HP Hotels, LLC

Grayslake Team comes together in Massive Snow Storm

2011-02-03T05:59:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 1 and Wednesday Februay 2 brought to Grayslake and the Chicago area the 3rd largest snowfall on record. Officially at O'Hare Airport, 19.5 inches fell, but with drifting and locally heavier snowfall, drifts of six feet of snow could be found at all around the Comfort Suites Grayslake, but this didn't stop our team!

Our staff members stepped up and took the steps to ensure that our stranded guests were safe and warm inside. Coco Mejia and Clara Argueta volunteered to stay on property so that we would have housekeeping service in the morning, with the roads being completely impassable from about 8PM to 11AM. (The county offically closed all roads until 5PM on Wednesday.) The front desk crew of Jaime Nolan, Jessica Castro, and Dawn Vongillern made sure that we had coverage the entire time and actually shoveled snow out of the vestibule at the height of the storm. They also kept in touch with local police and rescue operations to communicate safety instructions to our guests. And Scott Kust, Director of Maintenance, made his way back to the property on closed roads to help with a front door that blew off track in the 50 MPH gusts.

We helped shovel out some cars, offered PBJs for lunch (since the stores and restaurants were all closed,) and organized a meeting for one of our corporate accounts in our board room when their office shut down.

This staff turned a miserable 24 hours into a memorable event. Thanks team!

Tim Sokley - GM and Jason LaBarge - AVP of Ops.

MAC Committee

2011-01-24T08:37:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Atkisson, Area VP of Sales and Marketing for HP Hotels, has been nominated to sit on the MAC committee for ABA Marketplace 2012.

Embassy Suites Hoover - Makes it happen!!!

2010-12-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

Great job to the Tiffany Trotter and the entire team at the Embassy Suites Hoover Hotel for impressing this Guest and providing amazing service!!!

HP Hotels

1 Chase Corporate Drive

Suite 210 Hoover, AL 35244

Re: BAR Inaugural Banquet Gentlemen:

Our recent banquet at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Hoover was a tremendous success. I am a past President and have been involved with 10 past banquets and this one was by far the best. I was impressed by Tiffany Trotter and her willingness to make everything perfect for us.

We increased the number of attendees at the last minute to 470 and this maxed out our space. She took this in stride and the food was incredible and the service perfect. I was seated at the past presidents table and one of our members said his food was the best he had ever had at a banquet. He had just attended the Monday Morning Quarterback Club's final meeting and he said they should change to the Embassy Suites and wondered if they could handle a crowd of 525.

I was on the inaugural committee and we met several times with Tiffany and she was always prepared for our meetings and went above and beyond to make us 100% satisfied. We will gladly recommend Embassy Suites to any group wanting a first class place to have a wonderful event.

Please thank Tiffany and her entire staff. I personally thanked the waiter at my table and he said he tries to treat every guest as a VIP and this came across with his service. You have hired the right staff and trained them well.

Cambria Suites Raleigh to Host New Year's Eve Bash!

2010-12-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

The Cambria Suites Raleigh Durham Airport is excited to host their first ever New Year's Eve bash. The New Year's Eve package includes a Room for two, tickets to the party, heavy appetizers, drink specials, a DJ featuring 60's, 70's, and 80's music, a Champagne toast, breakfast, and a guaranteed great time!
The Package starts at 149.00 per couple! Space is limited so get your room booked today!

Hampton Inn and Suites-Concord, NC sponsors Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway

2010-11-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Hampton Inn and Suites-Concord, NC is sponsoring a tree at the first annual Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Carolina Christmas begins on November 22-January 2, 2011. The track will be filled with over 1 million LED lights and all of the winter entertainment options for families to enjoy. The Hampton Inn and Suites- Concord, NC will be selling tickets at the front desk for $20. Please contact the hotel or visit our website at:

Hampton Inn & Suites @ Concord Mills Mall

9850 Weddington Rd. Ext., Concord, NC 28027

P: 704-979-5600 F: 704-979-5660

www.hampton-Inn.com/

Hi/Charlotte-Speedway

Taking in HEROS of all sizes...

2010-11-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

The Comfort Suites Grayslake welcomed a hero recently. A local family was displaced by a major fire that destroyed their home, and they stayed at the hotel while a rental home could be found. The hero was a three legged dog named Mr. B. The beagle was alarmed by the mid-morning fire and alerted the homeowner, enabling him to escape. Read the full news article here: Mr. B Story

Neighbors and the community rallied around the family to provide the essentials such as clothes, food, shelter, and,of course, dog treats in the gap before insurance could begin providing benefits. The family has moved into a rental home and will be rebuilding over the next year. A happy ending, thanks to a tiny hero.

