Hotel Goes Above and Beyond to Help Family With Sick Child Celebrate Thanksgiving
Whether we're looking for a thoughtful experience or something exciting and new, we love to see hotels and airlines make an effort to provide a memorable experience. And this holiday season, we've seen travel companies go above and beyond to do just that.
One avid TPG reader, Dee Seiffer, reached out to our team in hopes of relaying her thanks to a hotel that made her holiday season more than memorable.
In October, Seiffer's son Jamie was diagnosed with Stage 3/4 Classic Hodgkins Lymphoma. While Jamie undergoes his 12 chemo treatment every other week, Seiffer and her family are staying at the Homewood Suites in Boulder, CO. Jaime's most recent treatment fell on the week of Thanksgiving and hotel staff went out of their way to bring comfort to the family as the holiday approached.
When the family stayed at the Homewood Suites about two weeks ago, Seiffer filled out a post-stay survey. She complimented the stay, but also mentioned that her room's kitchen wasn't well-equipped for extensive cooking. Seiffer anticipated that when her family returned for Thanksgiving it would be difficult to cook the holiday meal.
When the family returned this week, Seiffer came back to a room filled with brand new cooking supplies, including baking dishes, storage containers, mixing bowls, a mixer, colander, measuring cups and spoons. Staff offered up the hotel's oven for Seiffer's Thanksgiving dinner. They also brought extra dishes, silverware and glasses.
"The staff at this hotel has gone so far beyond anything I could have possibly expected, I am gobsmacked. . . and beyond grateful," Seiffer told TPG. "People keep asking if there is anything else they can do for us. Truly heartwarming."
In hopes of returning the favor, Seiffer asked our help to notify Hilton Corporate about the staff's efforts. We were able to connect Seiffer with Mark Weinstein, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Customer Engagement, Loyalty and Partnerships, who gave a heartfelt reply. Within the response, he said the following:
The experience [Dee] described is what we set out to do each and every day at Hilton and at Homewood Suites in particular – providing our guests with home-away-from-home and welcoming you as members of our family. But [Dee's] experiences with the hotel team goes far beyond anything we could possibly mandate or script. It is genuine and heartfelt from our Team Members. I am so fortunate to have colleagues who care so much about each of their guests and who stand at the ready to do whatever they can to make sure your stay a little warmer and brighter.
But the giving didn't end there. Yesterday, during the Homewood Suite staff's Thanksgiving pot-luck, corporate offices sent over a few pies for the family to enjoy.
Later, a bouquet of flowers was delivered to the family's room.
It's during this chaotic time of travel that the brands we're loyal to have been able to reciprocate loyalty and admiration for their customers. Dee's experience illustrates that the Thanksgiving spirit extends beyond our homes, and the travel industry has been taking part in the effort to make the season that much more cheery.
