NWA Holiday Inn To Open Business Center For Guests
by September 21, 1998 12:00 am 84 views
The Northwest Arkansas Holiday Inn in Springdale is building a business center designed to cater to the needs of the business traveler. It should be open later this month.
“We decided without a doubt that, with the high volume of corporate guests we have coming into the area, the one area we were lacking in service was something to meet their immediate business needs,” says Bill Bretches, the hotel’s general manager.
The 200-SF center will include two fully loaded personal computers with Internet access, color printer, fax machine, copier and office supplies for guest use. A staff member will be on hand to answer questions and help out during high-traffic times.
The French doors are kept secure by an electronic system accessible by card key, which, Bretches says, will keep guests and equipment safe.
“If you are going to do it, make sure you do it right and give the guests what they need,” says Bretches, who spent more than 18 months planning and building the center. He conducted guest polls, extended focus groups, toured other facilities and consulted other studies to determine the ideal space, layout and equipment for the center. The entire project cost about $45,000, says Bretches.
Bretches says that other Northwest Arkansas hotels have work rooms for business travelers, but they are usually small conference rooms where business equipment has been added.
“The others are well-supplied and functional but ours offers comfort,” says Bretches. “It will satisfy the needs of especially the upscale business traveler. If one were to walk into a major hotel in New York, or … in Dallas or Atlanta or Chicago or any other major city and then walk into this hotel, they would feel very comfortable.”
The Northwest Arkansas Holiday Inn received the Hotel of the Year Award from the John Q. Hammons company earlier this year. The hotel is scheduled to receive the prestigious Torch Bearer Award in October at a ceremony in New Orleans. It is an honor, Bretches says, only given to the top Holiday Inns in the world.