Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel wins guest relations award

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel won top honors at the California Hotel & Lodging Association “Stars of the Industry” awards for their "My Tahoe" guest relations program.

The annual awards recognize lodging employees and properties that best symbolize the quality service of the industry.

The “My Tahoe” program was born back in 2013 when the property went independent as a Premier Hotel Collection member, and hotel leadership had the opportunity to reimagine guest experience.

“It started with conversations about who we really wanted to be as a property and as a team,” said Bill Cottrill, general manager. “There are core reasons why we live here in the mountains and we wanted to find a way to share that enthusiasm with our guests to connect them with the best Lake Tahoe has to offer.”

The hotel collaborated with SJ Marketing, Incline Village, Nev., and Weidinger Public Relations, Stateline, Nev., to build out the message and collateral materials to bring the “My Tahoe” campaign to life through the hotel website, handouts, onsite collateral for the staff, and in social media.

Guests checking in at the resort notice team member name badges with phrases like “mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, standup paddleboard (SUP), kayaking, or running.” It all represents the staff sharing their personal Tahoe favorites, local knowledge and hidden gems with guests. Employees share insights into their favorite Tahoe activities. Guests have options during registration to pick personal interests and upon check-in receive printed cards highlighting a different resort employee and their favorite picks from hiking and running, to snowmobiling, and cross-country or downhill skiing.

Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel’s staff embraced the campaign and their enthusiasm resonated in guest reviews.

“Visitors want to live like locals -- to enjoy the same experiences,” said Cottrill. “We wanted to be a mountain resort whose mission was to find a way to connect our guests to Tahoe and have both new and repeat guests come back for an experience, not just a bed to sleep in. It is always gratifying to be recognized on a statewide level by our peers.”