November Spotlight

Our next Employee of the Month was recently one of our Housekeeping Bonus Recipients, Stephanie Hodo at Economy Hotel Glenwood. Not bad for a newbie who started in September!

Hodo brings aboard a perfect skillset, which includes cleanliness and timeliness from her previous role at Chop Salad doing packaging. So far she seems to be enjoying the new gig. "I love it. It's easy, convenient, and I love my co-workers," said Hodo. Her favorite part of the job is putting a smile on customers' faces.

A few more fave's of our star Housekeeper, below:

1. Favorite Food - Salad, keeps her strong and lean
2. Favorite Movie - The Color Purple, Hodo likes the old classics with lots of meaning
3. Favorite Actor - Whoopi Goldberg because she's real and always tells the truth
4. Favorite Animal - All of them! Hodo has literally owned all of them - including an iguana, bird, snake, ten dogs, and five cats!
5. Favorite Vacation - Jamaica, an obvious choice with it's beautiful people and paradise feel.
6. Favorite Hobby - Jigsaw puzzles, and no fewer than 1000 pieces, please.
7. Favorite Color - Blue, which reminds her of the sky & Purple which reminds her of royalty
8. Favorite Song - Back to Sleep by Chris Brown
9. Favorite Holiday - Easter, right around the corner to her birthday - double treat!
10. Favorite Book - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. Just like a puzzle, it keeps you guessing.

If you happen to be on site at Economy Hotel Glenwood or Economy Hotel Candler where Hodo resides, remember to drop by and say hello to one of our newest team members!

Past Employee Spotlights

Our next Employee Spotlight is on Taiwan Miller, General Manager (GM) at Economy Hotel Airport. After Miller started with the company as Assistant General Manager in July 2019, it didn't take long for him to get noticed.

"Since he was hired as GM, there's been a very noticeable and welcomed change at Airport. The property is much more calm, and stays clean," said Area Manager Lisa Hollomon. "He also has a great relationship with his team," she added. "He has less turnover, staff wise, than any other EH property."

Miller apportions part of his accomplishments to the skills he has acquired on the job, such as time management and delegating tasks to a "dedicated and forthcoming team."

While his compatriots have been great to work with, Miller admits it hasn't always been easy interacting with some of the clientele. "I learned it takes patience," said Miller. "You get to meet lots of people from different walks of life who are transitioning from where they are now and want to move forward."

The other part can be explained by a very healthy outlook. Our GM (by day) has a secret side hustle as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. His solid background in nutrition recently led him to publish a new book currently sold on Amazon, called Pocket Smoothies.

He can even recommend the perfect morning menu for his fellow staff who need to be fully energized for dealing with all the hustle and bustle that is a part of our experience at Economy Hotel.

1. A simple glass of fresh lemon water, at room temperature, to help energize one's liver, followed by:
2. Papaya, high in antioxidants, added to one's favourite smoothy, alongside:
3. Your heaviest meal for the day to be eaten as breakfast, which provides the best potential for a thorough calorie burn.

In a few years, Miller wants to expand his nutritional consulting practice to include life coaching.

Past Employee Spotlights

Our new Employee of the Month needs no introduction - we all know her as the no nonsense, no excuses, just roll up your sleeves and get it done type of Manager that you are best to comply with!

Lisa Hollomon first started her journey with Economy Hotel in 2014, coming in by referral through a former employee. She was a perfect fit for the role with her experience in property management, having worked at similar properties ever since she was a teenager. In fact, her first job was General Manager at the Efficiency Lodge in Carlton, Georgia, at only 19 years old, where her mom also worked prior.

Very much like her mom, Holloman had mounds of experience working with socio-economically challenged clientele. "We have pretty thick skin. Neither one of us has a fear of anything," admits Hollomon.

While working a range of different roles for Economy Hotel, perhaps one of her biggest successes was implementing the Property Performance Rating system (PPR). "Every two weeks, our teams are held accountable for the daily tasks they're responsible for," explains Hollomon. CEO Ali Jamal agrees Holloman has been "instrumental" in establishing "core processes that have propelled the company forward."

In her current role as the Area Manager for South Atlanta and North Dakota, she aims to be a good resource for new staff and management. "In order to succeed in this climate, it's important to be receptive to change," said Holloman. "It's a different business model, unlike many other hotel chains, but it's so much more fulfilling. You just got to share the vision."

In her spare time, Hollomon loves spending time with her two daughters, both of whom recently graduated from high school.

Past Employee Spotlights

I grew up without my biological father. It was a struggle, always seeking that love, help and mentorship. As I got older, my heart grew towards helping other children without that guidance. To be able to be a father, it has a different meaning for me. In April, an opportunity presented itself that allowed me to adopt two children, where their biological mom wouldn't entrust anyone other than me with their care. She, and my two new boys, came through at the right time.

