Waco TX - Let's Go Baylor

So I am a little late getting this one posted, but I only  had 12 hours at home between assignments and laundry was my first priority!   I had the pleasure of spending Jan 18th - 21st in Waco TX with Tricia whom is on our training team.  First off she was awesome, from the initial meeting at the airport in Dallas waiting for our 18 min flight to Waco (on a tiny plane, my hair drug the ceiling of plane), she was engaging and let me know that she was there to answer any questions that I might have and that just because I was a newbie didn't mean that I couldn't jump in that she was sure I brought some good knowledge with me! 
We were actually at an already open hotel who was switching franchise companies so someone from our team goes in and makes sure that any new team members get the Marriott welcome, to be a resource and to put together an action plan for them if there are any issues the hotel needs to address.  I won't name the hotel or what we found....but we had a busy week....with a team that was less than impressed that we were there and were ready for us to hit the road day one!
Tricia and I had a great week exploring Waco after hours!  We of course hit the Planet Fitness as we have to get our steps in for the weekly trainers Fit Bit Challenge!  I tried to talk her into searching for the Branch Davidian Cult, she wanted no part of it, no sense of adventure!  Of course we had to eat  our fair share of Tex-Mex food, it was amazing (even the Taco Bell run we made!!! :)  And the greatest part of the week we went to the Baylor vs. Kansas State basketball game that went into double overtime, it was a great game and even better people watching!!!  The Walmarts (with an S for Trica) had some Baylor tees on sale so we of course bought some so that we could "act like we belong!"
It was a great week where I learned a lot about a different aspect of our job, a little about the lay of the land and gained a go to in Tricia.  I also learned the phrases "we add value" and "act like you belong!"  The week was full of lots of sideways looks, looks with no words but we knew that both of us where thinking the same thing, 120K+ steps between the two of us, bonding and laughter.  And as the newbie I got the pleasure of fetching Tricia's coffee from Starbucks as I got mine each morning, for future reference I know that she takes a Grande Blonde Black! 
Below are a few pictures that captured our week and also a picture of Queen Zirkle (w/ the crown, we are at her 155th hotel opening and she has been on the road for 9 years, she is the best of the best and after 3 days I think I am growing on her!!!).

Olympia Washington via Seattle

Last week brought Olympia Washington....it was BEAUTIFUL!  But on the other hand let me say that I could never live there....it rains EVERYDAY...this Midwest girl needs a bit of sun everyday in order to not go crazy.  I'm not sure in the 3 days I was there if I saw the sun more than 10 mins....I would be depressed if forced to live there.  However the locals say you get use to it and the beautiful days make up for the rainy ones...I might have to argue about that. 
I got my first taste of the TPS (Towne Place Suites Brand) it was amazing, the new rooms are spacious, super functional for the extended stay guest and the do-it-yourself traveler that we are catering to will make themselves right at home and live it up at the TPS.  It was a quick trip, but I got to spend time with one of my bosses, some of the Senior Managers and one of the trainers on the team.  Even though there a short time I soaked up as much as I could, asked a million questions (you know I had a list) and took in as much as I could listening and taking it all in. 
It also marked the start of the first official Trainers FitBit Challenge of the year, let me tell you when you put a lot of very competitive people in a competition it gets interesting.  So the first day our head boss of the HMSS team did 20,000 steps...I was DETERMINED to go to bed in 1st place....so I hit the gym for the 2nd time that day and knocked a couple more miles out on the treadmill.  Day 2 brought even more steps from her...when we got back to the hotel my boss slipped a pair of my jersey shorts on over her skirt and we hit the hallways....and the gym....and made some funny videos and pictures to send the team.  When she hit her goal and was happy with it I hit the gym, even though I was the west coast it is like these people NEVER sleep!  I still swear a couple of them are attaching their fit bit to their cat or kid...I mean 120,000 steps in one week...we do have a job! :)  I ended 5th in the challenge last week (with 70,000 steps in 5 days) and this week am determined to end in the top 3....better get my booty moving!
Seattle you were beautiful...I'm sorry I didn't get to see Pike's Fish Market or the Original Starbucks, but next time they are top on my list.  Although I did have several cups of Starbucks coffee and it tastes so much better there....it might just be in my head but I think it did so that is all that matters!  My trainer battle buddy Shannon is there this week actually in Seattle so I am thinking she might get to go to those places and I can live through her pictures!  
Here are a few pictures as I flew into Seattle....so beautiful! 

