Hotel Lodging News

Intercontinental Hotels Group, Parent company of Holiday Inns and Staybridge Suites, last week honored the Las Cruces location with a request for them to submit information and photographs to be considered for a Brand Design Award for 2008.  In 2008 the hotel added 28 additional long term stay suites, an additional guest use laundry area, a communal dining table in the Great Room, a Home Theater Room, “public-private meeting space” and an Internet Cafe.

The Communal dining table is a High top table that seats up to eight persons.  It has a granite top and custom pendant lighting. It has become a popular gathering point at almost any time of day for singles or groups.

For those groups that need just a little more privacy, the hotel installed “public-private meeting space”  on the 4th floor.  It is a public space that was designed so that small groups, not wishing to purchase private meeting space, could meet in a semi-private atmosphere for informal meetings.  The space is arranged with flexible seating and in separate pods.  Each of the pods has a CRT for displaying laptop presentations and a meeting board is available for brainstorming sessions.

For singles and couples the hotel designed an Internet Cafe on the third floor.  The area contains a modern coffee shop atmosphere and decor, a complimentary coffee maker that makes 25 varieties of coffee, teas and cocoas, background music, seating for singles and couples, wired and wireless Internet access and a complementary full body massage chair.  The staff even keeps the area stocked with biscotti.

The second floor contains the Home Theater.  This area is for public use and can be reserved for private showings.  The room contains plush recliner seating with drink holders, a state of the art surround sound system, special sound deadening walls, an extra large Digital High Definition screen, DVD player, Blue Ray player and a popcorn machine.

The winner of the Design award for the Staybridge Brand will be announced at the IHG Annual Investor’s Conference in the Fall of 2009 in Washington DC.

With the opening of the Residence Inn at the Airport on December 23rd 2008 in Albuquerque NM, Lodging Host Hotel Corp has opened it’s first Marriott franchised product.  The hotel consists of 110 guest suites all of which have full cooking facilities.  Other amenities of the hotel include indoor pool, hot tub, exercise facility with equipment each with their own televisions, guest Market, guest laundry facilities, airport shuttle service, business center, meeting room to accommodate 40 persons and a Boardroom for 8 persons.

The hotel is a Generation 7.5 Residence Inn and incorporates the InnFusion Guestroom design of the new Generation 8 Residence Inn product.

Lodging Host Hotel Corp intends to develop 4 more Marriott products in the next 4 years and has executed franchises for a 75 room Fairfield Inn and Suites in Forney, Texas and a 110 suite Residence Inn in Longview Texas.  Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2009 on both of those hotels.

According to Kevin P. Hilchey, President of Lodging Host Hotel Corp “We will be developing other product as well during that time as the economy and lending environment allow.”

During the semi-annual meeting of all the Lodging Host Hotel Corp Management Team a break was taken from the training exercises and information exchanges to hold the Annual Awards Dinner. It was an enjoyable evening, during which the three Lodging Host annual employee awards were presented.

The first award presented was to the Lodging Host Hotel Corp Manager of the Year. It was presented in his absence to Lloyd Quinn, who had to miss the event due to infectious flu. As General Manager of the Hotel Phillips in Bartlesville, OK he has stepped into one of the most demanding roles in the company after proving himself at the Hampton Inn in Marble Falls, TX. Now running a full service, historic facility has allowed him to show what he can really do.

Second award given out was for Department Head of the Year. The award presented to Cary Johnson of Hampton Inn Hillsboro. Cary has been with the hotel prior to the opening in April 2007 and no one was surprised when he won the prestigious 2008 award. Cary’s dedication, work ethics, responsiveness to guests needs, and wonderful sense of humor were big factors in the decision by the Lodging Host Hotel Corp Board of Directors to bestow Cary with this honor.

And finally, the Big Winner with a trip and spending money on the line was the Employee of the Year Award. After much deliberation it was presented to Marsha Jess of the Hampton Inn on the Lake, Marble Falls, TX. Marsha has been working at the hotel for over seven years at the Front Desk. She is khown for her cheery demeanor with guests and for filling in whenever and wherever the hotel needs her.

We would all like to congratulate this year’s outstanding service people who were given the awards as well as all those who were nominated from their respective hotels. It is employees such as those that create the high level of guest service surrounding Lodging Host managed hotels.

In the month of September the three Hampton Inns run by Lodging Host, Hampton Inn Hillsboro TX, Hampton Inn Livingston TX and the Hampton Inn in Marble Falls TX ranked #1, #5 and #11 in the state of Texas.  This is a fantastic accomplishment by the three hotels and is based on Hilton’s SALT scores (Satisfaction and Loyalty Table) based on customer comment cards and Hilton inspections.

In addition The Hillsboro property won the Hilton 3rd Quarter Hampton Inn Hall of Fame award being ranked #33 in the entire Hilton system.

Lodging Host lost three hotels temporarily. Hurricane Ike hit TX and LA on September 12th 2008.  The Comfort Suites in La Porte, TX, the Hampton Inn in Livingston TX and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Livingston TX.  In addition the Hampton Inn in Hillsboro TX lost power briefly and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Marshall TX lost power for 2 days.

The Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Livingston sustained the most damage with water penetration to all guest rooms and public areas.  It should reopen late in the week of September 29th.  Mike Scavone headed up the efforts for the team.  The LHHC & hotel staff reacted quickly getting generators transported to the site for temporary power.  That provided enough electricity to allow lighting for crews to work, to do water extraction and power fans to lessen the growth of mold.  Outside contractors were secured immediately to replace carpet and padding, replace damaged sheetrock in walls and ceiling, paint and texture effected areas and eradicate mildew.  When power was restored the team was poised to move forward to minimize the loss created by Ike.

