I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels. In the last year alone I’ve spent 59 nights in 20 different properties between D.C. and L.A.
Some hotels lean on look and feel. Cushy carpet, lush lighting, fine furnishings.
Others are all about service. Need your suit cleaned? Car washed? Favorite flip flops flown in from Finland?
Recently I visited the Marriott Residence Inn in Waynesboro, Virginia, franchised by Heritage Hospitality. They comped me a few nights and invited me to see what’s so special about their particular property.
Spoiler: The service, the room, and amenities are Marriott standard. But what sets them apart is their relentless sense of family. Theirs, yours, and the family we choose.
I chatted with staff, attended their employees-only morning huddle, and I sang (badly) their Residence Inn brand mission put into song. But it felt more like a family reunion than a global hotel chain’s pregame briefing.
Kris Pincock, the property’s general manager, gave birthday shoutouts and read recent reviews aloud. She encouraged, coached, and was generous with both her compliments and infectious laughter.
Over three days I met some truly lovely associates in management, maintenance, at the front desk, and in housekeeping.
The truth? I could dedicate an article to them all.
But recognizing my limited schedule and goals for the unbiased content I committed to deliver, Kris said she had the perfect person for me to shadow.
“This woman represents everything we stand for,” Kris said.
Her name is Pam Kelley, breakfast guru extraordinaire, and it doesn’t take long for her to adopt you.
Pam has been feeding guests breakfast at this Residence Inn since they opened in 2007. She’s met tens of thousands of travelers, and her stories are exactly what you’d expect to hear if you plopped down next to your favorite aunt at the family barbeque.
With the kind of wide, sweet smile that can’t be faked, Pam told me how co-workers and guests have become like family. They rely on each other, they pull together, and they always put family first.
A year ago when Pam decided it was time to tackle her health, her work family and many of her regular guests at the hotel served as cheerleaders. Combining her own willpower with the full faith of her family, Pam lost 50 pounds.
When Pam needs time off for family soccer games, they make it happen.
When Pam was in a serious car accident and needed extended time off to recover, they made it work.
But it’s not just the employees who feel like family.
Pam told me about a father and son who began staying there years ago when attending University of Virginia games in nearby Charlottesville. “UVA is thirty miles away, but they pass a lot of other hotels to choose to stay here.” That little boy is now a college student himself, and they still stay at this Residence Inn when attending games.
She also shared the story of an elderly couple who were regulars and once ran out of gas on the interstate not far from the hotel. “They could’ve called AAA, friends, or anybody else, but they called us. They called family.”
Yes indeed, soon hotel staff were on the scene to save the day.
They’ve shoveled out cars, decorated doors for birthdays, and purchased Easter baskets for kiddos staying over the holiday weekend.
Remarkably, they have guests who’ve stayed months and even years. I even met one guest at breakfast who’s been working in the area and staying there for eight years!
But when I asked Pam if it’s mostly the regulars or those with Marriott status who are treated like they’re at home, she shook her head and corrected my assumption. “No, no, it’s the same whether they’re long timers or first timers.”
Watching Pam on two different mornings, I can tell you just how true that is. How often have you seen someone at a hotel that offers free breakfast go table to table asking if folks need anything?
When we said goodbye, Pam told me how thankful she is for Kris, her friends, and her job. When I asked her to summarize why she’d stayed so long with no signs of leaving, she put it perfectly.
“I found a family here,” she said.
So did I, Pam. So did I.