Crescent Connections VOL 29 (English)

Volume 29 - August 2017

“Keeping the Crescent Family Connected with
News and Events Throughout the Crescent Portfolio!”

Michael’s Message

W hat makes a winner? Is it winning a big jackpot in Las Vegas? Receiving awards and
accolades from your employer or your peers? Or is it giving it your all, day in and
day out, and feeling, at the end of each day, that you’ve done your absolute best?
Trophies and plaques are great physical reminders of the blood, sweat and tears that go into
running a successful hotel, yet not everyone goes home with the hardware. The award winners
from Crescent’s Annual Leadership Conference and Awards Gala are truly deserving of the hon-
ors they received. They demonstrate the dedication and spirit required to be successful in both
good times and difficult ones; they show that it pays off to persevere. They are an inspiration to
the rest of us to never give up, to keep searching for new business, to keep giving 100% to our
guests and associates. I know that many more of our associates give that same level of dedica-
tion and passion, always giving their best and bringing their best game every day. I thank each
and every one of you for that. Please know that your efforts do not go unnoticed, and that you
are all winners. I know that you take great pride in your work and in your property, and I am
proud to have you as members of Team Crescent! So again, congratulations to all of our award
winners, and thank you to everyone who is a member of our team!

Wishing you all the very best,

Michael George

Hospitality—the next Generation

In April, the Westin Las Vegas played host to a group of children whose parents work at the hotel. As part of “Take Our
Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” this enthusiastic group of young people got to experience first-hand what it’s like to work
in a hotel, to see and understand better what their parents do for a living.

They learned about dressing for suc-
cess, making pizza, table etiquette,
and most importantly, counting on
each other! Thank you to Ana Flores
of the Human Resources department
for doing an outstanding job of
putting the event together, and to
everyone at the hotel who assisted in
what was surely a memorable day for
our next generation of hoteliers!

Everyone’s a Winner in Vegas!

Everyone goes to Las Vegas in the hopes of coming home a winner! That’s exactly what happened as our leaders, General
Managers and Directors of Sales gathered for Crescent Hotels & Resorts’ Annual Leadership Conference, which was hosted by our
Westin Las Vegas Hotel. Learning sessions included a client panel who shared valuable insights on the needs and expectations
of owners, while other keynote speakers focussed on customer service and strategic communications. Every associate at the Westin Las
Vegas showed their commitment to exceptional service, as the event was executed flawlessly – from check-in, to cleanliness, to food and
all the other details needed to make the conference a success!

As always, the awards gala was the most anticipated event as everyone waited to learn who would hit the jackpot by taking home top
honors! Congratulations to all of our winners, especially our Hotels of the Year: the Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District (Full Service
and the Staybridge Suites Edmonton (Select Service), and our Brightest Stars: Leader of the Year Meregildo Gomez of the Residence Inn
by Marriott Fort Worth, and Associate of the Year Denise Harrison of the Embassy Suites Scottsdale.

Congratulations to all of our Award Winning Recipients!

Highest Associate Satisfaction: General Manager Excellence in Sales: Survivor Award:
Select Service: Cambria Hotel & Greg Riley – Holiday Inn Manhattan – Alan Klein – Embassy Suites Scottsdale
Suites Rockville Financial District Resort
Full Service: Sheraton & Westin
Reston Heights Sales Team of the Year: Director of Sales of the Year :
Select Service: Wingate by Wyndham Select Service: Romano Pinheiro –
Most Improved Associate Satisfaction: Chantilly/Dulles Airport Staybridge Suites West Edmonton
Hilton Garden Inn Orlando East/UCF Area Full Service: Holiday Inn Manhattan – Full Service: Deniece Coke, DoubleTree
Financial District by Hilton Largo – Washington D.C.
Culture Team of the Year:
Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Int'l Sales Spirit Award: General Manager of the Year :
Airport Jennifer Cano – Residence Inn, Fairfield Select Service: Don Swedberg – Cambria
Inn & Courtyard Dallas Plano/The Colony Hotel & Suites Rockville
Community Engagement Award: Full Service: Tracey Sims – Harbour
Hilton Garden Inn Niagara-on-the-Lake Guest Satisfaction Survey – Most Towers Hotel & Suites
Improved:
Internal Audit Excellence: Select Service: Residence Inn by Mar- Hotel of the Year :
Full Service: Sheraton & Westin Reston riott Dallas Plano/The Colony Select Service: Staybridge Suites West
Heights Full Service: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Edmonton
Select Service: Hilton Garden Inn Stony Memphis Downtown Full Service: Holiday Inn Manhattan –
Brook Financial District
Guest Satisfaction Survey – Highest
Revenue Management Team of the Year: Score:
Select Service: Hilton Garden Inn Stony Select Service: Residence Inn by Mar-
Brook riott Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach
Full Service: Harbour Towers Hotel & Full Service: Hilton Columbus/Polaris
Suites

