OLYMPIA, Wash., Nov. 16, 2016 — Eight talented employees received the Washington Hospitality Association's Stars of the Washington Lodging Awards at the Washington Lodging Convention awards dinner on Nov. 7, 2016. The annual awards are given to employees at hotel and lodging properties for their exceptional service to their guests, communities and the industry.
Each of these individual winners represent all that hospitality stands for: exceptional service, unwavering determination and excellence in all that they do. Nominations for the awards were submitted by supervisors, HR directors and peers. Individual awards were given in four categories: Outstanding General Manager, Rising Star of the Year, Outstanding Lodging Employees of the Year and Outstanding Manager of the Year.
Employees of the Year are non-management staff members who go above and beyond their normal job responsibilities to provide outstanding service to the property, guests and the community. Each employee award is given to an individual at a full-service property, which includes restaurant service, and a limited-service property, which does not have a full restaurant on-site.
The 2016 winners are as follows:
- Charlotte Mayo, general manager, Springhill Suites Wenatchee- OUTSTANDING GENERAL MANAGER
- Margrett Gustafson, senior sales manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center- OUTSTANDING MANAGER OF THE YEAR- FULL SERVICE
- Irma Trujillo, Director of Housekeeping, Best Western Executive Inn Seattle- OUTSTANDING MANAGER OF THE YEAR LIMITED SERVICE
- Nirmal Kaur, room attendant, Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport Seattle- OUTSTANDING LODGING EMPLOYEE, FULL SERVICE
- Terrence Lewis, Laundry Attendant, Homewood Suites Seattle Pike Street- OUTSTANDING LODGING EMPLOYEE, LIMITED SERVICE
- Hannah Seagrave, catering coordinator, Ramada at Spokane Airport- RISING STAR OF THE YEAR, FULL SERVICE
- Melissa Graves, Breakfast Bar Host, Holiday Inn Express Spokane Valley- RISING STAR OF THE YEAR, LIMITED SERVICE
2016 marks the 18th year of the awards, continuing the longstanding tradition of recognizing the best in the industry.
About the Stars Award Winners
OUTSTANDING GENERAL MANAGER Charlotte Mayo, general manager, Springhill Suites Wenatchee “Charlotte Mayo has worked at the Springhill Suites for over three years and has been with Sterling Hospitality Management for 13 years. The Springhill Suites has set itself apart with its steady commitment to our company mission statement, ‘Impress Guests’. The vision and leadership of Charlotte Mayo is amazing. In 2014 Charlotte was recognized as the ‘Diamond General Manager’ by Marriott International, which is an award given to only one general manager out of the entire lineup of Springhill Suites worldwide.”- Jody Sander, Director of Operations, Sterling Hospitality
Outstanding Manager of the Year, FULL SERVICE Margrett Gustafson, senior sales manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center “Margrett works tirelessly to bring new guests to our city and state, doing all she can to ensure they have an enjoyable experience once they’re here. She has come in on her days off to give tours of the city of Spokane to her meeting planners. You will regularly find her in the lobby answering questions of visitors, she’s personally driven guests to the airport who have missed their shuttle and she’s gone as far as to take guests on a personal tour of Riverfront Park and the Spokane Falls.”-Josh Ewing, Director of Sales and Marketing, DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center In her most recent show of service, she drove a guests forgotten luggage two hours to their next meeting location. This left a lasting impression on travelers, some of which had never been to Spokane.
Outstanding Manager of the Year, LIMITED SERVICE Irma Trujillo, Director of Housekeeping, Best Western Executive Inn Seattle “Irma Trujillo is the director of housekeeping for a portfolio of hotels in downtown Seattle. She manages the day-to-day housekeeping operations for the Best Western Executive Inn, The Loyal Inn and the La Quinta Inn & Suites.The housekeeping team resembles a family environment, mainly from Irma’s lead; she spends time to get to know each employee to see which pieces work best together. One Friday evening after work, an employee was injured in a bus accident and the first person called to the scene was Irma. The employee was then taken to the hospital by Irma for immediate care. This is only one example of the selfless acts Irma displays every day.”Khai Pham, Payroll & Personnel Manager, Clise Properties – Hotels Division
OUTSTANDING LODGING EMPLOYEE, Full SERVICE NirmalKaur, room attendant, Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport Seattle “Nirmal Kaur is an exemplary employee of the Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport. She constantly strives to ensure that her work is done to the highest standards. We constantly get positive feedback from our guests regarding the cleanliness of the guest rooms and friendliness of her service. Nirmal goes the extra mile to personalize a guest stay.” – Sanjay Mahajan, general manager, Radisson Hotel Seattle Airport
OUTSTANDING LODGING EMPLOYEE, LIMITED SERVICE Terrence Lewis, Laundry Attendant, Homewood Suites Seattle Pike Street “Terrence Lewis is a true hero. He was on break and heard a lady scream in the park next to the hotel. He ran over, found her lying on the ground, called 911 and sat with her holding her hand, placing his jacket under her bleeding head, while they waited for the ambulance. According to the lady, Terrence not only showed incredible integrity (he could have ignored her, taken her purse, etc.) but also compassion and love of a fellow human being. Without his intervention, according to the doctors, the lady would have died. While this was a neighbor to the hotel and she was not a guest, she made it clear to me that she will only use Hilton hotels from now on.”-Scott Snofsky, general manager, Homewood Suites Seattle Pike Street
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR, FULL SERVICE Hannah Seagrave, catering coordinator, Ramada at Spokane Airport “Hannah has improved our in-house food & beverage marketing by applying skills in photography and visual communication design to a variety of promotional materials including images, posters, menus, posts, advertisements and newsletters. Hannah recently received public recognition as the West Plains Chamber, Best of the West Young Leader of the Year Finalist…One year in the hospitality field has shown that Hannah quickly adapts to something she knew nothing about, but has brought her skills and talents and molded them to work well in our hotel. We are lucky to have this young professional intelligent young woman on our team.”- Denise Vickerman, general manager, Ramada at Spokane Airport
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR, LIMITED SERVICE Melissa Graves, Breakfast Bar Host, Holiday Inn Express Spokane Valley “Every day Melissa arrives to work to serve and enhance the experience of our guests staying at the Holiday Inn Express Spokane Valley. Melissa began working as the breakfast bar host almost one year ago. In that time, we have seen our breakfast scores increase from 82.87 for 2015 to 86.15 YTD 2016. Melissa has made the breakfast experience memorable for the guests. Our Rising Star has a contagious smile and a twinkle in her eye that reflects in the work she does every day…Melissa embodies the essence of hospitality and her future is bright.”- Sarah Leake, Assistant general manager, Holiday Inn Express Spokane Valley.
