CLC CheckINN Champion Spotlight: Hampton Inn & Suites, Yonkers-Westchester, NY

Our guest experience is at the core of everything we do, and so many of our hotel partners work tirelessly to ensure that CLC guests receive exceptional service.

We’re on the move across the U.S. and Canada to find the hotels that offer CLC guests the best service, from front desk training with CLC expertise and ensuring smooth check-ins, to accommodating guest requests. We’re collecting actual feedback from CLC guests and employees to hear which hotel partners go above and beyond during every stay. Standout hotels will be named our CheckINN Champions, like our first winner, Judy Huff!

Meet Judy Huff, General Manager of Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in Yonkers, New York

Judy Huff has worked with CLC as a hotel partner for almost four years. She and her staff are all trained in the CLC systems. CLC training is part of the Hilton onboarding process, and all front office employees are required to be certified every six months. Here she answers questions about her staff, what makes her team a CheckINN Champion, and more!

What is your hotel market like? 

We are very much a hybrid market. We have leisure guests on the weekends and a mix of leisure and corporate guests during the week.

What is your training technique with staff?

I manage and train my staff with the belief that no one is perfect. Mistakes are going to happen because we’re all human. I teach my staff to own their mistakes and learn from them, treat the guests well, and recovery will follow.

What is expected from your front desk team each day regarding CLC reservations?

Each shift the desk person signs into the Hilton reservation system and the CLC portal - the portal stays open on the desktop throughout the shift. All daily reservations are checked into the CLC portal so they match the Hilton reservation system. Check-in is seamless: the guest arrives, a front desk clerk checks them into the Hilton system, the CLC portal, and issues keys. For checkout, the front desk clerk verifies the guest information and dates of stay, and then checks the CLC guest out in the Hilton and CLC systems.

Our hotel is set up on QuickPay and we bill out weekly to CLC for payments. A General Manager or Associate General Manager checks work daily and approves all billing weekly.

What are three features of Hampton Inn & Suites in Yonkers, New York

•  We welcome truck drivers by providing plenty of truck parking in all sizes.
• We’re proud to be #1 on Trip Advisor in the Yonkers, New York market!
• We award Hilton Honors points to all guests.

What has made your team a CheckINN Champion?

Guest experience is number one! My team knows that everyone makes mistakes and that there is always a way to fix mistakes and make the guest experience better. Also, all desk agents are well versed in the CLC system and what needs to be completed daily. Thanks to low employee turnover (some members of our team have been with the hotel for over four years) we run like a well-oiled machine. We also have a strong housekeeping team which makes life easier.

On a lighter note, what is the funniest thing that has happened at your hotel lately?

Our hotel has a number of permanent residents–so they live at the hotel. We have two who are in their 90s, but they had never met. Our team decided to do a little matchmaking to see if they would hit it off, and now they do everything together!