HOTlanta....another AMAZING Courtyard Opening!!!!

What a week it was in the Hotlanta!  First of I was super excited as I was with my partner in crime Tricia....again!  This is seriously like the 5th assignment we have had together this year....she has people on the team that she hasn't worked with in her 2 years on the team and she has gotten to see my face multiple times!  It was a great week in Atlanta, the team was awesome!  We arrived to a very personable, passionate and fun staff, the GM was awesome her huddles in the morning where nothing short of amazing...motivating, inspirational and a very welcomed start to my day. 

Before arriving we had discussed that with this 2 trainer model Tricia would do FOSSE training and since she would only be a short walk down the hall I would take on the Bistro!  I couldn't have asked for a better team in the Bistro.  We had such a great week together!  From our morning Rihanna Work, work, work, workout, cocktail shaking face and family dinner on the last day of training....it was sure a week that I won't forget anytime soon and a group of people that will always have a very special place in my heart!

The week also brought Joe up from FL to visit us, Kelli in town at the Marriott City Center and Cole in town with her family.  We got to meet up with Kelli on Thursday night along with  Joe, we went to Dave and Buster's and had a blast just being big kids for awhile.  Then the next night the ladies got to meet up to go to the Braves Game...they were playing the Cubs so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go!  It isn't often that their are so many of us in a town so it was nice to get to spend time with Kelli, who I don't know very well, and she my buddy Cole, she always makes my heart smile!

 

This team was amazing!  We started with 7 and narrowed it down to the "Fabulous 5"...they are a small group but OH SO mighty! 

 

Kelli and Joe playing some shooting game....Kelli had never handled a gun so she said...she was doing pretty well!

HAHAHAHA...Tricia's picture as Luigi in her head to head battle with Joe!

Joe's picture as Yoshi!!!

 



Here are Joe and Tricia as the Ghostbusters!!

Kelli and I needed a turn!

Tricia and I with our unhappy face having to wait for the train on our way to the baseball game!  I can't ever hold a straight face as we take a selfie and she has her serious face on!

Courtney (one of the front desk guys) also worked at Kroger...we took a "who is this" picture!

Family dinner with the Bistro team on the last day....we drank our water out of wine glasses and ate like kings and queens....shared laughs....and learned a lot about each other!

Sitting in the Bistro doing my observation on opening night and I heard someone say they were looking for Kandi...I though oh no!!!!  Then I saw this beautiful face come to the table....Shanice was the AGM at the TPS I opened in Hattiesburg with the one and only Queen (this was the hotel when I graduated the Zirkle school of training...and became a real trainer)!!!

 

During cocktail training I told the team that the Modern (our version of the Old Fashion) is my favorite.  They had a rocks glass etched that says "Kandi....She's a Modern Chik" and on the back says Thanks ATLDU Crew!  THE MOST AWESOME GIFT I HAVE EVER GOTTEN....they also got me a pack of scented markers...amazing!

The GM got me a bracelet that said "Free Spirit"....couldn't describe me any better! :)



Did you hear that Archie Manning is excited about the newly opened, beautiful Courtyard Oxford MS! Hotty Toddy, Ole Miss!!!

