Lloydminster 鈥� An official 鈥淗amptonality moment鈥� will take place in Lloydminster during the grand opening of the new Hampton Inn by Hilton in Lloydminster on March 12.
Come prepared for handshakes, smiles and good cheer hosted by Clare Janitz, the general manager and her management team and staff. The experience
promises to be just like on those Hamptonality commercials the hotel chain runs to show how it celebrates the moments that matter to their guests.
鈥淔or the grand opening we鈥檒l be doing tours of the hotel and of course, we will have some nice h鈥檕rdeurves and cocktails for visitors,鈥� said Janitz who can鈥檛 wait for the big
day. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my first hotel opening. It鈥檚 nice to open a hotel that鈥檚 really so beautiful. The finishes and the quality are really a high standard, so I鈥檓 very proud to be
part of it.鈥�
A ribbon cutting with Lloydminster Mayor Rob Saunders is expected to be part of opening ceremonies that should be well attended as word travels.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting a good turnout. We鈥檙e going to have a large invite list. We鈥檒l be going out and inviting people in person as well as emails,鈥� said Janitz. The guest list will
include representatives from the APX Hotels Group that operates the five storey, 112 room hotel and property.
The franchise is owned by a group of investors that also owns the Holiday Inn & Suites in Lloydminster. The Hampton franchise was built by Aspen Developments
Corp in Red Deer for approximately $16 million. APX Hotels operates a growing chain of hotels in Alberta including the local APX Holiday Inn that Janitz managed briefly while construction of the Hampton wrapped up.
The doors opened at the new hotel on Dec. 22 with Santa Clause being one of the first visitors to feel the
Hamptonality. 鈥淚t was a very soft opening three days before Christmas, but we still had guests coming in,鈥� said Janitz.
鈥淚t was a nice surprise and good for the staff to get used to their roles and for us to get our service down pat.鈥� 鈥淔or the guests coming in, they are very impressed. It鈥檚
been said it鈥檚 one of the nicest Hamptons. Our company went beyond the standards to create a more upscale beautiful atmosphere.鈥�
The oil and gas business traveler is their main target market along with weekend wedding parties and a leisure groups who love the free self serve breakfast concept.
The breakfast bar is next to a huge common area on the ground floor with lots of tables and chairs for breakfast gatherings and socializing.
鈥淭he families just love it,鈥� said Janitz. The Hampton Inn is only Hilton brand in Lloydminster that interested APX Hotels. 鈥淚 think it was APX contacting Hilton when
they were deciding what way they wanted to go and what hotel brand to bring to Lloyd,鈥� said Janitz.
鈥淟loyd doesn鈥檛 have any Hilton properties so it鈥檚 a great opportunity to bring a new brand into the area.鈥� Janitz noted that a lot of guests are Hilton 鈥淗honors鈥� reward
points members who prefer to stay overnight at other Hilton branded hotels.
鈥淭his is a great opportunity for them, so now people who come to Lloyd for business who are Hilton Hhonors members can use it at the Hampton,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a different concept having the breakfast whereas the Holiday Inn has a restaurant but they are both great hotels.鈥� Most of the rooms come with a standard king or two queen beds with a few Jacuzzi suites for special occasions. Some of the rooms are specially made for wheelchair guests with mobility features such as entry or passage doors with 32 inches of clear width. Included with every stay at the Hampton is the free hot breakfast, free Wi-Fi in every room and use of the pool and the fitness room.
鈥淲ith having the breakfast bar, people don鈥檛 really need a kitchenette, but every room has a microwave and a fridge,鈥� said Janitz. For business functions there are two
boardrooms with builtin audio visual equipment and use of a free 24-hour business centre with printer, fax and photo copying services.
There is also a 24-hour convenience mart for snacks, drinks and travel essentials and it鈥檚 just short hop from the Hampton to other nearby shops and restaurants.
The Hampton Inn is part the Hampton Square retail and commercial development that APX started in 2012 at the west side of the city just off Highway
16.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great location. It鈥檚 the first thing you see coming into town from Edmonton,鈥� said Janitz. 鈥淭he location is very good for travelers and business people. It鈥檚 not
hard to find.鈥� Construction is underway in front of the Hampton on a Cop-op gas bar and two restaurants namely a Browns Socialhouse and a Rock Creek diner.
There is also a new Meridian Inn & Suites hotel under construction at the busy Hampton Square project site. 鈥淎ny other business brings in more business. It will create more of a destination at this end of the city,鈥� said Janitz. 鈥淢ore people will come because there鈥檚 businesses and restaurants and hotels.
鈥淏eing on the main throughfare with lots of businesses popping up around us and lots of restaurants and shopping and things like
that, there will be lots of choices for the people who stay here.鈥�
It is too early to tell yet if the current low price of oil will lower their expected average occupancy rate of 80 per cent by the end of the year.
鈥淎s of yet it鈥檚 hard to tell because over Christmas everything is slow, but this week things are already ramped up quite a bit in the local hotels,鈥� said
Janitz referring a major crossfit sports competition in town Jan. 15-17.
She said the Hampton will get busier too as their sales and management team rolls out their advertising and marketing campaign 鈥淲e have been buying a lot of advertising through newspapers and the media with signage and things like that. We鈥檙e blitzing the local businesses to let them know we鈥檙e here,鈥� said Janitz. 鈥淪o our sales team is out and actually physically going and greetingpeople and talking with people.鈥�
The city of Lloydminster鈥檚 strategy to host major events also works in favour of the local hospitality industry. 鈥淭hey refer events to us and then we try
to allocate inventory of rooms for them so that they can bring those events in like the oil show or large tournaments,鈥� said Janitz. 鈥淭hey won鈥檛 bring events like that to the
city unless they know there is accommodation. We have also been hosting events from outside in places like Vermilion.鈥�
Janitz previously worked in Ontario where she said the pace of the hotel industry is a lot slower than it is in Lloydminster even in this downturn. 鈥淭hings are quite
different there 鈥� slower and more challenging whereas Lloyd is just a booming place, so it鈥檚 very exciting. Everything鈥檚 growing,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 recently attended the Lloydminster Chamber of Commerce where they talked about being the number one city in Canada for doing business so it鈥檚 a very
exciting place to be. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to open a new hotel in such a vibrant market.鈥�
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