CH&LA’s national affiliate, the American Hotel & Lodging Association created the Stars of the Industry awards program more than 40 years ago to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the lodging industry. Today, the concept remains the same — to honor lodging employees and properties that best symbolize the quality service of the industry.

CH&LA's Stars of the Industry Awards are presented by USA TODAY. This year, CH&LA Employee Awards and CH&LA Lodging Property Achievement Awards will be presented on April 1st in Sacramento, in conjunction with the California Lodging Industry Legislative Awareness Summit on April 2nd.

Also on this night the California Hotel & Lodging Association will honor Jack Campbell of Campbell Lodging, Inc. on his 2007 induction into CH&LA's Hall of Fame.

Reserve your seat or table online now!

 
Official Online Entry Form

To nominate an employee and/or property for a Stars of the Industry Award:
CH&LA & CABBI member properties are eligible to nominate one employee from their staff for Outstanding Lodging Employee, Manager of the Year, and General Manager of the Year. In addition, properties may enter their best public relations programs in five categories of CH&LA's Achievement Awards — enviro-management, guest services, community service, special events, and hotels of promise. You may submit one entry per category. All entrants must be from CH&LA/CABBI/AH&LA member properties in good standing.

The deadline for entries has now passed. If you would like to see the entry brochure, to prepare for next year's nominations, please click here.

The 2006 winners were honored last year in Santa Barbara in conjunction with CH&LA's Hall of Fame Induction Cermemony on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort.

Here are the details of the 2006 Stars of the Industry Award winners:

The Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year award recognizes an employee of a CH&LA member lodging property who goes above and beyond normal job responsibilities. Nominees are judged on outstanding and unusual service to the property, to the guests, and to the community. This year's winners were:

See the Photo Gallery >>

Small Property
Terry Henlin, Front Desk Agent/Guest Services
The Dolphin Bay Hotel - Shell Beach
Terry was nominated by her general manager for her responsibility and caring about her hotel - both staff and guests. Terry is the kind of employee who sets up the play pens for an arriving guest and receives many many comment card mentions for her service, and still finds time to volunteer in the community.

Medium Property
Amabel Luna, Room Service Server
Four Seasons, Silicon Valley - Palo Alto
Amabel is very good at her job, which always includes a smile. From always asking if anybody needs help to winning Employee of the Month, Amabel is a Star of the Industry.

Large Property
Reymundo Duarte, Bakery Supervisor
Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort - Santa Barbara
Reymundo's award nomination went like this:
2 cups of hard work
2 cups of exceptional performance
1 cup of pride
1 lb of gratitude
Dash of humor
Mix with consistency, dependability, and teamwork
Sprinkle with magic
And pour into a heart shaped bowl.
 
Reymundo is amazing - 2,400 chocolate bread puddings in a couple of hours, working double shifts, and the usual 'no problem' attitude go a long way toward a Star of the Industry for Raymundo Duarte.

The Outstanding Manager of the Year award recognizes exceptional performance by a supervisory employee to their subordinates, to guests, and to the community. This year's winner is:

Small Property
Barbara Rnjak, Resident Manager
Woodfords Inn - Markleeville
Barbara Rnjak, is the Resident Manager of the Woodford Inn in Markleeville, which is in the Sierra Nevada mountains. She's a star, for sure. Barbara 'interviews' guests as they make their reservations and check-in, so she can be sure to learn of special occasions the guests are celebrating, if they want their room a particular temperature upon arrival. She handles the good news and bad with grace and is even referred to as "Miss Hospitality". Owner of the Woodfood Inn, Ted Chavez, accepted the award on her behalf at the Stars of the Industry Awards dinner.

