tenyears! cloudlinefiles.ctctcdn.com/e76f759a001/f81c21e8-cdf4-4a2f... · cantly and OTA's which are taking a large portion of hotels budgets I believe properties are looking to revamp

Fighting the Battle for Leadership

Inside this issue:

Fighting the Battle

for Leadership 1,4

Accsellerate+ 2

Taking the Lead in

Daytona Beach, FL 2

TRUE|STORIES 3

2016 C&W Hospi-

tality Conference 3

C&W is Mt. Rush-

more Bound 4

Hilton Joy Picture 4

quote “Whatever you do, do with Integrity, Wherever you go, go as a Leader, Whomever you serve, serve with Car-ing. Whenever you dream, dream with your All. And

never, ever give up.

-Curtis L. Carlson

founder of Carlson Hotels

cloudline

continued on page 4

The years 1861 through 1865 were the bloodiest times for the United States in a conflict known to

history as the American Civil War. Through the smoke and fog of this deadly war arose leaders that

wore uniforms in shades of both blue and grey. Generals such as, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant,

and George McClellan have been highlighted by historians and their contemporaries because of the

leadership skills they exemplified and/or lacked. One leader you may have heard the name of but

probably don’t know too much about is Thomas L. Jackson.

His men often referred to him as “Old Jack” but he is most

famously known as Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Stonewall is

still considered to be one of the greatest American military

strategists that has ever lived. At one point in time he was

known worldwide and arguably held more notoriety than

Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln. It was to the degree that

even the hairs from his horse Little Sorrel were sought after to

be sold on the streets of New York. However, Thomas Jackson

could have cared less about the fame that surrounded him.

Humility being one such characteristic that underscored the

essence of how he carried himself throughout life; whether it

was in the midst of a battle or a beautifully calm day. How Jackson portrayed himself gives us a

glimpse into how we can take on the leadership situations we face. All of you reading this right now

are in fact a leader. It’s not because of a title on your business card but because of the influence held

in the life of someone around you.

When Jackson taught at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) before the war he was viewed as a quirky

professor. Students and faculty alike had various commentary on his eating habits and the way he

interacted with people socially. One endearing quality about him that many didn't disagree on was

the genuine kindness he gave toward others. Stonewall was by no means soft when it came to exe-

cuting on standards and performance. He would lead his men throughout the Civil War on demand-

ing long marches (20+ miles) even during the cruelest of weather conditions. The ability to be able

to move thousands of men across such distances was unheard of and unexpected. Despite his adher-

ence to strict rules and expectations, according to S.C. Gwynne, author of the book, Rebel Yell, “The

most human part of him-and the most surprising to his men-was his exceptional kindness...It did

not seem to fit with the rest of him. In spite of the crushing demands of his job, he sat for hours with

his surgeon Hunter McGuire to comfort him after a family tragedy.” McGuire would write later

about Jackson’s “great kindness, his tenderness to those in trouble or affliction.” For all of us it is

okay to expect the best from those who look up to us as a leader. Yet, in the pursuit of excellence and

achievement we must demonstrate a sense of care and compassion for others if success is truly going

to find us.

Another attribute about Stonewall that was vividly displayed on and off the battlefield was his cour-

age and fearlessness. Many commanders of the day would place themselves at safe distances away

from the heaviest fighting. Jackson would often be in close proximity providing instructions and…

tenyears!

Page 2 V O L U M E 1 0 , I S S U E 1

Accsellerate+

A warm welcome to Matt Jones, our new Region-al Director of Sales for the company. Matt comes to us from the Hilton Garden Inn Dover, DE where he served as interim DOS for about two months. He has already assumed sales & mar-keting responsibilities of several properties. I caught up with him after the C&W Hospitality Conference and asked the following questions:

MW: How long have you been in the hotel busi-ness?

MJ: 29 Years.

MW: What are you most looking forward to taking on/accomplishing in this new position?

MJ: Assisting our guest, owners and employees to have a great experience when staying with us, owners to be profitable and to continue to offer our employees opportunities into the future.

MW: Where do you see sales & marketing going in the next five years?

MJ: With the climate of Social Media, Cloud based System Analytics, Distribution Channel Management, Mobile bookings increasing signifi-cantly and OTA's which are taking a large portion of hotels budgets I believe properties are looking to revamp their brand and vanity sites to in-crease direct bookings will be crucial for each property’s success. Properties will need to stay in focus what trends are taking place globally as well as in their backyard.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

-Helen Keller

Congratulations to General Manager Gloria Glaz and the Comfort Inn Mans-

field, PA team. This is their 3rd year in a row to win a Gold Award from Choice

Hotels. Hotels that receive this award are considered to be among the top

10% in the brand. They are recog-

nized for their overall guest satisfac-

tion, performance and service.