Hilton Garden Inn -Cartersville,GA hosts the Bartow Christmas Coalition

2010-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Hilton Garden Inn-Cartersville, GA is lending a hand in the community to help provide a Christmas for underprivlege famililes. They have partnered with the Bartow Christmas Coalition to help raise awareness for this cause in their community. The Bartow Christmas Coalition has been dedicated to this cause for more than a decade and they work very hard to make the holiday season special for families who are struggling in their community.

The Hilton Garden Inn-Cartersville, GA has donated their ballroom to host the Bartow Christmas Bash to rase money for the project. The sales team was featured in a local article saying: “It’s very important that we come together as a community,” Beavers said. “I think it’s very important what they’re doing for the community. We here at the Hilton are very honored to host this for the Bartow Christmas Coalition.”

For information on how to help the cause visit www.bartowchristmas.org

Charlotte Hotels Get a Face Lift

2010-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Charlotte hotels in the HP Portfolio the Hilton Garden Inn - Pineville, Hilton Garden Inn - Rock Hill, and the Hampton Inn and Suites - Speedway are getting a much needed face lift beginning this week. All three hotels are having the vinyl wallpaper stripped off in all guestrooms and replaced with Textured Paint. The project will take approximately 5 to 7 weeks and will be finished before January 1st, 2011.
In addition to the new guestroom walls the HGI Rock Hill is getting new draperies, headboards, and bed bases in all guestrooms. The HGI Pineville is getting new shower walls, and the Hampton is getting new draperies and an updated fitness center.
The hotel's ownership group is very supportive of these updates and everyone is looking forward to marketing these new guestrooms and continuing to make these hotels leaders in the company and their markets.
When your traveling to the Charlotte area whether it be for business or pleasure we highly recommend checking out these three hotels!

FALL BACK!!!

2010-11-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

As the Days become shorter, the mornings are darker and the nights are colder it is obvious that winter is upon us. Everyone needs to take the opportunity this weekend to roll the clocks back 1 hour as we fall back. Remind your employees and guests that they get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, Take advantage of it!

I'm in Sales, are you in Sales???

2010-11-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Tia Duggan, Front Desk Manager, Fleming Island Sleep Inn & Suites and 2010 Choice Hotels APEX Awards winner landed the hotel a new LNR this past week. She was persistent in getting the President of Team Effort to sign since he had been sending people to the hotel recently and in her talking with him discovered they would probably stay 50 or more room nights. Great Job Tia! Perfect example of how our entire Teams are in sales!!!

Grayslake Comfort Inn gets a head start on helping out!!!

2010-11-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

The well known Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has a new drop-off location: Comfort Suites in Grayslake, Illinois. Lafay Presberry (DOS) got the ball rolling on this and we are excited to be able to help this great cause. With busy schedules, it seemed that a 24-hour drop-off location was something that people might find useful. The dates for toy drop-off are November 1st through December 15th. We have already publicized this on a local news website, triblocal.com, and hope to garner more publicity through other news outlets that we have contacted. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation accepts new, unwrapped toys for donation. Toys are distributed to needy children in the area which the toys are collected. Great job getting involved with your local community!

2010-10-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

Just finished up our two day quarterly meeting with the Corporate HP Team to discuss our strategies for next year. It is great to spend some quality time together with everyone away from their busy travel schedule. Looking forward to a prosperous 2011.

HP Hotels represented at 2010 TEAMS Conference in Charlotte NC

2010-10-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

We attended our first TEAMS Conference in Charlotte, NC on October 19th - 21st, 2010. Stephanie Atkisson, our Sr. Director of Sales and Marketing and Diana Slashinski, Director of Sales at our Hilton Garden Inn in Pineville represented our hotels superbly. Great sports leads and contacts made!

WELCOME TO THE HAMPTON INN AND SUITES CONCORD: NEW DOS ALISON PRIVETTE

2010-10-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Alison Privette will be joining the Hampton Inn and Suites-Concord, NC team on November 1, 2010. She is coming to the hotel from the HGI Aiken, SC where she has been the Director of Sales for the past 2 years. Welcome back to the family Alison!

