Good Customer Service vs. Exceptional Service

This morning I arrived to work thinking about what I would blog about today.  I had many ideas based on years of experience in the hotel business.  I sat down to my computer to begin my task when I noticed a letter I had retrieved from my mail box this very morning.  It was from a guest who was checking out.   As I read the letter I felt my eyes begin to moisten.  It was at this moment I realize what I needed to blog about was presented to me in this letter.  For the second time in a week I had received a letter hand written by a satisfied guest.  It was more than a letter.  Having been hand written I felt as if the person was there with me, it felt real. 

What did the two letters have in common?  Both of the letters had stated that their rooms had been comfortable, clean and well supplied.  That is to be expected.  So what prompted the guest to take time to hand write a letter?  It was exceptional customer service.  The guest both stated that the staff was helpful, attentive, smiling and would go above and beyond their expectations to assist them.  One guest stated that his wife was very sick and that the wheel on her wheel chair broke off.  He had asked the front desk for a phone book to look for a repair company.  The front desk agent went one step further and looked it up on the internet and printed off several options for this guest, even offered to call for them.  The guest was very stressed out and the desk agent could see this.  So what is good service vs. exceptional service?  It is about anticipating the guest needs even before the guest knows what they may need and most importantly following up with the guest to ensure that the needs were met or exceeded. 

The guest stated that they felt like they were at home with family.  The staff was warm and sincere.   The employees listened to the guest and heard their needs.  They responded with friendly and helpful assistance.  So what makes good customer service great?.......the STAFF.  Never under estimate the power of being kind, patient and helpful.   I’m very proud of our staff and want to acknowledge them for the difference they make.

Allisyn Marthers

Area Director | Larkin Hospitality

Burlington Means Happy

If you've never been to Burlington, VT, you're simply missing out.

According to Gallup research, Burlington was named the "Happiest Small-City" in the nation!

Check out this great feature from the folks at WPTZ-TV...

Click here for the full story...

To say we here at Larkin Hospitality love Burlington, VT would be an understatement, but we know if you come here and see for yourself, you'll love it too!

Stephen Churchill

Social Media Director

Larkin Hospitality

Variety

This week, the greater Burlington community was hit with one of the biggest storms in its history, with some areas recording as much as 28 inches of snow in a 15-ish-hour period. 

28 inches.

In less than a day.

Coming from my own, mostly West-Coast experience, those figures are simply astonishing. What I found most interesting, though, was how many of those native to the area, or even just more familiar with it than I, chose to bide their time while waiting out the storm.

Walking around downtown, I saw a mix of cross-country skiers, snow-shoers, even snowboarders being towed behind trucks tied to paracord lines, all heading to or coming from the busy downtown Church Street Marketplace and the surrounding commercial areas. Snow to the knees, numbingly-cold winds and all. Business as usual.

For many of us, business as usual is coming into our hotels, sitting in warm offices and plugging into phones, computers and assorted office electronics. For me, business as usual often also includes getting to interact with many of our guests on my way through our lobby, and it just so happens that, after the storm, I saw many of our guests spending their time in the exact same ways I was, whether it be cozying up next to the fireplace with hot chocolate and a book, or with an open laptop by a window, enjoying the scenery from a safe, warm distance.

That kind of variety is one of the many things bringing you to Vermont, and we know it. It's the reason why one of our hotels offers discounted ski tickets at the front desk but also generous seating beside a warm fireplace just a few short steps away. Variety.

So however long this winter has left, here's wishing you a safe and warm rest-of-season! ...or, if you'd prefer, a cold, windy one while you ski around town.

Variety!

Stephen Churchill

Social Media Director

Larkin Hospitality

Mardi Gras

As we enter the last leg of another long Vermont winter, we are all in the mood to celebrate.  Just the thought of a budding flower peaking up through the snow, or a full day with the sun beating down melting away the heavy snow is enough to keep us all going.  On Church Street, Saturday March 5^th, Burlington will commemorate the annual Mardi Gras parade with celebrations throughout the city.  This is a perfect excuse for us all to come together and delight in the upcoming spring with a parade of 40 colorful floats and festive music to satisfy everyone’s taste.  As we all huddle together to beat the cold, swaying to the music, catching colorful beads and eating good food, we slowly start to forget about all the shoveling we have done , how we hate to clean off our cars in the morning, how we can see our breath outside and how 35 degrees feels warm.  Those thoughts melt like the icicles on our gutters and we start to feel a warmth in our bodies, like the sun beating down on us and we realize that Mardi Gras has come right in the nick of time.  We at Larkin Hospitality would love to contribute by giving you a welcoming place to stay along with a warm smile.  Whether you’re here for Mardi Gras, a wedding, a graduation, an anniversary, a birthday, a vacation, or just a weekend away – we would like to be a part of it throughout the year.  We want to help you celebrate and assist in the process of slowly forgetting about the white winter wonderland outside and look ahead to sunny days by Lake Champlain feeding the ducks, melting ice creams, barbeques and leisurely walks on Church Street.  We want to be in your plans for beating the Vermont winter blues and in celebrating the upcoming spring and beautiful summer.         

The Comfort Inn and Suites Team

Part of the Larkin Hospitality Family

Welcome Home

As a company we rotate our blog responsibilities. My turn came around just three days after returning from maternity leave.   In reading the thoughts of my colleagues, I realized that the topic of family had been covered over and over. As such, I felt pressure to deliver something new, something more operations oriented. Nevertheless having just become a parent, family was at the forefront of my mind. 

As the General Manager of the Holiday Inn Express, I looked forward to returning to my work family, to seeing the front desk crew, the housekeepers, and all of those who look to me for guidance and knowledge.  Being so warmly welcomed back by our staff with smiles on their faces made me realize how genuinely I was missed.  Seeing our regular corporate guests whom I have come to know so well and to have them ask about my newborn son, and want to see pictures, made me smile.  In conclusion and at the risk of seeming redundant, Larkin Hospitality IS a family and I am proud to say I would very much know what that looks like. Family is about support, compassion, and treating every moment as though it were your last. In the hotel industry that means seeing every guest as a person and knowing what they need before they have to ask. In retrospect, perhaps the fact that my colleagues have also written about family is not so redundant as it is appropriate and fitting.
 

Stacy Germond
General Manager
Holiday Inn Express South Burlington

Snow Day

My name is Linette Searcy and I am the General Manager of the Holiday Inn Berkshires in North Adams, Massachusetts.

It seems that the term “snow day” has been used quite a bit this winter here in New England.  Thinking back, a variety of feelings come to mind when thinking about snow days.  In grade school, it was the sheer excitement of hearing your schools name on the radio.  That announcement somehow gave me all the unbridled energy I needed to brave the elements and play for hours in the snow.  In high school, I still had hopes that the day’s math test was going to be cancelled, but that feeling was also mixed with the realization that I would be stuck with shoveling the driveway.  Later on in life, those two little words brought absolute panic, that my day was going to be nothing as planned, with schedule changes, driving hazards, the kids out of school, cancelled appointments and, of course, shoveling the driveway.

Working in the hotel industry for more than half my life has taught me that those two words don’t have to bring on the dread and chaos of losing a day or more and being “stuck” away from home.  We know exactly how you feel.  We have been in your [boots].  Our day, too, can mean delays, cancellations, rearranged schedules and planning for children. Above all, to those of us working for Larkin Hospitality, it also means taking care of you, our guest. 

Our family can take care of your family.  We have the latest weather conditions available and can advise on routes to take in or out of our cities.  We can also help reach your colleagues or area businesses to find out if your appointments are rescheduled.  You can use our business centers to e-mail family, friends or co-workers to let them know that your plans have changed.  What to do once your affairs are in order?  Many of our hotels have swimming pools, hot tubs and exorcise equipment for our guests to enjoy, or you can sit back in your room and enjoy a movie, order room service or even just sleep in.  And if you’re feeling adventurous, we have information on the trail conditions in the area for skiing, snowboarding and tubing.  You can take a tour of an area museum, browse some local shops, and have some fun in town.  Ask any member of our family what to do and they’ll direct you to a wide variety of activities.  Just like your family, we pull together to make that “snow day” a little lighter.

See you soon for our snowman-making contest!

Linette Searcy

General Manager | Holiday Inn Berkshires

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