Generation Opens N. Charleston, SC Home2 Suites

The Generation Companies
GungHo!
Winter 2011/12 Newsletter
Generation Opens N. Charleston, SC Home2 Suites
The Generation Companies recently celebrated the opening and sale of its Home2 Suites by Hilton Charleston Airport/Convention
Center in North Charleston, South Carolina. Generation was the developer for the project, handling the site identification and acquisition,
design, entitlements, construction, purchasing and opening of the hotel, which was
then sold to one of the
industry’s top institutional owners. According to William F. Smith, Generation’s M a n aging Director, Real Estate &
Construction, the project was on the fast track since the ground-breaking on March
31st. "We received the
permanent Certificate of Occupancy only seven months later on October 31st and
opened the hotel to guests on
November 10,” he said. “While we’ve been told this is the fastest completion of a
Home2 Suites to date, it was
a careful balancing of speed with
quality. Hilton is rigorous in
its quality standards and assiduously checks all details to make
sure everything is perfect–
from footings to furnishings to
the guest bath water temperature in
every guest room. Generation is an award-winning developer of Hilton hotels.
This hotel was developed in that
same manner.”
“We are delighted to bring this
hotel brand to the Charleston market and to continue our legacy of being at the
forefront of progressive, extendedstay lodging offerings,” said Generation President H. Mark Daley. “It was a
pleasure serving as the development partner for one of the most prominent institutional hotel owners in the industry.”
H2 Press Releases and photos can be viewed at: http://www.hoteldesigns.net/industrynews
The Spirit of Hospitality
I love the direct link between the story of Mary and Joseph and our line of work. It is a scenario that is thousands of years old, yet we can still
relate to it very well today. A couple is traveling during a busy time when the rest of the country is traveling as well. Since our industry at this time is quite
low-tech (no internet, no reservation systems, no phones, etc.) it is basically a free-for-all, first-come-first-serve system. Given that Mary and Joseph aren’t
in a position to travel at high speeds (she’s big-pregnant and they only have one donkey), they come straggling into a crowded Bethlehem after all the inns
are already full. Eventually they get someone to let them use their stable (think garage in today’s terms), and Mary promptly goes into labor. While the
details are surely different, I know many of you can tell your own stories of tired travelers in needy, or even desperate situations.
That’s where we come in. People need places to stay, to rest, to clean and refresh themselves. Fortunately our society has evolved to where not
many babies get born in our hotels, but the point in the same. People need hospitality. People need kindness, clean sheets, and a safe place for the night.
People travel for all kinds of important reasons (visiting friends and family, to help earn a living, for a government mandated census, etc.) and when they
are away from home they need hospitality. They need us. We provide the place and the service. The price points, amenities, and locations may be different, but the core of who we are and what we do is the same. They way people book the room, travel, or let others know about their experience with us may
change, but the need for hospitality is a constant.
The paragraph above speaks to the need we meet, the product and service we provide, but what about who we are and why we do what we do?
That is where the link with the Christmas story is even more powerful and direct. Mary’s child born that night was the Savior of all humanity. He came to
save us from ourselves. The part of our nature that only cares about ourselves. The part of us that, without some type of redemption, would never place
high priority on other people and their needs. People that, without an example to the contrary, would not choose to go the extra mile to help out a weary
traveler because of true concern for their well being. And that is at the heart of the Spirit of Hospitality. Do we just clean the sheets and check people in
because we get paid to do it? Do we maintain our hotels and put in new mattresses just so we can charge a higher nightly rate? And believe me, after the
last 3 years I am more adamant than ever that the financial necessities of our company/team/investors be met, but does that define who we are? No, it
does not.
When we do what we do because we genuinely want the needs of the traveler or the extended stay guest to be met, when we show them by a
smile, or remembering their name from the previous visit, or by doing something for them that a “typical” hotel team would not even consider doing to help
them out; at that point we are embodying the Spirit of Hospitality. When we welcome and serve others because we care about them we are doing as He
does. The Savior welcomes us, He meets our needs if we let Him, and He renews our strength to do things in a way that pleases Him. Will we fall short
sometimes: yes. Will we need to admit our mistakes, sometimes even ask forgiveness: yes. But the connection between the Christmas story and the Spirit
of Hospitality remains strong. Let us continue to define who we are and why we do what we do by embodying the Spirit of Hospitality at The Generation
Companies. You do that as a team – thank you. That is what makes me the most grateful and most proud to be part of this company.
