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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017
New managers recognized for excellence at local businesses
I
t’s been a litle more than 18
months since Hoagland
Properties in Florence hired
new management couples for
two of the area’s top-ranked
TripAdvisor lodgings, The
River House Inn and The Old
Town Inn. If hundreds of online
reviews by the inns’ guests are
any indication, company presi-
dent Craig Sanders has hit two
home runs with his hires.
“Aaron and Kelsi at The Old
Town Inn, and Cord and Ashley
at The River House Inn, have
done outstanding work since
moving into their management
roles,” says Sanders. “Both
have seen ups and downs that
are part of the job in the hospi-
tality industry.
“For example, each year, as
we approach summer, we try to
hire as many qualified house-
keepers as necessary and get
them trained before the busy
season starts. This year, it was
difficult to find as many as
qualified staff as we needed,
and through unexpected attri-
tion, we also ended up being
short-handed at other staff posi-
tions almost as soon as summer
started.”
Despite the challenges, both
inns not only survived, but
thrived, thanks to the efforts of
the two couples and their staffs.
Aaron Stone and Kelsi
Snook, managers at The Old
Town Inn, were expecting their
first baby in August. So Kelsi
was unable to work as much as
usual, and Aaron found that he
needed to work extra hours to
cover when Kelsi could not be
there.
“After their baby was born,
Aaron and Kelsi took some
time off to be with the new
baby. They had trained their
staff who stepped up and really
did a great job running things in
their absence,” says Sanders.
When challenges arose at
The Old Town Inn that the staff
did not know how to handle,
they called Cord Kravitz and
COURTESY PHOTOS
Cord Kravitz and Ashley Young (left), Aaron Stone and Kelsi Snook
Ashley Young, managers at The
River House Inn.
“Cord and Ashley spent quite
a bit of time over at The Old
Town Inn, helping work
through several issues that
occurred there while managing
their own property,” Sanders
says. “Not only did Cord and
Ashley go above and beyond in
helping The Old Town Inn
while Aaron and Kelsi were
absent, they also ended up
being short-handed in their own
housekeeping department.”
While helping out at The Old
Town Inn, Kravitz and Young
were also cleaning rooms at
The River House Inn due to
their own staffing challenges.
They had enough relief person-
nel to cover the front desk
while they cleaned rooms and
took care of maintenance at
both properties.
“On top of all of that, Cord
and Ashley were also managing
our new long-stay vacation
rental, Portside Place, at 216
Nopal St. This required them to
manage its rental, care for its
maintenance and housekeeping
between guests, and take care
of the guest's needs,” says
Sanders.
Toward the end of summer,
amid all the other challenges,
both of our night shift employ-
ees gave notice to find jobs in
which they could work days
instead of nights, according to
Sanders.
“Aaron came back to work
managing The Old Town Inn,
working 15-hour days as Kelsi
was still unable to come to
work. Once the night shift peo-
ple left, the managers at both
inns also had to find ways to
cover the graveyard shift while
training new personnel for that
AN UNFORGETTABLE GIFT
FOR YOUR FRIEND OR
RELATIVE WHO HAS
position,” Sanders says. “Both
management couples adjusted
their work schedule and ended
up working the night shift,
alternating with some front
desk personnel who had been
cross-trained and volunteered
to change shifts and temporari-
ly cover the night shift.
“These couples are corporate
heroes for us,” adds Sanders.
“We’ve rewarded them both
with extra paid time off, bonus-
es and other considerations.
They have truly earned the
respect and consideration of
Gary and Loretta Hoagland,
our company’s board, their
staffs, and myself.”
During all this, TripAdvisor,
the world’s largest travel web-
site, announced both inns had
PASS q PORT
ART
FLORENCE
| OREGON
received
a
TripAdvisor
Certificate of Excellence.
This makes six in a row for
The Old Town Inn and seven
for The River House Inn.
The Inns have placed on this
year’s
Oregon
Business
Magazine “100 Best Fan
Favorite
Destinations
in
Oregon,” and won the Florence
Area Chamber of Commerce’s
top award for customer service
for the second year in a row.
“The quality and quantity of
our reviews demonstrates Cord
and Ashley’s and Aaron and
Kelsi’s commitment to offer a
friendly and helpful staff who
are knowledgeable about all the
fun things to do in and around
Florence,” says Sanders.
To help you
navigate
all the Florence
art community
has to off er
EVERYTHING…..
GIFT TES
CA
TIFI
CER ILABLE
AVA
Pick Up
YOURS
Today!
Passports are available at the following locations:
"" !"
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
Th e Siuslaw News
FRAA - Florence Regional Arts Alliance
Backstreet Gallery
Vardanian Gallery
Th e River Gallery
Rodger Bennett Photography
Purple Pelican
Siuslaw Public Library
Florence Events Center
Florence City Hall
BeauxArts Fine Art Materials & Gallery
STUFF BUS
Friday, December 1 st
at Fred Meyer
3 – 7 pm
Saturday, December 2 nd
at Grocery Outlet AND Safeway
y
10 am – 2 pm
Help us stuff the Club bus with healthy
hy
non-perishable food items and new,
unwrapped toys, books, coats, shoes, hats,
ats,
scarves, etc., for LOCAL families.
t
All items will be distributed before Christmas.
Do you know of a family that might need some help
over the holidays? Do you want to help us?
Call 541.902.0304 to register a family OR to volunteer.
