Q&A with Rick Emery, General Manager of The Hi-Ho and Circle Hotels.
Fairfield, CT hotels are safely reopening. They’re here for your stay. The fun has begun.
Why do people feel safe at the The Hi-Ho and Circle Hotels?
It’s a home away from home and that’s always been our goal. The majority of our staff has remained a part of our team since we originally purchased the hotel in 2014 and the familiar faces play a large part in our guest experience. Having smaller hotels allows us to engage with the guests more, which is a great touch point that a lot of the big box hotels miss out on – little things like that make the biggest impact on the guests. Additionally, our guests know that our properties are consistently clean and well kempt. In a troubling time, such as the one we are in, you need to go to a place you trust and I think we’ve built that rapport with travelers coming to the area.
Why did your regular customers keep patronizing the hotels?
People continue to use the property because we offer a high quality, value-oriented product with a local feel and both of our properties offer something a little different which allows our guests to have the best of both worlds.
The Hi-Ho is a more advanced property with Roku devices in every room to allow you to stream your favorite networks, while also being one of the only properties in the country that allow for a completely contactless check-in process without having to download another app! The Circle on the other hand is a far more family-oriented hotel with bike rentals available to ride to the beach, a seasonal outdoor swimming pool, a foosball table, and on-site weekend comedy shows with Fairfield Comedy Club and so much more. Additionally, both hotels have restaurants on-site that assist us with room service (Barcelona Wine Bar, Hi-Ho & Circle Diner, Circle Hotel Fairfield) and if you know anything about Fairfield, they know a thing or two about food.
How is The Hi-Ho and Circle Hotels’ experience one that can cohabitate with the COVID-19 measures?
Needless to say, it has been an interesting time. When restrictions were first placed on the hotel, we had to adapt quickly to ensure we not only met, but exceeded the control measures placed on us. We improved our cleaning protocols across the properties, increased our staff training and really worked on how we could ensure the safety of our guests and staff alike. It’s been quite a process over the past few months, but with Gov. Lamont allowing transient business to resume we have worked tirelessly to ensure that we continue to follow the guideline provided by the local town officials, Gov. Lamont and the CDC.
Were there any specific roadblocks for the hotel that were difficult to manage?
The largest hurdle by far was how we were going to manage a seasonal business with a massive loss of travelers due to restrictions placed across the state. A lot of the hotels in our surrounding area were forced to close their doors, but we wanted to stay open for the town, our staff and the essential workers in the area. We worked hard to lean out some of our operation expenses to ensure people had a place to stay if they needed it and keep our workforce intact. I think that was one of the most challenging times of my managerial career, but now that we can look back it’s great to know we were able to survive in the most difficult of times.
What are your future plans for providing optimal experiences for The Hi-Ho and Circle Hotels in this new environment?
Great question. I think a lot of things were put on pause when this all began and we have some work to do before we fully recover from the loss of business, but we have a lot of exciting things happening behind the scenes. We’re hoping in the near future to upgrade our pool at the Circle, which I think will be a major improvement project! Also, we’re working with the state to secure a liquor license so our guests can enjoy a delicious beverage poolside. At the Hi-Ho, we’re working on fully automating the rooms with some AI similar to Alexa which will allow you to set the temperature within your room or turn on the tv with a simple voice command. We are also looking to outfit both properties with kiosks as a way to enhance the check-in experience for those who prefer to use technology instead of waiting in line.
Rick Emery
General Manager of The Hi-Ho & Circle Hotels