Medium Property
Laura Wu Poochigian, Assistant Director of Finance
Montage Resort & Spa - Laguna Beach
Laura Wu Poochigian is another Manager of the Year winner. Laura does a great job at the Montage Resort & Spa and we have the 14 page nomination entry to prove it, but it.s what she does outside the Montage that really distinguishes Laura. As well as growing her hair out to donate 14" of it, Laura is the acting president of Hearts of Montage, the community outreach program of Montage Associates and was chair of this year's food drive that benefited Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

Large Property
Jamie Linton, Assistant Front Office Manager
Hyatt Regency Orange County . Garden Grove
Jamie is a recent college graduate with an immense amount of energy for guest service. Recently, Jamie drove to Las Vegas to retrieve a laptop that was inadvertently left on a motor coach by a distraught guest. So the guest could make his presentation in the morning, Jamie drove her own car to Las Vegas to pick up the laptop - now that's what we call service.

Large Property
Ahuna Lin, Payroll Manager
Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort - Santa Barbara
Ahuna is referred to as a master of her position - quite a feat for a Payroll Manager. She has worked here since the opening of the property and has issued over 10,000 W-2 forms. Like Amabel, Ahuna is one of those smiling employees, that has a knack for knowing everyone's name and most importantly, getting payroll right - a job that usually only gets attention when something goes wrong.

The Outstanding General Manager of the Year award honors a hotelier who has demonstrated superior professionalism in operating a CH&LA member property and taken a leadership role in the industry by actively participating in association, community, or industry programs.

Medium Property
Mr. John V. Narigi, Vice President & General Manager
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa - Monterey
John Narigi is very active in Monterey - John has sat on the Board of no less than eight community organizations in the Monterey area. His community involvement has been referred to as a model of community activism, not only believing he can make a difference, but actually making a difference. In addition to his community service, John is regarded as "the heart of the house" at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. His forthright style of doing what he says is a huge asset at the hotel, resulting in unparalleled staff loyalty, a very low turnover, and a guest experience that epitomizes hospitality.

Large Property
Kathleen Cochran, General Manager
Loews Coronado Bay Resort - Coronado
Kathleen Cochran of the Loews Coronado Bay Resort & Spa is our other General Manager of the Year. Kathleen, like John, is also heavily involved in the community - from her development of the Loews Good Neighbor Council in Coronado and involvement in the Pacific Animal Welfare Society, to her concerted effort to deliver two truckloads of household goods, food, and clothing to an orphanage in Mexico, Kathleen is always involved.
 
At the property this year, Kathleen's leadership was most evident due to what didn't happen. On an immigration protest day, she acted quickly and communicated with her staff to recognize their importance to the property. This translated to only five employees of over 200 affected employees missing work on that particular day - a day in which many other properties in San Diego were severely impacted. She leads by example and takes sheer pleasure in serving people, which shows by her property's 100% participation in the Employee Satisfaction Index - and improved ratings - for each of the last two years.

CH&LA Lodging Property Achievement Awards
A Community Service Award is given for a program that demonstrates to residents that the individual property is responsive to the local community. Examples include campaigns to benefit local or national service organizations or charities, service to any part of the community through a special project, and joint undertakings with community groups for the benefit of the area.

Small Property
Chancellor Hotel on Union Square - San Francisco
The Chancellor Hotel on Union Square pretty much does everything in the community they possibly can - they are truly very deserving winners in this category. Wes Tyler, the General Manager of the Chancellor Hotel - here to accept the award - has played a big role in his property's award, being a member of the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team, completing the Citizen's Police Academy and as a member of the Police Officer's Association Community Outreach Committee, and receiving the Union Square Business Improvement District Service Award for his - and a I quote - "ceaseless commitment to strengthening communities, for his professional and courteous business demeanor in all business dealings, and his record-breaking attendance of every "Project Homeless Connect" meeting". In addition, the Chancellor has a program for managers to donate their time to community and charitable organizations, gives free lunches to those who vote, matches guest donations to the homeless, and participates in the Mayor's Summer Jobs for Youth program.