HQ 48 Hour Trip of a Lifetime

Where to even begin on the last 48 hours....a dream....overwhelming....amazing....exciting....motivating....a million words could describe the last couple of days.

Day 1 - Monday Night - I landed in DC around 4:30pm and caught a car to the hotel, got checked in and headed to the lobby to see my new bosses Joe and Rachida...two of the nicest people that you will ever meet (more to come on them later).  Then with the new year and new job is a new Kandi, so I headed to the gym, then ordered a salad from room service and watched my Women's Basketball Tigers try hard to beat the Tennessee Women.  Called it a night and didn't sleep worth a darn, to excited!

Day 2 - Tuesday - Woke up early and nervous as all get out, excited, sick to my stomach...all the normal first day jitters, if your first day wasn't going to be in the Marriott International Corporate Office!  Meet the bosses in the lobby of the hotel and started the walk to corporate, when you walk in the lobby is beautiful glass, bright colors, everything you would imagin it to look like.  I had a morning full of paperwork, people watching at the lower level Starbucks and getting to know the new bosses.  At 11am Shannon arrived (another new hire) and probably one of the most awesome people I have met in the last few years...it was good to have a newbie buddy to geek out with for the remainder of our time together (we kept pinching each other!).  Off to lunch in "The Hub", Marriott's corporate cafeteria....nothing but a people watching expedition, I was on sensory overload!  Where to look, who was spotted, why did we know that face and so on!  Then it happened the crowd parted and we spotted Mr. Sorensen (or Arne as he likes us to call him!!!!) President and CEO of Marriott International, he was sitting at a table eating with another gentleman, didn't want to intrupt so I waiting for him to get up and we were on the move.  "Come on Shannon we are going it is our first day on the job and first day in the corporate office, we are taking a selfie!"  Away we went and he couldn't have been nicer...our picture is below!  Our day continued with learning the who's who of our department, key players that help us out on the road, etc. and ended at the office with us officially picking up our go bag gear of computer, speakers, camera, etc.  All those things that made us feel like OH MY GOSH we have arrived!  We then had the pleasure of having dinner with several Marriott key players and got the chance to spend some more one on one time with the VP's of our department and stared some amazing laughs with Joe and Rachida, my side was hurting by the time I headed upstairs!

Day 3 - Wednesday - Joe started the day with a quiz of what we talked about the day before....Shannon and I nailed it!  We then got to meet with the HR team to ask any final questions and learn about the support they provide us.  Up next head shots which were taking right outside the Marriott Live room, which contains the center for all things Marriott Social Media they are tweeting, Facebooking, YouTubing, anything you can imagin (pic below) it was all glass and continued 10 chairs all labeled with different titles related to Marketing and Social Media and multiple TV's that were tuned into everything from Twitter the NasDAQ and Mediallia (our companies guest service score card).  Another morning full of learning and getting our laptops set up and a million requests for permission to everything Marriott.  Lunch at the Hub again, another lovely round of people watching!  I spotted Shruti Buckley, Brand Manager for Farifield Inn and Suites, however she was at a table in what looked like a meeting so opted to not bother her or try to take a selfie with her in the background.  Shannon and I also now officially 'knew" people in the Hub, it was very surreal when we were walking through and people where like "oh hey ladies!"  Again we pinched each other!  Our afternoon continued with some more training, a few more drop ins from some who we should know folks and THEN it happened we got to go to the Innovation Center, the brain center for all things Marriott, where some of the greatest ideas to come out of Marriott have been created.  Innovative chairs, new brands (Moxy), brand room mock ups with the newest and greatest in furniture, lighting, etc., story boards, blank slates..... The list could go on and on, it was amazing and there are lots of pictures below of all the fun we had while we were in there.  The day wrapped up, Shannon caught her plane and I went back to the hotel to take my first training conference call! 

