Hotel at Arundel Preserve Earns Certified Guest Service Property Designation

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. June 16, 2014

Orlando, Florida - June 16, 2014 - The Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover, Maryland, has received the designation of Certified Guest Service Property from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI). To earn the designation, the property's staff completed EI's Guest Service Gold® training and passed the Certified Guest Service Professional (CGSP®) exam. In all, 82 people-including managers, supervisors, and full- and part-time associates-completed the training and certification.

"As an independent property, we were looking for something to tell the world that we are serious about hospitality," said April Callahan, CGSP, assistant general manager at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. "Guest Service Gold was a great tool to show that we know the hospitality industry and to set us apart from the competition."

To train the staff, the property held four group training sessions that mixed employees from all departments. Southern Management, which owns and manages the hotel, provided trainers to facilitate the program. The hotel's managers went through the training first in order to better understand it and to help other employees with the program.

"Many people on our line-level team were nervous about the training, so we tried to make it as fun and interactive as possible," said Callahan. "Team members shared examples of times they had delivered 'gold' guest service. I walked away from the training having learned a lot from my team members."

Callahan noted the hotel's guest surveys are showing the results of the Guest Service Gold training, with statements from guests about how much they appreciate being remembered and called by name by team members and how much they enjoy the increased interaction with the staff. In return, the team members feel good to be recognized by name in guest comments.

"Everyone walks around with their CGSP® pins above their name tags," said Callahan. "They are proud to have earned the designation and to show the world that they are certified."

About the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute

Established in 1953 as a nonprofit educational foundation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Educational Institute's mission is to continue being the preferred provider to the lodging industry, hospitality schools, and related hospitality industries by developing and providing quality resources to train, educate, and certify hospitality professionals worldwide.