Oxford MS!  What an amazing town!!!  I am not going to lie when I got released to Oxford I was a little on the fence!  Then I landed in Memphis and while waiting for Katy to land I sat in the rental car and listened to XM Elvis Station and it was amazing!  Katy arrived and we made our drive to Oxford and when we rolled up we were blown away by the beautiful hotel that was before us and how ready they seemed to be for us!  Hope would join us a couple of days later as she was the FOSSE trainer!  I was so excited to work with two new trainers that I had never worked with before and excited/nervous that Katy has agreed to let me take point on the Bistro so that I could get some more practice under my belt.  While their we ate some amazing food, drank some interesting drinks (more below), I got to meet Archie Manning, we got a tour of Ole Miss from the DOS's husband, and got to train with some of the most amazing folks that I've had the pleasure of training.  Katy and I facilitated Bistro and Hope took housekeeping and FOSSE, it was a great group of folks at this hotel!  Katy and I kept saying that everyone was so nice it was Miss Kandi and Miss Katy; and A LOT of yes ma'am all day which at first I wanted to say I'm not a mama, but then you realize it is just in their southern culture and it is so nice!!!!  This hotel had 58 associates, the most I have had since joining the training team!  They all worked so great together, joked with each other, helped each other and had a great week together as we worked towards opening their hotel.  At the end of a training 12 days I am usually ready to go as I'm exhausted from training and just ready to go home for a rest.  However even with my Courtyard scratchy training voice (Katy had it as well) after 12 days of leading kick off each morning for 58 folks, games outside that you had to shout for everyone to hear you and yelling over the hood and construction in the kitchen during training....I would have stayed another 12 days with this team as they were such a pleasure to work with.  They are a group of extraordinary individuals led by a group of managers that I would put against any other hotel, I am excited to keep my eye on them and hopefully go back in the fall to see them and maybe catch a game!!!  Hotty Dotty, Ole' Miss!!!!  P.S. I didn't get to see the Tuohy's, but I did get to see their basketball center and Michael Oher's jersey!!!!  I started asking Nicole (DOS) as soon as we arrived and found out her husband worked at Ole' Miss if she knew the Tuohy's....she just laughed at me! 

 

 

Just hanging out with Archie Manning!  Such a nice guy and was all about taking a selfie once he realized I wasn't crazy and that I worked for the new AMAZING Courtyard that was opening in Oxford across from Ole' Miss!  He said, "it was a welcome addition to the community!"  Olivia (his was) was nice as well, however didn't seem interested in me or a selfie!

Part of my kitchen crew!  They were so awesome to hang out with during the week!  They had me laughing and were such fast learners!  I am so excited to see the great things that come out of this Bistro!  And if you are ever near Oxford, Ben, who is one of their main cooks does a mean impression of me!!! 

When you are at Walmart for the 4th time in a week to get things for the hotel....you must try on the sequence hats and take a selfie!  I had such an amazing week with this lady!  We laughed as after team meeting when we realized that we might be a lot alike, we determined they would never put us on a project together!  They did at it was an adventure that I am glad I got to experience!

UMMMMM.....pickle martini!  We might have gone back a couple of times for these  Equal parts KOSHER (very important) Dill Pickle Juice and Tito's vodka...it was amazing!  You think it sounds weird I know what you are thinking...however it was refreshing, lite and something that I will try to make at home but I am sure will never taste the same as it did on that porch with those people!

Another pickle martini (it was the same one!!!) and a couple of lovely ladies!  It was a great week in Oxford with them by my side!

 

In the middle of no where....but Nicole told us we HAD to go to Taylor Grocery Store for Dinner (good thing we did that is where I met Archie) :)

Nicole was nice enough to take us to Taylor Grocery for dinner....her hubby was out of town and she was lonely!  So you go in and give them your name and the sit on the porch and wait for them to come out and call your name!  Also it is a dry place so you have to bring your own booze so we came prepared with a couple of beers to drink on the patio!  It was so southern, sitting on the porch I made friends with a few of the people around us and just enjoying the beautiful weather and outstanding company.  Nicole knows EVERYONE so she was off socializing about the soon to open hotel!

Selfie photo shoot....I said her mouth was covered and she said that it was better than her eye...then we got the next picture!  She makes me laugh!

Like pirates!

They give you a sharpie to leave your mark on the table at Taylor Grocery.....so I left some hashtags to make us stand out!  #courtyardoxford #makeroomforalittlefun #thebesttrainingteam #hottytoddy

Memorial Day Monday everything was closed in town as class is out!  However Funky's Pizza was open and they have 8 Slurpee machines that have daiquiris in them!  This is called a T Swift...it is the 4 flavors on the right side all mixed together.  I of course asked if the 4 on the left side where anything....its called a Katy Perry...I did not have one of those!  They also had some awesome pizza that we enjoyed!

On the way home we passed this sign and Katy and I couldn't resist a picture with it!  She might have needed a boost to get up on the sign! 