General Manager of the Year Director of Sales of the Year General Manager of the Year
Don Swedberg Deniece Coke Tracey Sims
Cambria Hotel & Suites Rockville DoubleTree by Hilton Largo—Washington D.C. Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites

Meet our Brightest Stars

Meregildo Gomez, the Chief Engineer at the Residence Inn by Marriott Alliance Ft. Worth, is our Leader of the Year! Meregildo
started his career in hospitality in maintenance sixteen years ago, and has worked his way up to the role of Chief. He got into hos-
pitality because he loves helping people, and he is able to put is problem-solving abilities to good use. He says his family inspires
him to do his best every day, and tries to lead by example, showing his family what it means to work hard and do a good job, day in
and day out. Meregildo has many great memories from working at the hotel, but one that holds a special place in his heart is the
celebration his co-workers gave him for his 45th birthday. His advice for others: Always work hard at what you do and be honest,
and working as a team makes all the difference.

Meregildo Gomez Denise Harrison

Our Associate of the Year is Denise Harrison, Human Resources Coordinator at the Embassy Suites Scottsdale, which is her first
time working in the hotel industry. With twenty-eight years of experience in recruiting, she was looking for a change, when she
found the position at the Embassy Suites. When asked who inspires her to do her best, the answer was easy: her parents. They
moved to the United States when they were young to live the American dream, and taught her the value of hard work, and that
you can do anything you want if you work hard and do your best. They owned several restaurants and always said that you must
treat your job as if it was your own business. One of her favorite memories of working at the hotel was the “Grand Opening,”
when they got to show off the hotel after extensive renovations and a brand change. Denise follows the philosophy of doing the
kind of job that, at the end of the day, if your employer had to pay you what you are worth, they could not afford to keep you, ra-
ther than for you to owe them. Great advice, Denise!

Culture Team of the Year Highest Associate Satisfaction Community Engagement Award
Hilton Garden Inn Niagara-on-the-Lake
Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Int’l Airport Sheraton & Westin Reston Heights

Sales Spirit Award Revenue Management Team of the Year Sales Team of the Year
Holiday Inn Manhattan—Financial District
Jennifer Cano Hilton Garden Inn Stony Brook

Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Courtyard Dallas Plano /The Colony

Portfolio Round Up

Summer of Love in the Big Apple

=

The Holiday Inn Manhattan Financial District is celebrating IHG’s “Summer of Love.” Every Friday during the month of June, they have a
table set up in the lobby to hand out bottles of chocolate milk and cookies to children and families. Hotel associates take turns staffing
the table, which is turning out to be lots of fun for them as well as for the guests!

Hilton Crystal City Stamps Out Hunger

Associates from the Hilton Crystal City spent some time educating their community about hunger. They visited over 200 residences in the
area, in an effort to spread the word about the Arlington Food Assistance Center, and its Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Special thanks
go to Ishwar, David, Tamika, Page, Michelle, Renee, and Getenesh for their work on this initiative.

Bringing Home More Hardware

Beyond our own awards, several of our hotels have been recognized by their brands for their outstanding performance in 2016. This in-
cludes the Staybridge Suites in Edmonton, who received IHG’s Torchbearer Award, which is the company’s most prestigious award. The
property was selected from over 5,100 hotels for achieving the highest levels of excellence in all aspects of operation, from quality to cus-
tomer satisfaction.

Anyone who has helped open a new hotel knows it isn’t easy! Hyatt has recently recognized our Hyatt Place Salt Lake City/Farmington for
the outstanding job they did with their opening, with their nomination in the category of “Opening Hotel Performance.” It was tough
competition, with hotel actually coming in second place, but they are proud of their accomplishment and so are we!

The Cambria Suites Rockville was honoured with two awards at the Choice Hotels Upscale Brands Reception. The first was the Group
Sales Hotel of the Year, in recognition of the hotel’s efforts in driving group business for the brand. In addition, Hotel General Manager
Don Swedberg received the General Manager of the Year Award! Don credits his entire team for this award, whose efforts included beta
testing new items, onboarding new Choice General Managers to the brand system, and maintaining some of the highest quality
assurance scores in the Choice system. Congratulations to all three of these properties for their successes, and thank you for all of your
hard work!

Welcome to the Crescent Family!

Westin San Jose Cambria Chicago Loop/Theatre Dist. Hilton Garden Inn Ft. Washington
San Jose, CA Chicago, IL Fort Washington, PA

Courtyard Albuquerque Crowne Plaza JFK Airport NYC Holiday Inn Farmington Hills-Novi
Albuquerque, NM Jamaica, NY Farmington-Hills, MI

The Crescent Connection · Volume 29 · August 2017