Lyle Grad Makes Good - Fairfield Mgr. in TD earns international acclaim
Fairfield Suites and Inn General Manager Sara Hearn shows off her hardware. Out of a field of more than 1,000 other national and international Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, she was awarded the Diamond General Manager Award on Dec. 18.
By Tom Peterson
Sara Hearn was working at The Springs in 2014 when she heard the new Fairfield Suites in The Dalles was interviewing for positions.
“I was not even looking to change jobs”, the 35-year-old said on Monday, Dec. 21. “I just went to see what they had, and I met Patrick the owner, and it was golden.”
Hearn was referring to Patrick Nofield, CEO of Escape Lodges, headquartered in Cannon Beach. He was the owner of the new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in The Dalles. And they were about ready to open.
Now just six years later, our Hearn is the Manager of the Inn and her work has claimed international fame.
On Thursday, she won the coveted 2019 Diamond General Manager of the year honor out of a field of more than 1,000 other national and international Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott. In addition to the General Manager of the year honors, the hotel also received the 2019 Gold Circle Award for outstanding guest service. The awards were delayed due to circumstances from the coronavirus.
Hearn beat out operators in India, Mexico, Florida.
The awards were based on guest scores, revenue and occupancy.
“I finished out 2019 with a seven percent increase in revenue and staff scores over 90 percent,” she said. The Dalles has been hopping as vacancy rates have close to nil prior to the pandemic, and the economy was firing on all cylinders, making it difficult for travelers and workers to find a bed at night.
“We’re selling out pretty much every night until September,” said Sara Hearn back in June of 2019. “We have guests staying for two weeks up to six months. The clientele is working for or with Google, Siemens, and the Cherry Growers, to name a few."
But the award was also based on customer satisfaction and staff morale. Hearn crushed on both.
“In 2019 we went through so much,” she said. “We had two department leaders move away. I made a lot of changes. At one time I was running all four departments and trying to restructure.
Even so, Hearn got a cleanliness score of 96 percent and morale and staff services were over 90 percent in employee and customer feedback.
“Sleep?,” she laughed. “I don’t know what that is or vacations.”
She said the key to her success was the company’s motto - it’ll be fun.
Nofield and belated business Partner Tom Drumheeler used fun as one of the guiding philosophies for Escape Lodging.
“My staff are my number one priority,” Hearn said. “I make sure they are happy and having fun when they are doing their jobs, and it is always reflected in the service they provide.”
Hearn who was part of The Dalles Hotel opening crew worked her way from the front desk to assistant manager and became manager two years ago.
After a very brief illness, Drumheeler passed away in 2017, but his influence is unmistakably present today and the culture of Escape Lodging is infused with the values, integrity and humor he instilled with consistency.
In prior years the hotel and its team have been heavily recognized, winning awards in the following areas: 2014 Sales Ramp Up Award, 2015 Best New Hotel (Marriott Owners Conference), 2015 Platinum Hotel Award, Intent to Recommend Award, Maintenance and Upkeep Award, Staff Service Award, 2016 Hotel of the Year, 2017 Platinum Hotel Award and 2018 Diamond Hotel Award.
Misty Kawasoe of Escape Lodging contributed to this story.
