by Martha Rose Woodward
Walter Wojnar and his team of professionals are this year’s winner of the Lighthouse Award from Hampton Inn & Suites. The Lighthouse Award is given to Hilton family hotels that maintain standings within the top 5% of their brand worldwide in terms of quality and guest satisfaction.
Wojnar is the Asset Manager for Lodgingsmith, a Tennessee General Partnership, that owns and operates the Hampton Inn & Suites, located at 5411 Pratt Road, Knoxville-North.
Wojnar says he won the prestigious Lighthouse Award from Hilton Hotels because his staff treats guests like they are family. Manager Walt Wojnar praises the team members for their hard work and professionalism. “We try to not just meet the needs of our guests but to also anticipate their needs and “Wow” them at every opportunity,” said Wojnar.
Scott Schrank, Vice President for Brand Performance at Hilton worldwide says that, “The Hampton Inn & Suites, Knoxville-North was selected for this award because it is leading the way when it comes to great product and service”.
Entrepreneur Magazine rates Hampton Hotels as the number one franchise in the United States for 2012. The Lighthouse Award goes only to the best of the best.
In February, when Wojnar realized that two doctors had flown into Knoxville to volunteer their time with the Remote Area Medical event, he decided to donate the rooms rent free . He soon discovered that he was not only keeping two Remote Area Medical volunteers, but 88. He next decided to provide all rooms as a courtesy to Stan Brock and the RAM teams. This gift amounted to approximately $10,000 donated to RAM by Wojnar’s company. “When we saw that many people were giving of their time and talents and using their own money to travel into Knoxville in order to provide much needed health care to the truly needy, we knew that we needed to step up and do what we could,” said Wojnar. Brock said he was “…blown away with Wojnar’s generosity.”
One of Wojnar‘s favorite quotes comes from Mark Twain who said, “In the Four parts of the Earth, there are many that are able to write learned books, many that are able to lead armies, many also that are able to govern Kingdoms and Empires, but few there are that can keep a Good Hotel.”
Congratulations to Wojnar and his staff. After winning the award, the staff donated the cash the won to the local Cerebral Palsy Center.
The Hampton Inn & Suites-North can be reached at: 865.689.1011 office
865.660.6792 cell
865.689.7917 fax
