Each year, TripAdvisor presents its Travelers’ Choice Awards for the best hotels/lodging, restaurants, and other businesses that customers review on the site. Winners are calculated based on the quality and quantity of the millions of reviews, opinions and ratings collected on TripAdvisor. A select few businesses are identified as Travelers Choice – indicating that they have been consistently identified by customers as being the very best. The winners are few…very few. All told, there are over 8 million businesses reviewed on TripAdvisor. This year, only 4,817 achieved the award. That is 1 for every 2,000 businesses.
One of the selected few – the Best Western Butner Creedmoor Inn.
The announcement caps a 4-year journey by the owners. The husband and wife purchased the hotel after deciding they needed a life change. Natives of New York City, the couple was on the fast track – both of them in corporate professions. After a few years in practice two things started to become apparent – 1). They didn’t want to be in the corporate world the rest of their lives and 2). New York was probably not where they wanted to live.
After researching various opportunities and visiting numerous areas around the country, the couple was presented the opportunity to get into the hospitality industry.
"We took a trip to North Carolina and saw this business was for sale. My husband’s uncles were in the hotel business so we had some insight," says the co-owner. "But to be honest, what really closed the deal for us was the area. We found the community so charming and the people were so nice and welcoming."
The couple jumped at the opportunity to purchase the hotel and get away from the big city. They then embarked on a 24-month plan.
Year one was focused on upgrading the overall service and processes of the hotel. The property had become worn, but the commitment to service had also eroded. "We have great people, explains the co-owner, but the emphasis on service had been lost." The solution was to adjust the procedures and processes. "We embraced this journey with the employees. They are as much a part of the hotel as the brick and mortar…more so. Our commitment was to immerse ourselves into them, not the other way around." The partnership is evident in that 80% of the employees are still with the hotel.
After reorienting the service, year two brought along a complete renovation of the property. Most hotels address renovations as a two-step process (interior and then exterior), but the Best Western Butner Creedmoor simply took one big bite of the apple. "We wanted to have a property that employees and the people of Granville can be proud of, a new, clean, contemporary hotel, explained the owners.
But the evolution of the Best Western Butner Creedmoor isn’t a result of processes, or renovations. Rather it is a result of the passion and commitment to service that the owners have for their business.
"We are in the hospitality business. Anyone can offer hotel rooms – that’s simply providing walls, a bed, a bathroom. We are committed to making our guests feel at home," she says. "Of course we have to do the basics well, very well. But our difference is providing genuine friendly service… that human touch. Success to us is hearing a guest say, "I’ve heard such good things about this place" or "I always recommend your hotel," she says proudly.
The results speak for themselves. When the owners purchased the property it was consistently rated in the bottom 20% of Best Western properties. Now it is in the top 20% and the hoteliers have been selected as "Governors" for the brand – leading and mentoring others.
This couple has also fully embraced their move to the area. "Granville County is such a wonderful, unique place," they explained. "We are so pleased to be here and able to contribute to the whole community." The partnership is not lost on those within the community. "We are so fortunate to have the Best Western Butner Creedmoor welcome travelers to our community as they come to Granville to visit or stop by as they travel i-85," says Angela Allen, Tourism Director for Granville County. "More than that though, we are blessed to have them as part of our community."
For more information on the Best Western Butner Creedmoor visit www.bestwesterncreedmoor.com,
And to find out what is happening in Granville visit www.visitgranvillenc.com