Larkin Hospitality’s most recent construction project is the building and renovation of what currently is the White River Inn & Suites.  The entire staff ‘down south’ cannot help but be excited on a daily basis as we witness major developments within our work days!

Located directly across the parking lot from the Holiday Inn Express & Suites will soon sit a beautiful new hotel filled with suites which could accommodate an entire family.  As of late, my job consists of doing new and exciting things which I had not yet experienced in this industry.  Just last week AllisynMarthers and I were looking through pieces of art to decorate the walls of the new guest rooms!

Our current clientele is also enjoying the almost hourly changes to our building.  Our 37 rentable rooms are filled with many long term guests excitedly anticipating the chance to stay in one of our new suites.

Needless to say, with all of the developments occurring I become easily distracted looking out the windows day dreaming of what it will be like to sit in a brand new hotel!

Sarah Benedict Crispim

Welcome to the Dark Side

Since we started this blog we have embraced it as an opportunity to tell you all how much we love our jobs and where we live.  Working in the hospitality industry in Vermont is like putting sugar on ice cream; it just doesn’t get any sweeter. The hotel industry does, however, have a dark side…and sometimes that dark side is hysterical!

Running a hotel is like inviting a few hundred strangers into your house every night and hoping they all respect your property and use their manners the way you would.  By and large we have overwhelmingly positive guest experiences. Occasionally, however, there are guests who cause trouble and our staff is left with the consequences…and the stories!

There was, for example, the sorority group that I convinced the General Manager to take as I was sure college age girls away on a trip and under a school’s name would handle themselves with dignity and restraint. Wow, was I wrong. Their late night alcohol infused merriment involved among other things police assistance, detox, and sparse clothing.   One of my favorite guest stories was of the irate guest whose blonde wife found long dark hair in his hairbrush. He accused our housekeeping staff of brushing their hair with it. When our GM asked if it was possible that the hair belonged to the man, the guest responded “that is impossible since I am bald”, begging the question of why he needed a brush in the first place. Finally, I will offer the story of the guest who was livid to discover that, in his opinion, we had lost his reservation. In an attempt to calm him down, our desk staff thought to call other Holiday Inn’s in other Burlingtons around the world and found that the man had mistakenly made an online reservation at the Holiday Inn in Burlington Ontario. Upon our explaining his error, he demanded we reimburse him for a long distance call to Canada to cancel his reservation there.

We cannot always control what guests bring to our doorstep, but we can and do learn from the experiences. Our well trained staff works hard to ensure that no matter what the circumstance, our guests are comfortable, safe and content.  In the coming months we look forward to sharing with you more funny stories since at the end of the day if it is going to happen we surely learn something…and we share!

Dina Townsend

Director of Sales

Get Here & Get Out

I hope I am not alone in saying this, but my favorite time of year is finally here.  As much as I love the winter here in Vermont with snowboarding, skiing and sledding, I prefer spring and summer.  The green mountains come to life and show us all the beauty they possess. Who can ask for more?  For me this time of year means time to get outdoors and enjoy some of the greatest things in life including hiking, kayaking, and one of my favorites, biking down the Burlington bike path.  

Typically I start at Oakledge Park and ride the Island Line Trail through the downtown waterfront passing the skate park, dog park and North Beach all the way up to Colchester.  The 12.5 mile ride sounds long, but it has so many sites along the way that you really just forget how you got to the end and sort of wish it hadn’t ended.  Have no fear though, if you didn’t pack your bike with you there are rental places along the way like Local Motion or Ski Rack both in Burlington. 

If biking is not your thing you can skate/blade your way all along the waterfront. Skates are also available for rent at the Ski Rack, or just take a causal walk if it suits your needs.  Check out http://www.champlainbikeways.org/  for more details on the many bike paths that Burlington has to offer.  I hope you will come and enjoy the many sites along your ride as I know I have.

Stacy Germond

General Manager

Holiday Inn Express