A number of hotel properties and management were recognized as the brand�s best performers in 2000 among the nearly 100 Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels in the United States.

The brand recognized the Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel in Reading, Penn., with its 2000 Pinnacle Award for Top Performing Hotel in its system. The 87-suite hotel, which opened in 1999, was recognized for outstanding achievement in the areas of quality, guest satisfaction and business performance.

Selection was based primarily on customer feedback measured through guest satisfaction surveys on the hotel, as well as product quality and service scores measured quarterly by the brand. The hotel�s exceptional financial performance overall in 2000 was an additional contributing factor to receiving the brand�s highest honor.

Also recognized as 2000 Pinnacle Award winners for the brand were the Portland/Vancouver, Wash., Homewood Suites by Hilton and the Harrisburg-West, Penn., Homewood Suites by Hilton, each of which received a Merit Award for top performance.

�In a year of very stiff competition, this year�s Pinnacle Award winners consistently outperformed national and local competitors,� said Jim Holthouser, senior vice president of brand management, Homewood Suites by Hilton. �Each hotel winner has further distinguished itself in its own market as a hotel that provides exceptional service to our extended-stay customers.�
 

Homewood Suites also presented four general managers with Merit Awards in this category for their outstanding leadership in the brand: Brett Sechrist (Harrisburg, Penn.); Kari Jonassen (Portland-Vancouver, Wash.); Paul Freimark (Portland-Beaverton, Ore.); and Chip Woodell (Cranford, N.J.).

A second personnel group that the Homewood Suites by Hilton brand honors annually for their vital role in the overall success of their respective hotels is the director of sales. Sharon Raue of the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Cranford, N.J., was awarded with the brand�s Director of Sales of the Year award.
Merit Award winners in this category were Lios McClogin of the Boston-Billerica Homewood Suites by Hilton in Massachusetts, and Jeannette Cross of the Baltimore/BWI, Md., Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.

Additionally, two final honors bestowed at the brand�s conference last night were for the hotel with the Highest Extended-Stay Percentage and Most Improved Extended-Stay Percentage.

The Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel award for Highest Extended-Stay Percentage was presented to the Atlanta-Peachtree, Ga., Homewood Suites by Hilton. �Achieving an extended-stay percentage of 73.5 percent takes a top-notch management team and strong sales effort, which the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Atlanta-Peachtree certainly has,� said Holthouser.

Also honored in this category, running a very close second and third highest extended-stay percentage, were the Boston-Billerica Homewood Suites by Hilton and the Plano, Texas, Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel, each of which received a Merit Award.

In recognition for continuous improvement over the 2000 year, the Plano, Texas, Homewood Suites by Hilton received first place designation for Most Improved Extended-Stay Percentage in 2000. The hotel boasted a 16-point growth is its percentage in just one year.

Merit Awards in this category for third and second place, respectively, went to the Dayton, Ohio-South Homewood Suites by Hilton and the Dallas Park-Central Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel in Texas.

Homewood Suites by Hilton is part of Hilton Hotels Corp., recognized internationally as a preeminent hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises approximately 1,900 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties.