Mi Casa Su Casa

My name is Sarah Benedict-Crispim and I have worked for LHG for just over three years in the capacity of Front Desk Agent, Assistant General Manager, and Acting General Manager.  In this time I have learned many things from not only my mentors but from our hotel guests.  I have learned that treating your hotel like your home and the guests as your guests will establish loyalty, extending genuine care and concern will establish respect, and that ‘leaving the light on’ only gets you a high electric bill and not necessarily heads in beds! 

 In our industry we meet people from all walks of life coming and going for various reasons.  Whether it is a job interview, a concert, vacationing, or visiting family, we get to share in the excitement of our guests’ experiences.  Our Front Desks act as dinner tables and our guests are our family telling us about their day.  We strive to exceed expectations and ensure your happiness; in short we are people pleasers. 

What I love most about my job is this… I love not knowing what is in store for me each and every day.  As managers our job descriptions include, but are not limited to, customer service agent, travel agent, weatherman (or woman), concierge, entertainer, security guard, IT person, and my personal favorite ‘the person with all of the answers’.

The reasons why I have invested in this family of hotels are many; most noteworthy would be the immense support my General Managers and their superiors have provided me.  I welcome and accept the challenges ahead of me as I work to provide my company with the loyalty and respect which they have taught me to pass on to our guests. 

If you have followed this blog you may see that I’ve noted what I’ve learned, what I do, what I love about what I do, and that I have hope for the future.  I hope that you will take the opportunity to stay at one of our houses; after all, it could be just what you need when you’re on the move. 

-Sarah Benedict-Crispim

Social Media: Who Needs It?

Social Media.

The term itself has undergone such a transformation as of late, quickly moving from its novel roots and praise of endless conceptual potential to what is now an almost indiscernible flood of gimick websites, tools and spam bots.

Just three years ago, virtually no commercial presence was felt on Facebook.

Now?

Take a look at the picture to the left. Anything stand out?

Social Media.

What once was a collection of interactive online communities made up of real, live people is now overflowing with over 900 million objects, meaning anything not directly considered a personal profile, for users to interact with, and over 3 million "fan" pages, featuring businesses, brands and products that users can "Like" and, subsequently, follow.


So in three years, Facebook has grown from just over 50 million active users to, according to the most recent figures, 12 times that.


How they did it is so often trivialized with marketing analysis and studies of PR campaigns. But, in studying business, like studying anything in life, focus too close on one thing and you'll lose sight of the other. 


Examining the logistical and corporate "how" of Facebook's success, you'll miss out on the biggest reason for it, what they offered their users.


It wasn't glamorous or anything financially rewarding, at least not back then.


What it offered was connection.


For the first time in human history, we were as close as our internet connectivity would allow us to be, on opposite sides of the world but separated by mere computer screens. Our lives were linked.


That's the real "how" of Facebook's success, how it enriched our lives.


These days, signing onto Facebook is almost like opening your mailbox. Most of it's junk but every so often there's something meaningful from someone close to you or some offer that is real enough and really helps you in your life, a hand extended, reaching out for yours.


And that's our approach here at Larkin Hospitality. You see, we're simply no more or less than the sum of all our parts, but as a family of hotels, restaurants, development projects and real estate firms, it all adds up to one huge hand that we get to extend out to you, our guests.


From promotions that return our guests' loyalty with reward points and discounted rates to spreading the word about the charitable ventures we get behind, our online presence is so much more than a "Find Us On Facebook" printed on your pillowcase. It's a familial hand extended out, saying, "From our family to yours, we hope you've enjoyed your stay."

Stephen Churchill

Social Media Director | Larkin Hospitality

"Family Of Hotels"

The popular expression “family of hotels” is perhaps overused, but as a member of this hotel family I know that it is exceedingly accurate. Having just become a new father myself, I have been given a fresh understanding of how a family functions and evolves, and I am certain that much of what we do and the decisions that we make are based on family values.