Archie Manning's signature on the wall of the locker room at Ole' Miss!

Ole' Miss gloves on display in the uniform room!  It was amazing....row after row after row of uniforms....tee shirts...shorts...windbreakers....anything team associated!

Practice field selfie!

Michael Oher's jersey hanging in the locker room.  Their were lots of pictures of him and one picture in the hall way that was inlaid with the cover from the Blind Side movie. 

With Jason (Nicole's husband) in the NFL Hall of Fame, anyone that leaves Ole' Miss and is drafted into the NFL the put their name on the glass wall in front of the NFL Jersey.  It was really cool! 

They are currently ripping up the field to put real grass down!  While we were their they are working on watering the dirt and getting it ready for the sod.  We didn't get to go onto the field because of this, but got to see the entire stadium from the Suite Level...not to bad!

 

We stopped on the way to the airport and bought a tee shirt....we liked the same one so we rocked it twin style!  "I'm a Rebel, Let's Party"....Ole' Miss are the Rebels...we realized after we bought the shirt that no where on it is their an Ole' Miss logo so we just look like a spring break ad!!!!  We are adorable!

Our last selfie before we part waters in Charlotte!  Thanks for a great week ladies, safe travels until our paths cross again! 

When I'm Home....I get to hangout with some of the greatest people I know!

When I am at home, either 48 hours or a week!  I get to see an hang with some of the greatest people I know and do some of the things I love!  Thank you for making my time at home as memorable as my time on the road!

 

 

 

Picked up at the airport by the #squad Uber Driver!  Thanks Loudean for always picking us up and making sure the first stop it Bar Louie for a cold one and conversation!

Home at the beginning of May for Julia's graduation from college, I didn't get a picture with the graduate.  However I did get a picture with her adorable grandma!  Sue is so cute!

When at home and you have two bff's that facilitate, we borrow your team for a team building activity during Employee Appreciation week!

Boat team building...This was the team that built the boat to float Loudean! 

She is wet in this photo....which means the boat didn't work that well!!!

Always a good night when we get to catch a Royals game!  I got to borrow Mike for the night as my date as Darthy had a function to attend! 

 After the game we met up with Darthy and tore up the Power and Light for a few hours!

 I had the honor of going to Leavenworth during Employee Appreciation week to do a game with my old team.  However I also got to look and hold all the new trophies!  We won Opening Hotel of the Year for the brand and owners conference and Platinum hotel for being in the top 5% of Fairfield's for service!

We played Egg Roulette!  The staff got to answer questions and pick an egg (half were raw and the other half hard boiled) then they got to break them on our heads.....we questioned our craziness about half way through!

I had a bird in the attic of my house that I could hear in the spare bathroom!  I said I have a bird...I hired someone...and Loudean said we could do it!  She came, we saw, we conquered.....with a Swiffer sweeper, a flashlight, near heat stroke and celebratory beers!!!

I happened to be home for Spaghetti Night at the Pittman's It was AMAZING!!!!  Such a good night with great friends and met some new ones!  I also rode Sloan's tricycle!   

New York, New York....Empire State of Mind!

Its been a bit since I blogged and I have missed it!  There was SOOOOO much that went on while in New York opening a brand new Courtyard.  I had never been to NYC and was so excited about the trip and told myself that no matter how long the training days where that I would make it to NYC and boy did we ever!!!!  This is a blog that might better be talked about in pictures so I have included a few below with longer than usual captions!  It was an AMAZING week!!!!

 We arrived to the hotel to find that their was no water at all in the hotel!!!  However they were nice enough to go to the local store and get us all the gallon, five gallon and bottles of water they had so we could do dishes and wash our hands.  It made for quite the interesting couple of days of training!  Also with no water....no bathrooms....we made no less than 5 trips a day for 3 days to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a bathroom break...oh and we got to hang with the other 40+ associates that were also their for their break, coffee and restroom!!!!!

 

When we don't have water to mop...we make sanitizer water with 5 gallon jugs!!!!