H. Mark Daley III
Budget Summit
Outlines Next Chapter in
Generation’s Story
New team members!
Candlewood Sterling
Jeanette Cave (DOS)
The economic downturn of recent years hit the travel
industry hard. It was the worst hospitality recession on record,
with hotels losing approximately 40% of their value due to
sharply declining room rates. How do you recoup that value?
“By working together”, says Rick Stroud, Generation Regional
Operations Manager. The CSC recently held a week-long
summit with GP1, GP2 and GP3 hotels. With a theme of
Recovery of Rate, the team shared tactics and brainstormed
ideas. The result? A two- year goal to return that lost value
back to the hotels. The bottom line, the group
decided? Grow the rate. The team identified four areas of
ADR opportunity within the hotels:
*long-term apartment rate guests,
*locally negotiated rates and other business brought into
the hotel,
*business that walks into the hotel without a reservation or
calls the hotel inquiring about rates and availability,
*and, contributions from online and 800 reservation
channels.
Since the downturn bottomed out at the end of 2009/
start of 2010, Generation has been slowly climbing back up
the mountain. The team shared ideas on how to grow ADR in
each of the four segments. Each property
left the summit with a detailed action plan
“We’re
listing numerous
writing a
specific measures to enact in the coming success story!”
year that will have a positive impact on our
Rick Stroud,
ADR. According to Stroud, the summit was Generation Regional
a wonderful time of sharing the collective Operations Manager
experience and knowledge of managers and
sales people. “We’re writing a success story, from the bottom
of the worst hospitality recession on record to the return to the
higher end of the cycle and improving the
values of our hotels,” he comments. “Each hotel’s action plan
is a chapter in the Generation story. Every new account
booked, every extra $1 in ADR, are all fantastic plot lines that
add to our recovery story.
I love a good story and I love when a plan comes
together. I am proud of our GP1, GP2 and GP3 teams and
look forward to the next chapter!”
Candlewood Herndon
Dana Lewis (DOS)
Candlewood Hopewell
Taylor Hackley (GSR)
Staybridge Memphis
Therese Smith (F & B)
Mainstay Charlotte
Carl Adams (GSR)
Suburban Fayetteville
Latosha Johnson (GSR)
Promotions
Homewood Suites Wilmington
Ronda Ross (OM)
Suburban Sterling
Rita Cuppett (part-time DOS)
Welcome!
Generation Properties
Honor Great Staff During
Housekeeping Week
Face it, you can have all the
special deals and rewards programs in the world but, when it’s
all said and done, the main thing
that makes a hotel successful is,
yes, the rooms. If the rooms
aren’t clean and inviting, guests
won’t come. (Worse yet, they’ll
Tweet about it!)
Generation recently
celebrated the people behind
clean and inviting rooms during
National Housekeeping Week.
According to Dave Monroe,
General Manager of the Candlewood Suites-Fairfax in Virginia,
the week-long celebration was an
opportunity to applaud the hard
work of the people who are the
backbone of the hospitality
industry. “Housekeepers are often
overlooked, yet they are critical to
a hotel’s reputation and success,”
he explains. “We believe they
deserve high recognition. Day in,
day out they face the same
challenges of having to clean a
dozen or more rooms and remain
positive and upbeat. It takes
stamina, fortitude and perseverance to get the job done.”
Monroe’s team honored
housekeeping staff with
celebratory tee-shirts, cake, gifts,
luncheons and time off.
The Homewood SuitesMayfaire, Wilmington NC
celebrated housekeeping week
with not only a spotlight on their
housekeeping, housemen and
maintenance team but also with
games and prizes. A s s i s t a n t
General Manager Ronda Ross
says it was a great week of team
fun, from building a tower of soap
to playing musical chairs, from
competing in a hotel room version
of “I Spy...” to seeing who drew
the best poker hand.
Winners included
Naw Paw Shay Sein,Yahaira
Guiterez, Olga Garces and
Esther Cordoza. “Without a
doubt, we are blessed to
have one of the best
housekeeping, housemen
and maintenance teams in
the
industry,”
Ross
comments. “We are
so thankful to have such
an amazing group of
people who work very
hard to ensure that
our guests have the
cleanest rooms with
everything in proper
working condition.”
Candlewood Suites-Fairfax, VA celebrated the tireless efforts of its housekeeping staff all week, cuminating with lunch at Uncle Julio’s Restaurant.
Pictured here are Piyanut Bryant, Maya Thalpa, Shenee Jones, Maria
Sanchez and Yvonne Higgens, with General Manager Dave Monroe.