The Hampton Inn in Livingston sustained minor roof damages and water penetration only to a couple public space and a few guest rooms.  Again the team quickly moved to minimize damages and take in the remaining guests of the Holiday Inn Express that were displaced by the large amount of damage to that hotel and employee and their families displaced by the storm.  When the hotel got power back a couple of days later, the hotel quickly opened rooms and worked with the City of Livingston to house emergency crews working in the area.  The hotel opened the rest of it’s rooms the week of September 22nd even as repairs proceeded.

The Comfort Suites in La Porte TX was not as fast with power not restored until late in the week of September 22nd and access to the city restricted until early that same week.  The hotel sustained water damages to the first floor mostly due to the rising water.  But again the hotel and LHHC staff moved quickly to get repairs underway and reopened about 30 of their rooms later in the week of September 22nd, even as repairs continued, to provide much needed housing for emergency Utility crews doing repair work in surrounding communities.

ROUND ROCK, TX (December 2007) - The Candlewood Suites Austin-Round Rock extended-stay hotel has invested over $250,000 in renovations this year and it is just the beginning!  The new Comforts of Home Bedding has been added in all guest rooms as well as brand new ergonomic chairs for the work space.  Recliner chairs and carpet has been completely replaced to give a fresh new look.  Complimentary Internet access has also been upgraded for fast connections and guest convenience.

Each year the Candlewood Suites in Round Rock is getting better and better.  In 2008, brand new drapes, lamps, sheers and hardware will also be installed.  The full kitchens in each suite will be upgraded including cabinetry. 

Guests are invited to come discover the comforts of home in Round Rock.  While in town, take advantage of the hotel’s offer of their Shop and Stay Package.  The package is perfect for guests wishing to spend some time shopping for gifts for the holidays this year.  For each night you book this package you will receive a free $25 gift card for Round Rock Premium Outlets! 

Round Rock Premium Outlets, just 2 miles from the hotel, is not just a shopping center but has become a destination for shoppers all over the state featuring over 125 stores including Adidas, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Coach, Gap Outlet, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren and more!

Visit www.hotel-roundrock.com/specials.htm or call the hotel at 512-828-0899 for reservations. 

ROUND ROCK (November 2007) - The Candlewood Suites Round Rock is bringing in brand new recliner chairs for each of the guest suites.   As renovation continues, the carpets have been completely replaced and ergonomic desk chairs have been installed for the work space in all rooms. Beginning first quarter of 2008, all drapes in the hotel will be replaced to give the rooms a crisp new look.  The Comforts of Home Bedding Collection that has been added has been a great success and the Candlewood looks forward to finishing the renovation for guests to enjoy.  Visit us online at www.Hotel-RoundRock.com.

Longview, TX (November 2, 2007) - There has been much speculation as to what the crash in the sub-prime market is going to do to Hotel lending and construction.  My quick answers would little and nothing respectively but let me explain because it is certainly not that simple. 

While hotel lending does not really have a sub-prime aspect in name it does have “conduit” lending.  This lending source is used for stabilized operating hotels and is significantly more sophisticated than what was happening in the Housing sub-prime market. Read the rest of this entry �

LONGVIEW, TX (October 29, 2007) - Lodging Host Hotel Corp held its bi-annual Managers Lock-In Training Conference October 28-30 in Hillsboro, TX. The two-day conference hosted by the Hampton Inn Hillsboro was a time of training and team building for Lodging Host corporate employees and hotel managers. The final evening featured an awards dinner where the following employees were recognized for their excellent customer service and dedication to Lodging Host over the previous year.

Employee of the Year - Teresa Marcus

Hampton Inn On the Lake Marble Falls Guest Representative

Department Head of the Year - Becky Schomer

Hampton Inn Livingston Sales Manager

General Manager of the Year - Louis Christian

Holiday Inn Express Livingston General Manager

ATLANTA, October 22, 2007 – IAHI, the Owners’ Association of IHG, announces the election of four new members to its Board of Directors: Bakulesh G. “Buggsi” Patel, Kevin Hilchey, Mark Zipperer, and Jose Paoli Montesinos. The announcement was made during the 2007 IHG Americas Investors & Leadership Conference, held October 22-24 in Dallas, Texas.

Bakulesh G. “Buggsi” Patel is the Owner of BHG Hotels, a Lake Oswego, Oregon-based hotel/motel management and consulting firm. Patel has ownership interest in 21 hotels in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, and California. Two additional properties are currently under development. Patel has been a member of the IAHI since 2004 and has been a member of the Holiday Inn Express Committee since 2005. Patel graduated from the inaugural class of IAHI’s unique Leadership Institute in 2004. Patel served as Chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association in 2000 and has been a member of the Executive Committee since 1997. In addition, Patel is a perennial member and Director and past Executive Committee member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Patel also was elected President of the Oregon Lodging Association in 1997-1998, and elected to a second term in 1998-1999.

Kevin P. Hilchey is President and Founder of Longview, Texas-based Lodging Host Hotel Corporation, since 1984. He has been active in the IAHI by serving on the Holiday Inn Express Brand Committee from 2003 to the present, and the Southern Regional Committee from 2001-2003. Hilchey co-founded the East Texas Hotel and Motel Association in 1982 and served as its President. He also has served on the Board and as President of the Legal Defense Fund for the Texas Hotel and Motel Association (TH&LA). Read the rest of this entry �