I too have become one of those proud parents displaying my son’s picture on the back drop of my computer monitor. As a proud employer we recognize one of our employees each month by posting their name and picture in our lobby so that they are not only recognized by other employees, but by our hotel guests as well. Running a hotel more like a family and less like a business works to the benefit of employees and guests alike. Our approach ensures that the employees welcome guests like a new family member and not like another room sold. This gives our guests the feeling that they truly have a home away from home.

Many years ago, one of the first things I learned was to welcome and accommodate hotel guests like you would a guest in your own home. Maintaining that mindset has also made me realize that treating every employee like a family member and less like someone that just has a job to do, ensures that they will pass on this family value and consideration to our weary travelers, sports teams, corporate guests, tour visitors, leaf peepers, musician groups, each other, and everyone that walks in our doors!

Nathan Germond

General Manager | Holiday Inn Burlington

Change Is Good

Most of us, including me, skidded to work in the last week as Vermont enjoyed its share of the northeast storms.  Here in northern New England, accumulation under a foot barely gets news coverage so we find out about road conditions as we brave them. 

Living in Vermont through the winter is not for the feeble. We get to work day in and day out regardless and we are glad for the opportunity to be here.  With every storm our landscape appears fresh, clean, and untouched by a new blanket of snow. Similarly, our jobs change each day as new guests roll their bags in our doors and stay with us awhile. How can you not look forward to coming to work to see what each day will bring?

My name is Dina Townsend and I am the Director of Sales for Larkin Hospitality Group, covering the Holiday Inn Burlington, and the Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn & Suites and the University Inn & Suites all in South Burlington. Each of the properties I’m responsible for provide me with certain advantages in matching our guests’ needs, and the rest of our LHG properties are no different, each offering various room types, amenities and area perks.  Reward Points bring in loyal guests over and over again as they work toward free stays. Our full service bars and restaurants make business travel more social and convenient. And the inclusive Deluxe Continental breakfasts at our limited service hotels help ease tighter travel budgets.  It is my job to bring in groups and corporations but, at the same time, I make it my priority to pay equal attention to all my accounts, however large or small.  We know many of our corporate guests by name, and are so pleased that they remember ours as well. 

As I read through our online reviews it amazes me when our guests single out restaurant servers or front desk attendants that made their stay more comfortable.  Vermont is our brand and our state is our best product. Being in the hospitality industry here means that every guest and, most importantly, the way they feel, matters to all of us.  We believe in the brand we represent and the manner in which we deliver our product. 

And that has to be my favorite quality and one I find new again each and every day, that here at LHG, we're blessed with the best of both worlds, one landscape of ever-changing weather and scenery, and one of new faces, arriving each day by plane, bus or...4x4.

Dina Townsend

Director Of Sales

Holiday Inn | Holiday Inn Express | Comfort Inn & Suites | University Inn & Suites

Growing Local & Small Business Partnerships To Grow Our Family

As part of the hospitality industry, we realize that partnerships within the food and beverage industry compliment our own services well and give us increased opportunities to provide our guests with the very best and most comfortable experience possible. With that in mind, the Larkin Hospitality Family is proud to announce our new partnership with Leonardo's Pizza, a family-owned and operated restaurant group putting out some of the very best pies in all of New England.

Spending an entire day in corporate training, on the slopes or exploring Burlington can be exhausting, and coming back to your room only to leave again for dinner can be daunting. That's why we're so excited to grow our partnerships within the community and provide our guests an alternative. Our new partnership will enable our guests to order Leonardo's delivery and apply their food charges directly to their existing room account, making the entire process even simpler.

Not only does Leonardo's put out a superior product to that of their local competitors, their long history in the region is a working display of a commitment to both business and social excellence, commitments to which we also strive for in our own industry. Having grown up in the Burlington community myself, I've always appreciated this about Leonardo's and am personally excited to welcome them into the Larkin Hospitality Family.

Michael Sheeran

Chief Operations Officer

Larkin Hospitality