After talking to Torri Jennings, it’s easy to understand why the Homewood Suites she manages recently won the Connie Award from Hilton for being the top-performing property in the chain. She loves Homewood Suites, her staff and the extended-stay business and is very passionate about all three.

The Homewood Suites Charleston/Airport Convention Center is honored for having the highest extended-stay percentage in 2009. Pictured from left: Connie Armstrong, Director of Sales; Shelly Dudley, Brand Performance Support, Homewood Suites; Torri Jennings, General Manager; James Cash, Revenue Manager, Homewood Suites.

The Homewood Suites by Hilton Charleston/Airport Convention Center in South Carolina was honored as the top property in the chain of almost 300 upscale extended-stay hotels based on quality-assurance audits, customer satisfaction scores and the quality of the hotel’s physical accommodations. The hotel also was recognized for having the highest extended-stay percentage (78) in the chain and the best front-desk team, as well as placing in the top five in several other categories. The hotel features 128 suites and a staff of approximately 25.

Jennings, who opened the hotel in June of 2008, celebrated with the staff and guests last night at the evening ‘Welcome Home’ reception. Earlier in the day she took some time out to chat about the recent awards and how the hotel has achieved such success.

Had you worked at an extended-stay hotel before?
No, I’ve been with Hilton for 12 years and prior to opening this, I managed the Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston … I’ve worked in a variety of brands—Embassy Suites, Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn—and I couldn’t wait to join Homewood Suites because it’s extended stay and the opportunity to get to know your guests and take care of them. Homewood is my home now. The whole concept is incredible and very rewarding as a GM. You have extended-stay guests that stay a long time, so you get to know them and become friends. It’s more personable, and with the staff, it’s like a family.

So what’s the secret to all the awards and great success?
It’s all about service. The brand encourages ‘OPOG.’ It’s the MO of Homewood Suites: Outrageously Pleasing Our Guests. Everyone on the team is committed to OPOG and show up everyday thinking about how to service our guests.

How would you describe your management style?
Very hands on. I enjoy being hands on, and all of our management is hands on. We all help each other. For instance, I run housekeeping a couple days a week and am in rooms as much as I can be. My assistant GM heads up the F&B service.

How was business last year? Was the hotel affected by the downturn?
We actually fared well in 2009, surprisingly. We were very fortunate and ran an extended stay percentage of 78 (stays of five days or more). I know our little strip in North Charleston by the airport fared well compared to the rest of Charleston because we’re not necessarily targeting leisure guests. Last year started very strong, our first and second quarters were unbelievable and in the third quarter we took a major nosedive in August and September, but it came back in October. Honestly all of us (in this area) experienced that decline and we don’t know what caused it. Our biggest source of business is the government, and the government traveler wasn’t traveling those months. It was pretty intense, but it came back strong fortunately.

How did you respond during those difficult times?
We certainly scaled back on expenses, but we didn’t have to cut any positions, and I’m very thankful for that. We had to lower our rate a little to get some of those leisure guests.

How do you maintain the quality of the hotel and its service when forced to cut expenses?
By relying on our management team. We had to scale back on hours to our hourly team members, without sacrificing any of our amenities or services. The management team is willing to step up here and put in extra time to get the job done.

How did you handle having to cut hours?
Being straight up and honest with team members is a requirement. By explaining the situation to the team, they understand and when we scaled back, we would do it evenly across the board, so not just one person was impacted drastically.