High Sales & High Profit Winners

October 2015

High Sales: Holiday Inn Express Peekskill, NY

High Profit: Hilton Springfield, VA

November 2015

High Sales: Holiday Inn Express Peekskill, NY

High Profit: Quality Inn Collinsville, VA

December 2015

High Sales: Hampton Inn Virginia Beach, VA

High Profit: Holiday Inn Express Peekskill, NY

Coakley & Williams officially

welcomed the Daytona Beach

Resort to our hotel family at

the beginning of January. Tak-

ing the helm as our new Gen-

eral Manager, is Ms. Libby

Gallant. Libby lives and

breathes Daytona Beach hospi-

tality. From her first job as

desk clerk during high school

(in the middle of Spring

Break), to her new position as

General Manager at the Dayto-

na Beach Resort (DBR), Lib-

by’s experience includes sales,

operations, revenue manage-

ment and multi-property man-

agement in Daytona Beach

Taking the Lead at Daytona Beach Resort area hotels. She was most re-

cently GM of Perry’s Ocean

Edge Resort, and had previous-

ly served as Director of Sales &

Marketing at DBR!

Libby is proud of the fact that

she “trained Thomas Gallant on

the front desk…and married

him three years later!” They

recently celebrated their 25th

wedding anniversary. Their

daughter Maggie is graduating

in May from Embry Riddle

(ERAU) with a degree in Engi-

neering Physics; son Max is

attending Daytona State Col-

lege EMT program. “Our third

child is Buster, a 75-pound res-

cue dog who keeps the whole

family on our toes.”

Libby is currently active as a

Board Member in the Lodging &

Hospitality Association of Volu-

sia County, Halifax Area Adver-

tising Authority (where she also

serves as Chairwoman of the

Tour & Travel Committee), and

the Tourism Development

Council. Please join us in wel-

coming Libby Gallant, CHA, as

General Manager of the Daytona

Beach Resort & Conference Cen-

ter!

WINNING WITH IHG Currently, Coakley & Williams

Hotel Management Company

operates 6 IHG branded proper-

ties. C&W wrapped up the year

collectively 4/5 in all metrics.

Metrics include Heartbeat Score,

Loyalty Recognition, and Guest

Reviews. Properties that scored

5/5 were Holiday Inn Express

Peekskill, NY and the Holiday Inn

Express Abingdon, VA. Abingdon

received a Top 3rd Fee Award/

Incentive for the 1st Quarter of

2016.

PROMOTIONS @ C&W

Kelley Catterton is now Assistant Controller

Shane Flowers is now Senior Field Auditor

Congrats also to Anna Lopez who recently passed

her CHSP (Certified Hospitality Sales Pro) exam!

www.daytonabeachresort.com

Page 3 C L O U D L I N E

stayed at the Hampton Inn with

my daughter and my two

granddaughters. My little So-

phia and Angela are so excited

about Christmas! The hotel had

an area where they could write

letters to Santa Claus! They

were so excited! Both girls

wrote a very nice letter and

“shipped it off” to Santa! Well,

today they received a letter

from the North Pole! You see,

this year has been incredibly

hard on my family. They both

lost their father to illness as

well as their grandfather. Both

girls wrote they wanted their

“Daddy” for Christmas along

with a few other small items. It

broke our hearts! When the

letter arrived today. Santa sent

them both silver bells and a

copy of the North Pole

on DVD. They have

watched this movie 4

times and those bells

haven’t left their sides!

Santa wrote that the

spirit of their “Grappie”

and Daddy was always

with them. When you

ring this bell, they will

hear you and are always with

you. We were thinking what we

could do to lift their spirits and

give them the very best Christ-

mas possible. That letter was the

best present we could have ever

asked for. The letter was so beau-

tifully written and made the holi-

days for the girls. I have not be-

lieved in Santa Claus for a very

long time! I now believe in the

magic and the spirit of what San-

ta Claus stands for and brings to

the world. Thank you just doesn't

seem to be enough! I have since

contacted Hilton Worldwide to

see who wrote this letter. This

hotel is amazing for doing such a

simple idea. The Breakfast was

great, the pool is nice and the

staff in general were all so very

pleasant. We will be back!”

Additionally, Hilton has a pro-

gram in place where pillow cases

are crafted into dresses for girls

living in Africa. Lauren set up a

tie-dye party where the staff of

the property colored. She sewed

on buttons and pockets. The

dresses were then sent to Hilton

Worldwide for distribution.

In our last issue of Cloudline

we recognized Anna Pettersen

from the Hampton Inn Fish-

kill, NY. Anna demonstrated

above and beyond hospitality

by driving a guest’s misplaced

wallet all the way to Manhat-

tan, NY to return it to them.

The Hampton Inn Fishkill con-

tinues to knock the cover off

the ball when it comes to tak-

ing care of guests. In this issue

we recognize breakfast server

Lauren Innello who went out

of her way to create a magical

memory for guests that were

staying at the property over

Christmas. Here is the posting

from the guest:

“I Believe!” - I was visiting

family this past weekend. I

Interested in contributing

to Cloudline? Contact

Mark Williams if you would

like to submit an article

for the next issue at:

[email protected]

Coakley & Williams Conference Wrap Up

TRUE|STORIES

Servant Attitude Award

Jamie Howser Corporate, Di-

rector of Revenue Management

Sales Ambassador of the Year

Don Evans from Holiday Inn

Central

Digital Marketer of the Year

Rob Waddell from Hampton

Inn VA Beach Oceanfront

DOS of the Year

Paul Varma from Quality Suites

Royale Parc Suites

Quality Excellence Award

George Brewer from Holiday

Inn Express Abingdon, VA

It was another great year at the

2016 Coakley & Williams Hos-

pitality Conference held at the

new Radisson Washington DC-

Rockville. Corporate office

staff, General Managers, and

Sales Directors representing

over 30 hotels attended the

three-day event. Keynote

speaker for the conference was

Vicki Hitzges author of the

book Attitude is Everything.

