Month: August 2006

Jason Tauscher, a guest service agent at the Hampton Inn East Peoria, Illinois, was recently awarded the coveted Spirit of Hampton award from Hilton Hotels Corporation.

The Spirit of Hampton award is the Hampton brand’s most prestigious team member award and is given annually to someone who continually brings home the gold by making a positive impact on guests and his department, teammates and community.

Murat Coskun, CHA, general manager at the Hampton Inn East Peoria, believed that Mr. Tauscher was deserving of the top honor for the connections he makes with guests, his co-workers, and even other employees in the company. Jason recently spent a week helping to train at another company hotel.

Here is an excerpt of Mr. Tauscher’s award nomination sent in by his manager, Mr. Coskun:

“When I hired Jason I had an idea of his leadership skills from current employees that had worked with him before. Since he started, I have seen his biggest impaction on our overall SALT (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracker) scores. Jason finds time from his busy schedule to volunteer for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. Our company has two other Hampton Inn hotels in Springfield that needed Jason for training an implementation of some new procedures for one week. Of course, Jason without a doubt came to the rescue and took responsibility immediately. Thank you Jason for all your hard work.”

Jeff Edwards, CHA, General Manager of the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Urbana, Illinois has been accepted into the International Association of Holiday Inns’ (IAHI) General Manager Academy. Mr. Edwards was one of only thirty applicants from the hotels in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Latin America representing the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites brands to be accepted into the elite program.

The focus of the General Manager Academy is to provide strong leadership skills and general management principles to the individuals that attend the program. The curriculum, designed around the concept of creating and leading winning teams and organizations, assists the selected participants to focus on their leadership skills, knowledge and behavior; increase business and organization competence; and raise the bar on performance in the hotel. The sessions are held at the renowned Purdue Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Krannert School of Management Executive Education Programs. Purdue was ranked last year by Business News and World Report as the top hospitality school in the United States and the Krannert School of Business was ranked by the Wall Street Journal as the top business school in the United States.