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Success Story
"Holiday Inn Raises Bar for ServiceBoardman hotel wins an unprecedented 11th award from Holiday Inn chain.By Dan O'BrienBrent Reynolds will miss coming to work each day at the Holiday Inn Boardman. He remains confident, however, that the hotel will continue to prosper and build on its reputation as one of the best in the franchise.Reynolds has spent his career, 15 years, at the Boardman inn where he was hired as a desk clerk while a student at Youngstown State University. He worked his way up to general manager and recently was tapped to head the hotel chain's newest effort -- the "People Notice" training initiative -- and will help effect it at some 550 Holiday Inns throughout the eastern United States."It's so great to see what this hotel has developed into," Reynolds reflects. This year, Holiday Inn-Boardman received two major awards, chosen from the 1,100 full-service Holiday Inns around the world. In October, the facility received an unprecedented 11th Torchbearer Award.Developing the business and making it grow was, and is, no easy task, Reynolds stresses, especially in the Mahoning Valley. The Valley is a market that has lost most of its largest companies over the last three decades, but one that has seen no let-up in competition as new lower-cost players enter. "As the market has changed, we've had to adapt also," Reynolds states. When the facility opened in 1988 near the intersection of South Avenue and Boardman-Poland Road, skeptics gave it little chance despite the Edward J. DeBartolo Co. developing it as a 118-room lodge for business guests. Since then, the hotel has added 10 meeting rooms and 40 guest rooms and suites. It has also seen its staff grow to 130. The four-story hotel, now owned by DeBartolo Holdings LLC, continues to be the only hotel owned and operated by Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.With the success of Holiday Inn-Boardman, other restaurants and hotels migrated to the area, says the new general manager, Don Jozwiak. "Competition from restaurants has increased 25 times since we opened," he estimates.The increased competition, loss of major local employers and 9/11 left Holiday Inn-Boardman with no choice but to go after new business. The hotel now markets amenities such as getaway golf packages. It also is more aggressive in courting company functions and government conferences. "The shift in its business strategy paid off as the hotel continues to set new standards in excellence for service," Reynolds boasts. It continues to attract a substantial number of guests in town on business, mainly to call on small companies here that have clients all over the world.The latest Torchbearer Award, Reynolds adds, is a testament to the hotel staff's hard work and concern for doing their best. The awards, based on customers' responses and presented annually, recognize the 10 highest-rated Holiday Inns in the country. No other Holiday Inn in the world has received 11 Torchbearer awards.Many of the hotels that win the award do so within their first five years of business, Reynolds says. "A lot of them are new, and often the response is very positive," he says. Holiday Inn-Boardman opened in 1988 and, Reynolds says with satisfaction, continues to chalk up prestigious awards. "It says a lot about this place and the people who work here," he adds.So impressive is the Holiday Inn-Boardman's record that the hotel was the subject of a case study and of a short video presentation at the corporation's leadership conference in Chicago. The conference and case study outlined the basics of the People Notice service training campaign."It's designed to keep the vision in leadership and develop an extremely strong internal service culture," Reynolds comments.Even more encouraging was the Boardman hotel being the first recipient of the Kemmons Wilson "Spirit of Family Award," Reynolds continues. The award, named after the hotel chain's founder, is given to the one Holiday Inn that in an essay that best summarizes its goals and visions. "We were the only hotel to win it and the first. It's nice to know that we've set the bar for the future," he says.During his 15 years, just more than three of them as general manager, Reynolds says he's seen a who's who of entertainers and sports celebrities as they've made stops in the Valley.Perhaps the most significant this year was the Democrats' nominee for president, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who stayed at the hotel the night before he hunted geese in Springfield Township. Others who have passed through include Bruce Springsteen, Conan O'Brien, Johnny Cash, Charlton Heston and rock musicians Crosby, Stills & Nash. "David Crosby was great. He came down to the restaurant and talked with everyone -- a real nice guy," Reynolds remembers."