HotelChatter

How did you get involved with the TLC Movement?

I've been working on the TLC movement for the past year, but I was just announced as the CCO about a month ago. As we were going through this whole movement, I was volunteered by my team, because I've been so involved and because I really understand the Affinia brand. They all elected me.

So this is a crowning achievement for you?

I could not be more proud.

Have you told your parents?

My parents are here! My mom is my biggest fan.

How do you explain this job to the rest of your friends and family?

CCO is about making sure our guests and our associates have this connection to the Affinia band. It's hard to describe, because it's about that feeling you get with people. I don't want to say only making them comfortable, because it's so much more than that. It's about enhancing the experience, knowing what they want. We did a body language training for all our associate over the summer; we trained over 600 people, and we gave them the tools to identify new chances to engage with guests in a way they haven't before.

What advantage does Affinia have over other hotels that don't necessarily have a CCO?

Because we're a smaller hotel, and because we have our TLC crew in place, I think that we are able to do something different than some of the larger brands, we because we can really listen and get feedback from our customers. The larger the company is, the harder it is to get this feedback.

It must be exciting to interact with people like that!

Telling someone your favorite pillow is a little bit personal. So it's nice when you can reach that.

What's your favorite pillow?

My personal favorite is the buckwheat pillow, which is not one of our customers' favorites, but it's great. If you ant to sit and read the newspaper, it contours to your back in just the right kind of way.

When does the comfort hour take place?

Every evening, usually around 6-7pm. Right now, we're just testing it out in Chicago, and in New York (Affinia 50 and Affinia Dumont). We want to make sure we have everything set perfectly before we roll it out to all seven hotels. We want to try it in these three different properties in New York and Chicago make sure we get it right, so that our guests are happy, and our staff understands.

[Photos: Affinia, HotelChatter]