 

 The day before Mother's Day they gave all the employees flowers...they had some left so they gave them to us!  I had the great pleasure of working with my girl Tricia and Nate (AMAZING and an NYC local so we got the greatest tour EVER).  I am so sad that Nate has left our team for an opportunity on another team, however glad that I got to meet him and we still keep in touch!  Such a cool person!

Smoking Gun Bourbon drink!  AMAZING!  But the best part was the candied orange peels, we might have asked for a side of them! :) 

SOOOO Tricia and I might have climbed the stairs to the top of the parking garage across from the hotel (that was actually on the New Jersey side), jumped a roof and played Welcome to New York, which Tricia eventually made me stop playing!  It was an AMAZING view of the city that was right over the water....I took this panoramic and it doesn't do it justice at all!

It is test meal day 3 and they are still constructing in the lobby, this means we are 2 days away from opening and they are still working on TV's, the water, the parking garage, the landscaping and a laundry list of other things  However in the end they pulled it together and it is a beautiful hotel.

NYC NYC NCY!!!!  Tricia and I had never been!  I am not sure I looked down at the ground once....I am sure that they could tell we were tourist.  However no matter how many crazy questions we asked, times our mouth dropped open, 100th time we stopped to take a picture of something or said OH MY GOSH this is so awesome....NATE was a jewel and let us be "those" people that might have acted like they didn't belong!!!

Our training partners in crime Tim and Pearline happened to also be in the NYC area and we got to meet up with them for dinner!  Our boss Rachida who lives in NYC also got to meet up with us.  It was a great night shared with an amazing group of people!

Rachida went to the restaurant before us and dropped this cake off so that we could celebrate Nate's last days on the team!  It was so nice and at first we thought that they might have been at the wrong table, but then realized it was for Nate!  So sweet of Rachida to do that and he was so excited and shocked!

We waited FOREVER earlier in the evening for the "Welcome to the Marriott Marquis" words to come back on the large jumbo screen on the Marriott Marquis Time Square...we were walking by on our way back to the car and it came on so I took this SUPER quick and barely got our heads in the shot...I LOVE Tricia's face in this picture!!!

I could have died after this!  I got to see 30 Rock and stand where the ice rink is each and every winter....it was amazing!  I hope to see it one day when it is all decorated for Christmas!

Selfie at the Irish Pub that claimed to have the coldest beer in NYC....I am not sure about that as it was the only beer I had in NYC!

Our Bistro team was awesome!  We had such a good week with them and they opened with a bang!  The first night they had a group of 36 check in with breakfast included and served them all at the Bistro the next morning and for the following 16 mornings!  They are killing it and we couldn't have been prouder of them!

When you go to dinner and then you are walking around the town square and a sign says Bingo Smingo...you can't say no!  We played 6 rounds of bingo, drank 3 beers and then went back to the hotel and laughed so hard that we spent our night with some of the most random people ever, playing bingo for weird hats and coasters!!!

FAVORITE pic from the trip!  Look at Nate's cute little face!!!

We decided we wanted to do something else in the city and a show didn't happen to work out for us to attend.  However I had looked and the Yankees happened to be playing the Royals!!!!  We bought tickets and made our way to the game, of course these crazies had to stop and get Yankee's gear and I proudly sported my 2015 World Series Tee (I knew I traveled with it for a reason!).  It was such a BEAUTIFUL night and great company....by far one of the best days.  Their was some drunk fan just down from us that was a hot mess, of course she had to be wearing a Royals jersey.  Then the British girls in front of us that were in NYC on holiday finally turned around and asked me why the men kept running on and off the field...I laughed so hard and then we schooled them in baseball!

When you are close to opening and things are still wrapped in bubble wrap and boxes are still packed!

BBB a bloody mary at the airport to celebrate another successful opening!!!

 

So glad that I got to spend the week with these two!  I learned SOOOO much from Tricia about the Bistro and carried it to my assignment this week in Oxford where I was at another Bistro!  And hopefully get to see her next week at a Bistro Training!  I know I keep saying it, but I am loving this job more and more each and everyday.  The blog post of my time in Oxford will echo that as well!