Ramada Weyburn was recently presented with a prestigious award. Ramada Worldwide's Best of 2012 Award was given to the management and staff at Ramada Weyburn, for providing exceptional customer service, impressive property performance and high-quality accommodations.
The Best of 2012 Award distinguishes the Ramada Weyburn as one of the top five percent of 900 hotels in the Ramada Worldwide family.
"It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Weyburn Ramada and its staff on this recognition of achievement," said Mark Young, Ramada Brand senior vice president.
"I think our hotel does well because of the long-term staff," said Cindy Swanson, General Manager of Ramada Weyburn. "This place started out brand new and they're working to keep it that way."
The Ramada Weyburn is a 78-room hotel offering a swimming pool with a hot tub and water slide, a living room-style lobby, around-the-clock coffee and snacks, a meeting space, business services and wireless internet. All rooms feature amenities including a flat-screen television, fridge and microwave. Several rooms have full kitchenettes and three of the rooms even have jacuzzi tubs.
Not only does Ramada Weyburn boast being the only hotel in Weyburn with a waterslide, they also offer the greatest variety of room-styles, including multi-room queens and executive suites. They are able to accommodate corporate business guests and they can easily accommodate families. In fact, two of their rooms have three queen size beds, which is a great way to house sports teams.
"On weekdays we have a lot of business guests," said Swanson. "On weekends we have a lot of leisure guests, like hockey teams, dance, baseball, soccer. Weyburn is a big sports town."
According to Swanson, the award criteria includes customer feedback, for which they need to have consistently scored at least 85 percent. That's 8.5 out of 10, on every customer survey.
Swanson said she thinks the reason that her hotel has done so well, is not just because Weyburn is booming, but because she has got her aces in their places. Each department within Ramada Weyburn has a staff member who has been working at the hotel since around the time it opened in 2008.
When Swanson joined the team six months ago as the General Manager, she was thoroughly impressed with the veteran staff.
"They taught me," said Swanson. "They know their jobs inside out and backwards. They know what needs to be done and they know their standards."
It's no wonder the hotel's occupancy is always at least 85 percent. Canalta Hotels, the company that owns Ramada Weyburn, upholds a service culture committed to providing the best customer service to every guest, every day.
"We try to be your home away from home," Swanson added, which, she said, is Canalta's motto. "We keep the coffee on 24/7, we keep our fruit out all the time. We also have a Guest Appreciation day twice a month, when we serve beef on a bun."
Swanson said that having clients who regularly frequent the hotel makes it easy for her team to shine. The long-term front-desk staff can welcome their guests by name and they know what rooms they prefer.
"They have that personal touch," said Swanson. "You're not just a number."
The lobby's posh but practical living room feel adds to the home away from home ambiance. The area is quite popular amongst the guests, who make themselves at home by rearranging the lobby furniture to suit their needs. Swanson said that a number of guests will choose to spend time in the lobby instead of in their rooms.
"Our hotel is built of good quality, so we pride ourselves in keeping clean rooms, friendly staff and doing the few extra little things like popcorn and freshly-baked cookies," said Swanson. "We want our guests to return for the experience, because they couldn't imagine staying anywhere else."
According to the online trip advisory service, TripAdvisor.com, Ramada Weyburn is number one out of five local hotels rated and there are currently 22 reviews, many of which are as recent as this month. Swanson said she has heard some of her guests say that they would never book a hotel without checking Trip Advisor.
Weyburn residents who will probably never need to stay at the Ramada can rent the Meeting room for events with up to 60 people. It boasts plenty of counter space, a sink, dishwasher and even its own washroom facility. Contact the hotel for more information.
"The Chamber has hosted many events (at the Ramada Weyburn)," commented Weyburn Chamber of Commerce president Jeff Richards. "So to see them recognized by their peers worldwide certainly is very exciting."
"It feels pretty good to win it," said Swanson. "You don't even think of it as having to meet the criteria to win an award, you just look at it like it's your day-to-day standards and business."
Ramada Weyburn is indeed a world-class hotel run by everyday people just doing their jobs.
