Four Park City Workers Named "Stars of the Industry"
Park City lodging employees won four of the seven
"Stars of the Industry" awards at this year's Utah Hotel & Lodging
Association annual convention.
Nominations from throughout the state
were judged by students in the Hospitality Management program at Utah
Valley University. The winners were announced last month.
Park
City's winners include Teri Whitney with Snow Flower Property Management
for General Manager of the Year; Maggie Huerta Rea of Newpark Hotel for
Housekeeping Employee of the Year; Gabriel Astudillo of the Stein
Eriksen Lodge for Engineering Employee of the Year; and Gloria Kennedy
at St. Regis Deer Crest for Concierge/Bellman of the Year.
While
their jobs are quiet different, these "Stars of the Industry" described
their
motivations similarly: they enjoy their jobs and
benefit from strong teamwork.
General Manager of the Year
Teri
Whitney arrived in Park City in 1977 with a familiar story: she came to
ski, stayed for life. She started at Snow Flower Condominiums in 1980
and worked her way up to general manager.
"It was a good industry
to get into in Park City back in the 1970s. (Skiing) was just getting
started there were only two or three companies," she said.
Snow
Flower Condos has 142 residences ranging from studios to six-bedroom
suites. That's large enough to provide a lot of variety in a career, she
said.
"I just really enjoy the project, the people, the owners
and my staff is incredible; it's just a really good environment," she
said.
The lodging industry is a fun one to work
in, Whitney said, because it's always changing and never gets stale.
Whitney
attributed her success to the fact that everyone at her property helps
one another. No one ever says, "That's not my job."
"No one points
fingers; they resolve an issue and hopefully we learn from it and
things don't happen again," she said.
Whitney has brought that
attitude of mutual support to her 24 years of membership in the Park
City Area Lodging Association.
She has served on the board nearly every year since
its inception and currently serves as its treasurer.
Housekeeping
Employee of the Year
Maggie Huerte Rea is the housekeeping
supervisor at Newpark Hotel. She is on vacation this month, but her
supervisor Marci Whitaker said she's one of those people you can count
on to always do her job and do it well.
"She started as a room
attendant and moved into a supervisory role. She has just blossomed. She
works very fast and needs a lot to do," Whitaker said. "She's very
particular and wants things done right."
Rea has a good work ethic
and sets high standards, Whitaker said.
"She works with little
or no supervision it's a great quality when you can trust a person to
do what they
need to do," she added.
As a supervisor,
Whitaker said she is very organized and is able to coordinate the staff
and help out wherever it is needed. And she never misses a day of work.
"She's
good at decision making and seeing what needs to be done," Whitaker
said.
Engineering Employee of the Year
Gabriel
Astudillo has worked in maintenance engineering at the Stein Eriksen
Lodge for almost nine years and has been in the hotel industry nearly
his entire working life, he said.
Even as a young man in Mexico,
he started at a five-star hotel. He enjoys the challenge of working at
luxury properties, he said.
"It's never the same thing every day.
It's really fun," he said.
One minute he might be helping a guest
light their
fireplace and another he could be solving an
electrical problem. If a guest has trouble working their television or
getting their laptop to connect to the Internet, someone from the
engineering staff gets called, he said.
Like Whitney, Astudillo
said another reason he enjoys his work is no one ever says, "That's not
my job." In order to provide five-star, five-diamond service everyone
must put the needs of the guests first.
"When guests request
something, we must be there as soon as possible a guest's problem is
our problem," he said.
Because he might be called on to do any
number of things, Astudillo said he's always learning.
"Stein
Eriksen Lodge is like a university," he explained.
Some guests
are certainly more demanding
than others, but that's part of the challenge he
enjoys, he said. Whenever he's told to respond to a need from a guest,
he must assess their needs and tastes to provide them the best service
possible.
One of the side benefits of a supportive, instructional
environment is everyone gets along well and enjoys being around each
other, he said.
"We help each other this is like a second home,
it's like having a big family in a big place," he added.
Concierge
of the Year
Gloria Kennedy loves to joke that she literally
"fell into" her career as a concierge.
While attending school in
Maryland she took a shortcut through a construction site and fell into a
hole. While climbing out she looked around to figure out where she was
and saw a sign again, literally that said "Hyatt Regency Bethesda
opening late fall employment opportunities." She's been a concierge
ever since.
Kennedy said she agrees with motivational speaker
Holly Stiel that people become concierges because they love to nurture
and serve. Nothing makes their day like solving another person's
problem.
"I've tried other things but I always come back to it,"
she said. "I love working with people and I need to feel like I'm
caring for people."
A friend recruited her to join the team at St.
Regis Deer Crest. Kennedy said she enjoys how Starwood Hotels supports
everyone in being the best they can be.
"The company supports you
in taking care of the guest and doing what needs to be done and
they've supported my growth in the profession," she said.
Kennedy,
along with a few of her coworkers at St. Regis, is a member of Les
Clefs d'Or, or "golden keys." It is a prestigious professional
organization for concierges. Several members reside in Utah, but there
is no official chapter here. Kennedy said she's benefited so much from
the professional development the group provides she'd like to begin one.
Utah Hotel & Lodging Association
Other winners
of "Stars of the Industry" awards include Enrique Yescas of the Hilton
Garden Inn in Layton for Manager of the Year, Elise Larsen from the same
property for Lodging Employee of the Year, and Dennis Porter from the
Red Lion Hotel in Salt Lake City for Sales Employee of the Year.
Association
executive director Michael Johnson said the awards are determined by
adding up scores given by panels of judges within the UVU business
school based on information contained in packets submitted by the hotels
making the nominations.
by Andrew Kirk OF THE RECORD STAFF : The Park Record
For More Information on Park City and Deer Valley Contact:
Michael Lapay
Prudential Utah Real Estate
Mobile: 435-640-5700
Toll Free: 888-410-7653
mlapay@pureparkcityrealestate.com
http://www.pureparkcityrealestate.com/00B3C0
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