The Generation Companies
Team Member Highlight
Jimmy Davis—MSS Port St. Lucie, FL
Welcome,
New General Manager
Greg Thompson!
Greg Thompson was recently promoted to general manager of Homewood
Suites Mayfaire-Wilmington, NC. A native
of Atlantic City, New Jersey, he earned a
BS in Business Management with a
concentration in Professional Golf
Management at Methodist College in
North Carolina. A move to Wilmington to
complete an internship at the Country
Club of Landfall as an Assistant Golf
Professional introduced him to
Generation.
He joined the newly opened
Homewood Suites Wilmington/Mayfaire as
Guest Service Manager in 2010. Since
then, Greg was promoted to Assistant
General Manager, then Interim General
Manager, and now, General Manager.
Greg is married and has a six-year
-old daughter. “I have a true passion for
the service and hospitality industry,” he
explains. “I find I excel at problem-solving,
relationship-building and leading a team
to accomplish set goals. I am thrilled to
continue my journey with Homewood
Suites-Mayfaire and The Generation
Companies, both of which illustrate an
exceptional culture and enormous growth
potential.”
It’s been 26 years since Jimmy Davis joined The Generation
Companies. His various jobs with the company have taken him from
North Carolina to Virginia to Kentucky to Florida. But the journey has been
more than geographical; it’s been a journey of self-discovery, of figuring
out how and why being in the hotel business works for him. Davis started
with The Generation Companies at the Day’s
Inn in Goldsboro, NC as a dishwasher. He
quickly moved to the role of Maintenance
Engineer and 13 years later became a
General Manager. “The GM at the Suburban
Extended Stay in Garner, North Carolina
was going on maternity leave. She
happened to be my wife,” Davis laughs, “So
Generation made me the manager, since it
was all my fault!” When his wife Missy came
back to work, she hit the road as a trainer
with the company and Davis stayed on as
Jimmy with daughters Ariel (18), Autumn (12)
GM. He’s been on the Generation
management track ever since and celebrated
his fifth year as General Manager of the Port St. Lucie Mainstay Suites in
Florida in December.
Davis’s average day is never average, and that’s why he likes it.
From paperwork and maintenance to guest service and room checks,
quick trips to the bank to working with staff, it’s always different. “When you
go to work and it’s something new, it’s always good,” he comments. “You
never know what tomorrow is going to bring. It keeps you entertained and
interested. You find something out you didn’t know the day before. It’s not
the same as sitting in an office every day. I can be working inside checking
in guests one day and working outside cleaning out the pool the next.
Davis likes that Generation supports his approach to work. “The thing I’ve
liked over all these years is that Generation gives GMs the freedom to
manage in their style. My style is to do a lot of the work myself. They let me
do that and it works. That freedom makes me happier at work.”
That freedom to work his own style is paying off for Davis, the
hotel and the company. “This past year has been one of our better years,”
Davis enthuses. “Like everybody, we’ve had some tough times, but we’ve
dug ourselves out of the hole. We’re finally at the point where we can
breathe. We’re at the top of the hill and can keep going.” Davis believes
that attitude is the key to success. “At the end of the day, I call it a great
day and know that tomorrow will be better. You have to keep a positive
attitude. We do the best we can with what we have and remember that it’s
all about pleasing customers.”
Favorite thing to do on a day off: I like to spend time with my girls or
practice golf.
Person who most influenced you: My great-grandmother, because
she taught me my work ethic. When I went to see her, she’d have a list of
jobs for me to do. We’d work through them and move on to the next list.
She influenced me to become the kind of person I am now. I also liked listening to her stories of the old days.
Favorite movie: Oscar
The one person you’d like to meet: :I’d like to meet Coach K of the
Duke Blue Devils because he’s very successful at what he does. When
you get around somebody really successful, you can find out how he does
it and that can only help you. (Plus, I know it will drive Mark Daley crazy, if I
say Coach K!)
Favorite Dessert: Melted ice cream.
Helping Hands
Advice From the Pros
P4P, the Pricing for Profit contest hotels are using to inspire Guest Service
Representatives and Directors of Sales to reach a Rate Efficiency Goal, is going
well. Below, participants share their observations of the benefits of P4P.
“Our guest service representatives are very competitive and want to be the best.
Seeing a colleague win the iPad was a huge inspiration to all! Thanks to P4P,
now the GSRs are cautious when quoting rates and will often check with me to
discuss the rate of the day. This incentive has created an opportunity for more
conversation amongst the entire team. I’m quicker to make sure I have the Rate
Categories loaded correctly so that when GSRs are quoting Best Flex or negotiated rates they are always reducing the rate gap.”
–Michelle Brown, Director of Sales, Candlewood Suites-Durham/RTP
“Our guest service representatives have been empowered to up-sell and quote
our highest rate. This has been the best incentive ever for our GSR's! They are
motivated and love the challenge of booking higher rates! We all now quote the
highest rate and hold strong without automatically discounting. It has been very
rewarding for our entire team to see our ADR grow every day. Before P4P, I
would discount whenever the guest demanded it, but, now, I hold strong and book
our BFR. I love up-selling and telling guests about all the wonderful features and
amenities that our "like new" completely-renovated hotel has to offer! All the
clients want to hear is that they are getting a discount–they don't need to know
that my first quote was above the BFR. I tell them a wonderful story first and then
quote them a rate that is well worth every penny they spend. We are worth it! To
sum up my new way of thinking since P4P: I hold strong on the rate and up-sell
big time!”
–Martha J. Smith / Director of Sales, Candlewood Suites Richmond West End
“It definitely brought awareness to our guest service representatives and gave
them flexibility to stay within the lines. They were proud of the results and enjoyed learning more of the art of negotiating, when appropriate for them. I
believe they felt ownership of the call/potential guest and felt empowered as they
knew they were accountable for results! Personally, I’ve been working on getting
my mind-set out of the recession and going back to business-as-usual. For the
past two years, I’ve become more apt to take the business without truly pushing
the limits. But, these past couple of months, I’ve thought stronger and harder
about our rates and showing value vs. the product, which includes our awesome
renovations!”
–Shelly Paramore, Director of Sales, Candlewood Suites - Raleigh/Crabtree
“My guest service representatives are better at not discounting rooms too quickly
and are selling rooms at a higher rate. Personally, I see everyone is more
efficient at the art of negotiating. Other hotels–and they are upscale–are selling
some of their rooms at $30.00 a night; that just means we have to work harder at
our hotel!”
–Maria Withey, Suburban Extended Stay Wilmington
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Success Story:
The Bottom Line Is A Great Guest Experience
Despite the stress caused by the economic downturn, the creative ways we
have to come up with to do-more-with-less, and the need to continuously
prove our value, Generation hotels are succeeding in the most important way
in our business: we are delighting guests. Following are excerpts hotels
received from guests who were “wowed” by their experiences.
2011 TOP
Hotel Companies
AWARD
“Kelly and her team were exceptional! I stayed here for the period of three months, while I
was in training. The rooms were very clean, I had a mini kitchen with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, etc. You name it and it was there, including the laundry basket, free laundry
and mini gym! It was very convenient and close to the schools! I really loved my stay here,
they made me feel like I was coming back home every day! My family and I are very grateful
for your great customer service! I'll be back soon!”
–Mayra "Momma" about her stay at Candlewood Suites-Hopewell, Virginia
Candlewood Suites Hotel
Hopewell, VA
“My stay this last week was great. I switched over from Holiday Inn Express because I was
looking for more space in my hotel room. I am so glad I made the change. The room is great
and your staff is awesome. Your meals are the best I have had while staying in a hotel. The
rooms are clean, comfortable and smell good! Since my first stay, I have since rescheduled
with my travel department for an additional 24 days through the end of December. I will also
be spending 2 plus nights a week in the new year here in Memphis. Your hotel has definitely
earned my business.”
Jasen, Integrated Medical Solutions, about his stay at the Staybridge SuitesMemphis, Tennessee
-
Congratulations to
The Generation Companies
for receiving this award
from
Hotel Management
Magazine
September 2011
StaybridgeSuites Hotel
Memphis, TN
“I went to visit my family in Jacksonville for Thanksgiving and needed a place to stay. This place was
great and very affordable. The room was a perfect size, very clean and modern looking. The place also
felt very safe as the doors required a key card to enter after 11pm. Although the hotel is off the main
road it take about 5 minutes to get to the main road to access the restaurants and stores. All the hotels
on the main road were packed and the area was busy since it was the holiday and with black Friday
shoppers. Glad this place was off the main road because it was very quiet. Had a great stay and plan
on staying again.”
-AprilFlower80s,
Washington D.C, about her stay at the SES Lejeune, NC
Suburban Extended
Stay Hotel Lejeune, NC
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The Generation Companies
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