D-M captures Air Force Innkeeper award

  • Published
DAVIS-MONTHAN --  Air Force officials announced Aug. 12 that the Inn on Davis-Monthan earned the 2004 United States Air Force Innkeeper Award in the large category.

Since 1981, the Air Force annually recognizes its best of the best in lodging by bestowing the Innkeeper awards. The award recognizes Air Force lodging operations that provide the most outstanding hotel-type lodging and customer service to their guests.

The Inn on Davis-Monthan team competed for this award against installations with 286 or more transient bed spaces.

Achieving this award took two years of hard work for the D-M lodging team, said Dan Baker, 355th Services Squadron Inn on Davis-Monthan general manager. The teams cohesiveness and the camaraderie everyone has shown from the housekeeping staff to the assistant managers, is what made the team stand out from the competition, he said.

The only way to win this award is with teamwork, and that is where this lodging office really excels, said Maj. Christopher La Vallee, 355th SVS commander.

The Inn on Davis-Monthan pulled together as a team to commit itself to pursuing the Innkeeper trophy, said 1st Lt. Matthew Mountcastle, 355th SVS combat support flight deputy commander. We had superior Air Force members committing extra duty hours and our maintenance personnel working in the wee hours of the morning to lay rock before the desert heat rose.

The teams drive to be the best stewards of their facility was pivotal to their achievement of this award.

Even though we may not have the newest buildings around, we worked with what we had to provide the best possible services for every one of our customers, Major La Vallee said.

This team has delivered a renovation of some sort in every lodging room in the past two years and just before the [evaluation] teams arrival, they put the finishing touches on a two year self-help landscaping project that saved the Air Force $100,000 in labor and made home away-from-home much more comfortable for our Airmen and their families, said 1st Lt. Matthew Mountcastle, 355th SVS combat support flight deputy commander. These things cannot be put together the week of the inspection, it took years of commitment.

In addition to time and sweat, team members also showcased some innovation like morning warm ups for the housekeeping aimed at preventing workplace injury, and coloring books provided to small children.

This is really an accomplishment for the Desert Lightning wing, the lieutenant said. The Inn on Davis-Monthan was the underdog. However, we pride ourselves on the combat support we provide to the fight every day. That warfighter attitude allows this operation to overcome limiting factors like old buildings.

The award will be formally presented to the Inn on Davis-Monthan at the American Hospitality and Lodging Associations annual convention in New York City in November.