Exceptional Experiences: May 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

Greystone Customer Service Award

2011 has already been quite a year, and we have another Greystone Customer Service Award to present to one of our fantastic General Managers!!

Congratulations to Norbert Mede, the General Manager of the Hotel Griffon and the Inn at Union Square! Norbert has been awarded the Greystone Customer Service Award! This means that he received 100% satisfaction from his team in the GM 360 Review! Norbert has been a part of the Greystone Hotels team since late 2007, and he is truly an important component to the success of the San Francisco “cluster” of hotels due to his leadership, his drive, and his much-appreciated sense of humor. J

Norbert has been very proactive in many arenas in his tenure with Greystone- from renovations, the addition of another property to his GM plate, Green endeavors and the formation of the Hotel Griffon GREEN Team, as well as his leadership in organizing the Hotel Griffon Health and Fitness Team, which educates staff on nutritional food choices, exercise tips, and organized fitness outings like run/walk events and guest speakers.

Greystone Hotels is grateful to have a fine GM like Norbert Mede as a part of our team!

Eric Horodas: Thank you and congratulations Norbert, on your fine achievement of winning the 2011 Greystone Hotels’ Customer Service Award. This award celebrates your accomplishment of delivering on our promise for our guests to Experience Exceptional Service. Thank you for your leadership at both of your properties and we hope you continue to find success in all you do for Greystone Hotels.

Scott Woods: Congratulations to Norbert Mede for once again winning the Greystone Customer Service Award. Norbert always places customer service as one of the top priorities at the Hotel Griffon and he should be proud that his employees recognize this and follow his lead! Way to go Norbert!

Jennifer Langham: The lead by Experience Exceptional Service attitude that Norbert exhibits ensures we have happy guests that keep returning to the Hotel Griffon again and again. On behalf of the Greystone sales team Norbert thank you to you and your team for making the Hotel Griffon a property our clients want! Congratulations!

Wayne Olson: As we all know Norbert is an exceptional manager. I forget which car company uses a tag line about precision "German" engineering, and I think that fits Norbert perfectly. He doesn't miss a thing. He's thoughtful, thorough, insightful, and inspiring. I would follow his leadership anywhere, but wait I have!

Seriously, I have the ultimate respect for Norbert, and his style of getting things done. We are so fortunate to have him on the Greystone team.

I learned everything I know about hospitality management from Norbert, which I mean as a compliment. :o)

SF Cluster Sales Team: Norbert is a very conscientious and meticulous GM. He really cares about the staff and the customer experience. You can always count on him to be “present” and help out in any situation. He leads by example and is great is GM!

Ken Chan: This guy deserves a gold medal for his efforts in keeping the Inn at its high level. Norbert is a great teacher. He loves teaching and cares about the staff. I would not be where I am today without his guidance.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Earth Day Donation

As you know, Greystone Hotels was donating a portion of all room and meeting room revenue acquired on Earth Day, April 22, to The Nature Conservancy. That total came out to be $1,500!!!!

Last week, Eric Horodas presented the check to the Associate Director of operations at The Nature Conservancy, Eamon O’Bryne at the Hotel Griffon, along with Norbert Mede, the GM of the Griffon. The Nature Conservancy was very happy to receive the donation and was thankful to everyone at Greystone!

CHECK out the giant CHECK!

Green Team

Way to go Green Team!

To honor Earth Day, Members of the Hotel Griffon “Green Team” participated in a beach and creek rehabilitation project at Muir Beach, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just north of San Francisco. Dorothy DeGuzman, Executive Housekeeper and head of the Green Team, Matt Swenson, Front Office Manager, and John Judan, Guest Services Agent, braved a cool, cloudy morning on April 23^rd to give back to Mother Earth. They removed invasive weeds and planted native plants to restore habitat loss and preserve the local biodiversity of the wetlands.

Check out these great pics of the team!

Did you do anything for Earth Day?

Monday, May 9, 2011

Cinco de Mayo at the Bristol

The Bristol held a special Employee Appreciation Luncheon on Cinco de Mayo (5/05) in the Starlight Ballroom. Everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet by Chef Manuel Barbosa and there was even live entertainment by a spectacular Mariachi Band of nine entertainers! After dancing and eating and enjoying the entertainment, raffle prizes were awarded – including piñatas and gift cards. The grand prize was a $50 Westfield Shopping Center gift card, won by Maria Resendiz of Housekeeping!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Run for Japan Relief Aid Event

Jun (SF Cluster) and Bertrand (GM of the King George Hotel) participated in the Run for Japan Relief Aid Event in Mountain View, CA on May 1. Jun completed the 3.5K walk with a good friend of hers and Bertrand participated in the 8K run. It was a beautiful day for a great cause! The team donated $500 to the American Red Cross which was Jun's charity of choice for the victims of the earthquake/tsunami. Great job guys!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

CSI - Employee Quarterly Lunch Appreciation

On April 5th we celebrated our 1st quarter all associate meeting with a BBQ lunch. All the associates seemed to have a great time and enjoyed themselves, especially the housekeepers who were recognized for their special and exceptional service to our customers. They got to spin the wheel of fortune for several prizes. The departments also competed on races with the solar power race cars which we purchased as a give away for the EV charging stations ribbon cutting ceremony. Michael Kant, our full time night auditor, was recognized as the associate of the quarter and he received a check for $100. Finally, Angeles Benavides won our safety bingo and received $130 in cash. The property has been accident free for the first 90 days of the year.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Toczylowskis’ Go to Hollywood

Here’s a great story!

Greystone Hotels has many philanthropic efforts that we participate in- from social justice issues, health awareness, GREEN charities, assisting the elderly, and helping children with disabilities through our donations and our time. Our CFO, Joe Toczylowski, and our Greystone Hotels regularly contribute to a group called “Camp del Corazon,” (Camp of the Heart) a non-profit summer camp for children with heart disease. His son, Joey had received a heart transplant as a young child, and Camp del Corazon is a very special place for Joey and the Toczylowski Family.

The camp has been in existence since 1995, and provides a free-of-charge residential summer camp, retreats, and education seminars for children and families of children impacted by heart disease. The medically-supervised camps are attended by children from 7-17 and are held in fun activity-rich places like Malibu, Mammoth, and the main camp is on Catalina Island. The camp is entirely supported through donations and through the work of volunteer counselors, nurses and physicians.

On April 16, 2011, there was a black-tie fundraiser gala, and the Toczylowski Family was present and wanted to share some of their exciting photos from a benefit that supports children with heart disease! The Toczylowskis’ got to meet and mingle with some Hollywood stars: Tom Arnold was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, Joel McHale from Community & The Soup was host, as well as other actors and actresses from popular TV shows.

See some of the great shots below! Everyone looked great at the event! For those of you that know Joe “Toz,” it may be a surprise to see him in a tux!! Thanks for sharing, Joe!