Highlights included the vendor

tradeshow (our best yet!), car-

nival themed networking re-

ception, and the annual awards

dinner. Here is a list of the

2016 Award Winners:

Financial Man-

agement Award

Mark Jan-

iszewski from

the Red Coach

Inn

Management

Excellence

Dan Schaffner from Hampton

VA Beach Oceanfront

GM Rookie of the Year

Ryan Saunders from Holiday Inn

Express Peekskill, NY

General Manager of the Year

Wade Michael from Quality

Suites Royale Parc Suites

Because of their efforts, both

Lauren and Anna received a

Spirit of Hospitality Award

from Hampton Inn this past

December and January. Both

ladies received a plaque of

recognition and $350 from

Hilton. That’s the way to

spread the Spirit of True Hos-

pitality!

C&W Employee of the Year

Yoki Wells, Property Account-

ant at the Corporate Office

(above) Members of the C&W team

enjoying lunch at the conference

Congratulations to all of our award

winners and thanks to the Radisson

Rockville team for a great event!

Mark Williams, CHT Vice President of Development

email: [email protected] Phone: 301-614-8848

Coakley & Williams

Hotel Management

Company

Vision

To be the leading hospitality

management company dedi-

cated to peace of mind and

success for all.

Mission

Our passion is serving peo-

ple. We seek to maximize the

return on your investment,

create loyal relationships

and provide a caring ap-

proach to success. We strive

to be a role model within our

industry and communities in

a way that honors God.

True Hospitality Values

Quality, Integrity, Caring,

Service and Safety

can keep so cool and appear so

utterly insensible to danger in

such a storm of shell and bul-

lets…” Jackson replied to the

artillery officer, “Captain my

religious belief teaches me to

feel as safe in battle as in bed.

God has fixed a time for my

death. I do not concern myself

about that, but to always be

ready, no matter when it may

overtake me. That is the way

all men should live, and then

all would be equally brave.”

The bravery Jackson portrayed

was recognized on both sides.

Union troops themselves

acknowledged and respected

the man as an exceptional

solider and leader. We certain-

ly face obstacles and challenges

that the teams we lead must

face and overcome. Yet, we

cannot yield ourselves to defeat

easily nor can we cower and

hide quickly. As leaders, we

must resolve ourselves to not

succumb to fear. Jackson nev-

er did and as a result his men

were inspired to not quit in

the heat of battle. Like Jack-

son, as leaders we can be

brave, kind, consistent, and

demonstrate excellence in our

pursuits. As Stonewall once

said, “You may be whatever

you resolve to be.” As you step

forward into the 2nd quarter

of this year, keep fighting the

battle for leadership. Don’t

quit! The end result will most

certainly be a win.

All the best,

3/3/16

motivation to his men to press

forward. One of the first large

engagements between the Un-

ion and the Confederate armies

was the Battle of Manassas

(also know as the Battle of Bull

Run). The end result was heavy

losses on both sides. Even still,

the Confederates delivered a

surprising defeat to the Union.

An unknown brigadier general

named Thomas L. Jackson

played a highly pivotal role in

the outcome that day. Despite

the many bullets that whizzed

past him (one hit his hand al-

most removing a finger),

Stonewall led the charge up

Henry Hill that eventually

forced the opposition into re-

treat. In a brief interview after-

ward, an artillery officer by the

name of John Imboden asked

Jackson, “How is it that you

Fighting the Battle For Leadership Continued... CONNECT WITH US

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Coakley & Williams is Mt. Rushmore Bound In March, Coakley & Williams

will continue to extend its

reach across the country as the

company assumes manage-

ment of four hotels situated at

the base of Mt. Rushmore in Key-

stone, South Dakota. The four

hotels include the Travelodge Mt.

Rushmore/Keystone, Super 8 Mt.

Rushmore/Keystone, Boardwalk

Inn & Suites, and the Rush-

more View Inn. In total, all of

the properties amount to

roughly 150 hotel rooms and

are in close proximity to one

another. “We are thrilled to be

able to start working for the

ownership of these hotels

right at the footsteps of one of

our country’s most treasured

national monuments,” says

Mark Williams, Vice President

of Development. “The addition

of these properties continues

to establish C&W as a growing

organization with a presence

from coast to coast.” Coakley &

Williams now operates 36 ho-

tels in 10 states.

Picture of the Hilton Spring-

field, VA (right). The hotel

shared a little joy over the

holidays by creatively lighting

up the night sky. The Greater

Springfield Chamber of Com-

merce loved it so much they

made this picture the cover of

their Facebook page. Nicely

done Hilton Springfield team!

“You may be whatever you

resolve to be.”

-Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson