Oh my....what a busy first quarter it was.....SOOOOOO many awesome times I had on the road and such a busy time that I didn't get to blog after every trip and have just had time to get it together! Here are some of my favorite times from the cold months!
I had the great pleasure of opening the AMAZING, AWESOME, BEAUTIFUL TownePlace Suites Kansas City, only 5 minutes from my house, I had a newbie with me who is pretty good :) and the GM is a friend, so it was a great opening with tons of laughs, lots of work and one awesome opening. Of course we played banana phone and she was taking notes with the chalk board writer! You give the GM one job and this is the chalk she brings us back!!!! :)
When they re done...I make them put their finger on their nose. Not because it is helpful, because it makes me smile!!! And is always good for a picture!
Oh Jewels...she is adorable....that smile, that laugh and those facial expressions....she kept me laughing all week and is rocking it taking such great care of their guests!
They lost a TV Show Theme Song Trivia....they were sad!
Christy's team killed TV Show Theme Song Trivia.....they are giving us their best Charlie's Angels!!!
SUCH a fun group.....Matt and I had so much fun with them!
When you move tons of boxes to the storage on the roof and it is a bit icy and snowy....and the newbie gets to close to the edge....oooopppppsss....watch that ledge my friend Matt! :)
When the GM is cute as a button....this lady is one of the best! Christy was super organized, had her stuff together, hired and amazing team, is great at motivating and inspiring them, they want to do a good job for the hotel, themselves and her. I was so proud and honored to be able to help open her hotel!
Team Selfie!
Come on Lorraine...get in the picture! A whole week and we only got maybe one picture of Lorraine, the AGM, she wasn't into it! But man she was so funny....and what a hard worker....we really had a great time with her all week!
Julie and I have the same selfie face!!! :) Mouth open....why?!?!?!
Look at this awesome hotel! SOOOOO PRETTY!
Loudean sent Christy flowers for her opening, after they were delivered I took a pin before Christy saw them and wrote "& Kandi" and then sent Loudean a picture!!! :) :) :) Do you think she noticed it was in a different handwriting?!?!??!
The hotel gave me flowers and I didn't have a vase so they chilled in my sink until I went home the next day!!!!
BACK TOGETHER! Oh how this face makes me smile! Maricela and I back at it at the AC Hotel Mall of America, we also had newbie Joe in tow with us....he's okay!!! :) We of course had to find a place in the hotel to take a selfie...we found a few more but those pictures won't make the blog!
That Joe...he is a great guy and will make someone a great boyfriend one day! We spent Valentine's day together and he put out quite the spread....sushi, dessert, a card, presents, a note in the lobby to invite us to join him, a trial of Hershey kisses leading us to the media salon, sappy music and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days playing on the TV. Such a great night of food, laughs and great cocktails he whipped up as well!
Their signature cocktail contains a stencil that they then use a spray can (filled with WINE) to put this AC on the top of the cocktail!
Of course they said we need to make sure that it is right and do some tests after hours before we teach the staff....we said well lets not let it all go to waste!
When the Mall of America has indoor go karts that go like 60 miles an hour and you are a competitive bunch, we make time to go! I mean you know it is serious when you have to wear a neck brace, skull cap and helmet!
You also have to wear these little sanitary masks when you participate in some of the other virtual games at the go kart place, so we of course wore them on the way home like we were fighting crime!
Saving Bloomington one street corner at a time!!!
When you get access to the roof and decide you need a picture by the giant AC Hotels cube on the top of the building!
B&F Team Selfie...and Mona!
OH MONA! Mona is their management companies HR, VP of all things important, Resident Graphic Designer and all around go to for anything that we needed during the week. She spent a lot of time with me in the kitchen to learn the back of the house food stuff and let me tell you, she was a hoot, always good for a laugh and kept me on my toes with the questions and clarification of things I was training. She was a great addition to the week!
Picture with the B&F Team....what a great group of people! Hardworking, customer focused and so willing to learn and go the extra mile.
The Housekeeping Crew, I had such a blast with these folks and they where such a joy to get to work with all week. Huge smiles, so proud of their new hotel, their new uniforms and did an amazing job of getting the hotel together. Such a great team!
A little snap chat fun with my girl Mona!
When the Mall of America is next door you do some shopping, Joe and I tore it up at the mall the day after opening, Maricela had already left us or she would have joined us as well! Made a few purchases that make me smile and feel like a big girl!
As you can see it has been quite the start to the new year! If you notice, my time in Vienna isn't captured on this Blog, I'll have to do a separate one later for it as there is just to much to lump it in here!