Small Property
Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino - Nice
At Robinson Rancheria, they not only are involved in the community, they back up their good works with their checkbook, having contributed over $300,000 in a state-matching fund for local services, provided over $100,000 in charitable contributions to national organizations, and they also provided donations to over 45 local entities in the nearby area. Add in the chamber of commerce, little league, toy drive commitments, and Robinson.s Rancheria has done an exceptional job of 'giving back'. For the Robinison Rancheria Resort & Casino, Rubin Rubalcava, a tribal Director and Rod Kellar, Hotel Manager, accepted their Community Service award at the Stars of the Industry Awards dinner.

Large Property
Hotel Nikko - San Francisco
Just up the street from the Chancellor, the Hotel Nikko has also won a community service award. The Nikko participates in a neighborhood program known as GLIDE, which serves meals to the homeless and needy of the community and provides assistance to the less fortunate. What started as a good public relations program has transformed into a property-wide effort coordinating volunteer hours preparing and serving meals and the 'adoption' of 10 GLIDE families to provide a Christmas Experience and Dinner that has evolved into a year-round program and has become a cohesive part of the hotel.s culture and mission statement. The General Manager of the Nikko, Anna Marie Presutti, accepted the award for the Nikko at the Stars of the Industry Awards dinner.

A Guest Relations Award is given for programs that develop a climate conducive to new or repeat business, create goodwill among guests, provide special services, reverse negative public relations situations, or effectively solve guest complaints.

Small Property
Glorietta Bay Inn - Coronado
The Glorietta Bay Inn won this same award last year and have won this award nationally nine of the last ten years, in the AH&LA Stars of the Industry Awards. This property should be in the dictionary under Guest Relations. A 97% 'excellent' rating of staff hospitality on all response cards and a returning guest rate of 51% this past year are just two factors of many. Programs aside -and there are many - the property credits the intangible of an empowered, enthusiastic, and energetic staff as the discerning characteristic that keeps it winning this award.

Large Property
Disney.s Grand California Hotel and Spa - Anaheim
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel also provided award winning guest service this past year. Of course, all of the property's service is award winning, however, Annie Nguyen, a Concierge at the property, who accepted the award at the Stars of the Industry Awards dinner, representing the service for which the property won. Annie was mentioned in several of the guest comment cards included in the award nomination and was mentioned specifically in the award entry. From one guest's dream of having a job like hers because she touches people's hearts to the "Pirate's Treasure" under the pillow that she coordinated for a little guest who had lost one of his teeth that day, Annie is truly a Star of the Industry.

The Good Earthkeeping Awards recognize lodging properties that have developed a culture toward integrating environmental management practices that improve everyday operations and the bottom line, while maintaining quality service and meeting guest expectations. The program must demonstrate success in one or more of the following areas: energy conservation, solid waste reduction, effluents and emissions, water conservation, purchasing and business issues.

Small Property
Chancellor Hotel on Union Square - San Francisco
Without a corporate office or a multi-unit company to provide the structure of an all-encompassing environmental plan, the Chancellor Hotel has managed to create one on their own and largely through a philosophy of doing the right thing rather than an elaborate plan. Old-fashioned conservation and reduction in every aspect of the hotel from the front of the house to the back of the house won The Chancellor this award. At the Stars of the Industry Awards dinner, the award for the Chancellor Hotel was accepted by Ollie Rodriquez, Director of Housekeeping and Rick Moorhouse, Director of Engineering.

Large Property
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina - San Diego

The other Good Earthkeeping Award goes to the Sheraton Hotel & Marina in San Diego. There was no doubt about this award - the Sheraton was only the fourth hotel to utilize 'ultra-clean' fuel cell technology in their installation of a one megawatt fuel cell power plant on property. This power plant provides approximately 70% of its electricity, which generates the electricity with natural gas and produces almost no emissions with the energy byproduct serving to heat the pool.
 
This technology is the most efficient available - it produces more electric power from less fuel with the lowest emissions of any fossil-based technology. The Sheraton installed not just one, but two fuel cell power plants - one for each tower. Robert Cartwright, General Manager of the Sheraton accepted the award at the Stars of the Industry Award dinner.

2005 Stars of the Industry Award Winners