It’s not every hotel where someone can ask three different staff members where the best place in Annapolis to get crabs or seafood is, get three different answers and have them all be correct.
“The big piece of our success here at the Westin Annapolis is that we have lots of out of town customers who love the fact we’re drenched in the environment,” Lauren Miguez, director of sales and marketing said.
The difference, Miguez explained, between her Westin Annapolis hotel and others is the employees are almost all locals to the Annapolis area.
“It’s not like New York City where the front desk clerk is commuting in from New Jersey every day. We live here, we work here and we want to be here all the time,” she said.
Everyone has their favorites, of course, but allowing people to express themselves and give good advice separates the Westin Annapolis hotel from others even in this market.
“We’re bridging the gap between community partner and being a formal business which allows us a certain measure of freedom,” Miguez said.
For example the chef is determined to cultivate honeybees on the roof, despite some minor setbacks.
“We’re not enjoying the honey yet, but it’s coming. There’s a real problem with the bee population right now and he’s trying to do his part — 35,000 bees can pollinate 600 acres. He’s also growing some herbs up there,” she said.
That’s a part of the Sustainable Annapolis green initiative the Westin hotel has incorporated, which showcases another way the hotel blends community partnership with traditional business structures.
“Our chef tries to make his food purchases locally whenever he can. He has a real farm to table mentality,” Miguez said.
Couple this with the Westin chain’s commitment to what they call “super foods.”
“They’ve done the science on these foods, and the mixture between the foods and the housing plus the emotional and physical influences of those factors,” she explained.
In the macro sense, the Westin Annapolis also participates in a number of programs targeting to reduce the environmental impact any such facility is sure to have.
“We recycle soap, use LED lighting and offer guests more loyalty points if they forgo housekeeping or daily maid service — we’ll still tidy up and make the bed of course,” Miguez said.
Because of the placement within the community and the involvement that goes hand-in-hand with employing so many members of that community the Westin is able to leverage itself into unique positions when partnering with other local businesses.
“From my end in sales and marketing we enjoy the freedom to develop sales and packages dependent on this area. For the Parade of Lights, for example, you can come and spend the night, see the parade and have breakfast the next morning. The Naval Academy is a huge part of our business here and they have reunions every five years. The camaraderie there is amazing and we want to support it,” she said.
The Westin Annapolis may still have a thing or two to prove. It opened in July of 2007 — so it’s a relatively new kid on the block. However, it comes from a well-to-do background which is usually not a handicap. The Westin hotel is part of a multimillion dollar mixed-use facility that encompassed the hotel, condos, offices and restaurants.
“The goal with this facility is to have a development that was beautifully integrated with Annapolis architecture. It mirrors the U.S. Naval Academy with the same grandness, the same sense of scale,” Miguez explained. “Annapolis loves its history, and being brand new in this market is a big deal.”
Cue the old blood of the Annapolis neighborhoods. By staffing up with locals rather than importing from everywhere the Westin Annapolis hotel hopes to offer something a little extra to their guests. It’s a sense of place and belonging even if you personally are far from home. If you ask a member of the Westin’s staff you’re going to get an answer. The answer may conflict with what’s been said elsewhere or maybe even disagree with something another employee might have told you — but chances are all the answers are correct.
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