcdonald's serves up takes years to make. we go inside the golden arches. to find out what is in the secret sauce. and, how a restaurant built on burgers and fries stays competitive in a world of changing appetites. >> two all-beef patties, lettuce, onions, pickles, on a sesame bun. it is all real food. >> mcdonald's raised its gn