Now it is Thursday and I am on the plane heading home to do some training online and await the email of where I am going and to book my ticket and get to the airport.  This job was a decision that took me a long time to make, I have loved every minute of my 10 years working on the front line of the hotels and wasn't sure I was ready to walk away some days and other days I KNEW this was the THE job I have talked about since I got into this business.  The job I always wanted, the job that I knew would open doors, the job that would provide me some of the best stories and years of my life.  Where their nerves yes and are they still there yes, but not as much.  Joe and Rachida couldn't have been MORE supportive, calming and helpful during the onboarding process.  Both are hilarious, took time to get to know me and made numerous mentions to never think that any question was dumb to always ask and that communication is what gets us through this job day in and day out.  I'll say that Rachida (sorry Joe) said it best when the girls where just chatting, she reminded us that we might now be "experts" in all the brands that we will be opening and that is okay, we will learn it all in due time, but to remember that we were hired and chosen for a reason...that we have a set of skills that will carry us and make us successful in this job.  To ask questions, emerge ourselves in our observation trainings and to most importantly have fun, to remember that feeling we had when our hotels opened and how we felt when that trainer left...to make sure we are leaving the hotels we open with that exact feeling.  So in closing if you would have asked me on Day 1 how I was feeling I would have said "Freaking Out" however today...Day 4 I am excited, pumped and ready to do this thing!!! 

Day 1...Airport Selfie...would you expect anything else :)

So off to DC I go....travel bag packed with 10 days of clothes, 4 pairs of shoes and everything needed to pull this face and hair together each morning!  It's been 14 days since I walked out of the hotel and it's been a hard adjustment....the first 5 days were the worst.  My phone didn't ring, my email box was quiet and no digs of surveys coming into Mediallia at all hours of the night.  Also a lack of need set in about day 3...that they hadn't called or texted (other than to say hi and to tell me they had this) for help...they were ready for me to leave....they do have this....the birds are flying from the nest wings spread and they are doing it.  

Bag is packed, books/music/games downloaded on the iPad and compass necklace on so that I might never loose my way and always be able to find my way back home (thanks Lu)!   I've worked 10 years for a chance like this and I am so ready to take it head on and kill it.  Nervous...yes, scared...a little, excited....beyond word I can't wipe this cheesy grin off my face!  Bring it on...I am ready to take it all in, be a good student and crush it!

Thank you to all those that have sent kind words, gave me a good game over break or attended one of many happy hours...I couldn't have made this leap without your help or made it here without it.  Tiffany and Jessica...thank you for your support from the very first phone interview, listening to my crazy rants, proofing my pros/cons spreadsheet and all those group text messages that I know I started way to early in the morning when I couldn't sleep!  Team Leavenworth thank you for making it easy for me to make this decision, knowing that when I walked away you all would continue to kick a$$ and take names...making sure to continue the amazing things we have started and relish in the accomplishments/accolades that we have won. I am so proud of you all for setting your goals high and achieving them, I can't wait to see that Opening Hotel of the Year trophy in the lobby and your faces on the front page of the paper again, you continue to amaze me and pushed me harder than any team I have had in 10 years, you have made me a better manager and person over the last 18 months.  Cashman, I leave you the leagacy!!!  Thank you so much for your support, friendship, laughter, tears, anger, pen throwing, more laughs, and everything else in between over the last 18 months....I am so excited for you to step up and man the hotel...it couldn't be left in better hands.  I look forward to keeping track of you over the next few years as I know that you have a very bright future in this business and am so glad you stuck it out through what I'll call our "dark time."  Keep my bar stool warm and I'll see you when I am back I town.  My family, thank you for your support in my crazy career over the last 10 years.....for understanding that holidays, birthdays, etc. are just another day when you work in a 365/24/7 business.  I am forever grateful for your support, love, guidance and swift kick in the bottom when I have needed it!  Mom I'm only I phone call, text message or FaceTime away....I promise you won't forget what my face looks like!  

I'll check in on the other side!!!