Welcome Josh Morey - General Manager

2010-10-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

HP Hotels would like to welcome Josh Morey into the HP family. Josh comes to us with a vast majority of full service Hilton and Double tree experience. Josh will be joining the Hilton Garden Inn Cartersville, GA team. This team has been together since the property opened 1 year ago and they are truly dedicated to guest service at the highest level. After spending the day with Josh at the hotel this week he said, "I can hardly wait to start on November 1st and put my mark on this property!" The HGI Cartersville has 113 guest rooms and 3,000 square feet of meeting space. We are very excited to have Josh as part of the HP family.

Welcome!!
Jason LaBarge - Senior Director of Operations

3rd Quarter Choice Privileges Contest Winners

2010-10-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! 3rd Quarter Choice Privileges Contest Announcement!

The Savannah Cambria Suites is home of the 1st and 2nd place winner for the 3rd Quarter Choice Privileges contest for the Upscale/Extended Stay Division.

The first place winner has the choice between $200 or a 26' LG Flat Screen TV and the 2nd place winner gets the other prize.

The 1st place winner has the initials - Jeff Hammond

The 2nd place winner has the initials - Thomas Sandford

Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to the Brand to the Choice Privileges program.

Sleep Inn & Suites - Local Commercial

2010-10-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Check out the commercial below that will be posted on the Savy Homebuyer Channel in Fleming Island, FL. Great Job getting the Hotel out there!!! Click the following link to view the video:

http://www.thesavvyhomebuyer.com/proofs/JLSmith/SleepInn2.wmv

Vice President of Operations

2010-10-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Hilton Garden Inn Rock Hill for winning the Rock Hill Herald's Buzz Award for best Bed & Breakfast hotel in Rock Hill. Way to go Kevin Atkisson and team! From Jeff Schneider, VP Operations

Cambria Suites Beta Service Training

2010-10-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

Starting next week The Cambria Suites Green Bay Hotel will be BETA testing the new Cambria Suites Service Culture training program. The new training modules will be completed through the online Choice University. There are a total of 6 new modules that will be tested. During the BETA testing, the Green Bay team will keep detailed notes on the feedback they get from their team members and provide the Cambria Suites Brand with with this valuable feedback. We’ll make any appropriate changes based on their comments. The Brand will then be creating a kick-off kit with various program merchandising materials that that will send each hotel when they launch the full program. Good luck with the new training, we know you guys will provide the Brand with some amazing feedback!!!

Sleep Inn & Suites NE Florida Fleming Island - APEX Awards

2010-10-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

On September 14, five staff members of the Fleming Island Sleep Inn & Suites received seven out of eleven regional Choice Hotels APEX Awards pre-sented for property excellence. Susan Soltys, GM and Tourist Development Council member (pictured front row, second from right) received three awards for Innovation, Community Hero and Service Excel-lence-GM. Rini Butler, Sales Manager, received the award for Service Excellence-Support Staff. Tia Duggan, Darci Lewis and Christopher-Jon Butler received awards respectively for Front Desk, House-keeping and Maintenance Service Excellence. Great job to everyone at the Fleming Island Sleep Inn for setting the bar higher and showing us a perfect example of an OUTSTANDING culture!!!

Welcome Shawn Cochran - General Manager

2010-10-15T04:38:00.000-07:00

Please join me in welcoming back Mr. Shawn Cochran as the General Manager of the Holiday Inn Trustmark Pearl. As most of you are aware Shawn was the General Manager of the Hampton In Memphis for the past 2 years and we are very excited to have him back in the HP family. Shawn officially assumed the GM position on Monday October 11^th and can be contacted at hipearl_gm@hp-hotels.com .

Welcome

2010-10-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome to the HP Hotels, LLC Blog. We are currently 27 hotels strong and without you, we would not be where we are today, so we thank you for all that you do.

I hope that you will be excited as all of us with our new site and hope that you will check in here often to see what is happening with your working partners in the HP Hotels Family.

Our first big "Congratulations" go out to the Hilton Garden Inn - Rock Hill property for scoring an OUTSTANDING on their most recent QA. We look forward to many more OUTSTANDINGS to come, because in acceptable is no longer acceptable. More to come...

Yours in hospitality,

Mike Hines

Good Morning from Orlando

2010-10-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone sitting at the Hilton conference in Orlando FL. New things being discussed for HGI in QA qualifiers. The Hamptons average occupancy and ADR is right where our numbers fall for the HP Hamptons. The only thing missing was HP presence in the awards. Need to improve here for next year gang. "acceptable is no longer acceptable"

More later.