To hear more invigorating stories like CJ's, check out his Facebook podcast. Simply search for the page entitled I Survived to Tell the Story, subscribe, sit back, listen, and be inspired!

Past Employee Spotlights

Past Employee Spotlights

Past Employee Spotlights

"His work receives little to no complaints by his clients," said James Smith, GM for the Candler Event Hall. "He's a leader amongst the team, always willing to learn and making himself available to teach others."

Here's a sneak peak on some our new guy's faves:

Favourite Artists: Tupac & Billy Joel

Favourite TV Series: History Channel

Favourite Hobby: Fishing

Favourite Food: Everything!

Favourite Animal: Wolverine

Favourite Super Power: Super Strength

Likely Side Hustle: "Opening up a new restaurant"

Past Employee Spotlights

April's spotlight is on Dontarius Jackson, originally hired for Maintenance at Economy Hotel Candler in 2018, and ended up being the Jack-Of-All-Trades. Today, Jackson knows all about front desk operations house keeping, you name it!

He was nominated for Employee of the Month by Area Manager Ron Davis. "You can tell a lot about a person by their willingness to be a true team player," said Davis. "He's dedicated to helping out in any area and has no reservations pitching in."

What Jackson likes most about working at Economy Hotel is something we hear a lot of from staff and customers: "it's like family." said Jackson. "We're always looking out for each other, helping each other."

It really is all about family for Jackson, father to five kids with the youngest being one-years-old. When asked how he is coping with the Covid-19 crisis as one of our heroes on the front lines, Jackson explains "at the end of the day, I have a family to feed."

Jackson has grand plans for when the crisis is over, which includes taking a Caribbean cruise and plunging back into his hobby of interior painting.

Below, check out some of the AMAZING indoor wallscapes Jackson completed for previous clients.

Past Employee Spotlights

Our spotlight this month is on one of our favourite fixer uppers who has been with Stablegold Hospitality for 10 years! Joel Ramirez is the one receiving our distress calls any time something needs to be repaired or renovated.

"We really admire his craftsmanship." said Economy Hotel Marietta General Manager Tantina Dawson. "He really takes pride in everything he does, including the day to day operations."

1. Why be part of the SGH family?

I like working with my hands and taking pride in my finished work

2. What is Maintenance doing to help keep the hotel stable amidst the Covid-19 crisis?

Taking the necessary precautions by washing hands frequently and wearing gloves

3. Tell us about your family?

I have 1 daughter her name is Jacqueline and she goes to school in Mexico

4. Future goals?

Professionally, I would like to accomplish "Everything". Personally, I would like to move back to Mexico one day and be with my family.

5. How are you coping with the Covid-19 crisis.

Personally, I feel healthy, but I hope people are staying safe

6. What improvements has he seen in SGH over the years?

Updated flooring

7. What's his favourite part of the job?

Keeping my hands busy by improving the rooms with flooring, painting, and other renovations.

Past Employee Spotlights

Past Employee Spotlights

Past Employee Spotlights

Past Employee Spotlights

This dynamic duo was crowned with their notorious nickname after managing a crime sweep at Economy Hotel Atlanta in May. "They will not take this property from us, they will not win," Dukes recollects herself saying at the time. With the help of Moore, they unveiled and vacated almost fifty unwanted guests.

First, they executed a number of tactics to find out who the bad apples were. In addition to completing random inspections throughout the day, they figured out how to blend into the scene, acting as guests, and managed to compile a list of suspicious individuals.

As always, success came with a price. In this case, it was a $38K deficit on the books for Economy Hotel Atlanta. "The deficit happened after kicking out almost fifty guests involved with prostitution, drugs, or weapons. Many were unregistered," said Area Manager Roger Sawant. "It takes time to get out of that situation."

Sawant is stoked about having Moore at the property to backup Dukes. "When Andrew is there, I feel safe. He has a military background," explained Sawant.

One advantage that both Moore and Dukes share is their management experience at similar properties. Dukes, for example, has worked in nine states and 11 cities running hotels. "I've learned how to stand taller, stronger, and I know I won't be easily defeated!" said Dukes.

October's scorecards for Economy Hotel Atlanta prove her point with a nearly obliterated deficit. Holy Hi Fi, Batman!

When Williams isn't tearing up the race track, he's working away on Maintenance at Economy Hotel Glenwood, and has been with the company since 2013. The dedicated Falcons fan brings his talent for fine finishing into his home with greenery and flowers that beautify his living space.

This month's Employee Spotlight is on maintenance guru Will Taylor, who was recently recognized for doing a splendid job of turning over SIX rooms at Economy Hotel, Airport, in only one month. Six is Sick!

Taylor attributes the speedy turnaround time to years of experience on the property.

General Manager Sylvia Williams believes his dedication to self-improvement has benefited the entire team. "His continuous hands-on self-training helps the other groundskeepers learn all types of trades under his leadership," said Williams.

"He's committed. If anything happens at 1 AM or 2 AM in the morning, he goes and handles the situation without even clocking in," said CEO Ali Jamal. "That's really appreciated."

Taylor has been living on the property, currently known as Economy Hotel, Airport, since 2007 with his fiancé and 7-yr old son. He's impressed with the change he has seen to the property over the years.

"With the change in ownership, we've weeded out a lot of crime," said Taylor. "It's become more of a positive place. Working families are struggling, together, trying to get on their feet," said Taylor.

In addition to family, Taylor's muse is the unlikely combination of sports and horticulture. The dedicated Falcons fan brings his talent for fine finishing into his home with greenery and flowers that beautify his living space.

​This month’s Employee spotlight is on General Manager (GM) Queen Booth who divined her role in management to create a personal transformation.  

Booth’s first role with Stablegold Hospitality (SGH) was as a Courtesy Officer at Economy Hotel, Candler, in 2015. The job was a great fit for her at the time as, prior to joining SGH she successfully completed other security gigs in Atlanta.  It also suited her image.

 “Ever since I was in school people said I didn’t look approachable, or like I didn’t want to be bothered,” said Booth.  It was exactly that black/white, no if/ands/buts approach that Economy Hotel, Candler, required when it came to security.

Booth also proved to be effective in operations management, and after SGH outsourced security to a third party in 2016, she was offered the Assistant General Manager (AGM)  position.

Personally, however, she didn’t feel ready.  “There are higher expectations of a manager. You have to be a problem solver, keep all employees happy, and make sure everything is under control. Everything ends with me,” said Booth, who believed staff would not be happy with her rigid, black/white approach.

It took a little bit of convincing on the part of our GMs, and they succeeded. Booth worked well with her team to boost revenue and establish new processes.  So well, in fact, that she was offered a GM role the following year. Booth admits that, soon after taking on the roll, it wasn't always smooth sailing. 

“A lot of times I did fail. There’s a learning curve, but I’ve made a lot of progress with it,” said Booth. There were times she wanted to retreat. “Sometimes I wanted to go back to my old self and just shut down. I couldn’t do that as the manager, people need my help,” realized Booth.

She had to learn how to mentally battle the inner pandemonium quickly. A little coaching from CEO Ali Jamal supported her along the way.

“It helped me realize you have to talk to people more, take the time to understand what they’re saying. Now I understand why it’s important to really listen when people tell you their problems,” said Booth.

A mental shift was taking place with Booth, who started noticing changes in her daily interactions with staff. Even guests took notice of her new affability. “People were confiding in me the way they never would have before,” explained Booth. 

Jamal can easily attest to her progress. "As soon as she harnessed her strength to have effective one-to-one conversations with her team, she was building solid relationships. I could see the results of a cohesive team running more efficient operations at the hotel."

This tale had an even happier ending when Booth met her current partner in 2017. “There’s no way I would have met her if I didn’t learn how to open up!” said Booth.

​Our next Employee Spotlight is on Monique Jones, General Manager for Economy Hotel, Atlanta, who has been with Stablegold since 2012! 

Jones is a Philadelphian-born American who moved to Atlanta at the meagre age of 16 years old, along with her adoptive mother, Pastor Sharon Dantzler. 

​This month's spotlight article is on yet another one of Stablegold's success stories, Michelle Eddiness.

Starting with Stablegold as a Housekeeper in 2013, Michelle was quickly promoted to Housekeeping Supervisor the following year, Front Desk Agent in 2015, General Assistant in 2016, and finally General Manager of Economy Hotel, Glenwood, in 2017.  What’s remarkable about her swift career growth are the challenges she faced in the meanwhile, being a single mother of two adorable children since 2015.

“It’s really hard, especially here in Georgia where I have no family,” said Eddiness.

Fortunately, her two kids have been a heaven-sent.  Daughter, Brooklyn, 10-years-old, already already knows how to cook healthy meals for the family, with rice and vegetables as her specialty. She also likes to cook breakfast eggs for her 8-year-old brother, Kevon.

Eddiness has a few other tools that help her manage the 9-5 grind, like meditation and drawing cartoons. “This way I don’t go ballistic with my kids!” said Eddiness.

As we can see from her career growth, it also helps her at work.  “Time and again, Glenwood consistently passes its health inspections and Property Performance Reviews,” said Operations Manager Lisa Holloman.

“Raising two kids on her own, it really impresses me that she always makes it to work, and on time,” she adds.