The Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 300 S. 31st St., has been selected for a major companywide award by the massive international hotel conglomerate of which its brand is a part.

“I am pleased to honor the Holiday Inn Express Fort Dodge with the Newcomer Award,” said Elie Maalouf, chief executive officer — the Americas, InterContinental Hotel Group, in a statement released in October. “We applaud the performance of the Fort Dodge staff. Clearly the hotel puts our guests at the heart of everything they do. We’re very proud to have Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Dodge as a new addition to the IHG family.”

Holiday Inn Express is one of a dozen hotel brands that are part of the IHG’s marketing system. Worldwide only 22 of its hotels were singled out for Newcomer Award recognition, according to information provided by IHG. The Fort Dodge property was the only hotel in the Hawkeye State to make the list.

Amy Von Bank, the local general manager, said the award is a source of great pride to her and her entire staff team.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Amy VonBank helps a customer get checked in recently at the Holiday Inn Express in Fort Dodge.

“The Fort Dodge Holiday Inn Express & Suites was delighted to learn that we had been chosen to receive the IHG Newcomer Award,” she said. “This prestigious award is only given out to 10 new Holiday Inn Expresses out of the hundreds that open each year and it is only given out to those in the top 2 percent of the IHG brand. Our hotel was chosen based on our valued guests’ surveys in which we have been ranked in the top 20 out of more than 2,175 hotels in North and South America combined.”

The award is both satisfying and humbling, she said.

“We feel privileged to have been chosen and having had the opportunity to share with our guests our pride in our beautiful new hotel and in our rapidly growing community,” Von Bank said.

She stressed that the key to the hotel’s success has been the unfailing staff commitment to exceptional customer service.

“In our surveys we hear repeatedly about how clean the hotel is and how friendly the staff is and how we pride ourselves on our professionalism,” Von Bank said.

She said the surveys patrons complete after staying at the hotel are an important management tool.

“All of us as a staff read all of the surveys,” Von Bank said. “We take all of the comments — good and bad — and we grow from them. For us, it’s a passion and a commitment that we all share. We enjoy what we do and it shows.”

The local general manager has high praise for her employees.

“We could not do this without the help of our wonderful staff who go above and beyond each and every day to share with our guests their pride in what they do,” she said. “We feel extremely fortunate to have such a caring and hardworking staff who recognize that if we don’t take care of our guests someone else will. We appreciate our staff’s commitment to our hotel and our continuing quest to be a global brand leader for Holiday Inn Express and IHG.”

Von Bank said finding the right people to work at a hotel is an important key to its success.

“It obviously starts with the staff and their passion,” she said. “You can’t teach people how to care.”

Von Bank said her 22-person workforce is characterized by genuine concern about the people who elect to stay at the hotel.

“They do an excellent job of making all of our guests feel welcome,” she said. “We want them to feel at home when they are with us. No matter what the industry is, great service is what separates the best from the rest.”

Von Bank said her team members take special pleasure in introducing visitors unfamiliar with Fort Dodge to the community’s many assets.

“We look at it as having an opportunity to show people what is great about Fort Dodge during their stay with us,” she said. “We know that we may be one of the few places they encounter during their time here if they are just coming through or maybe they are here for work. So, we want them to know how great our community is and leave here with a favorable impression.”

Meet Amy Von Bank

Von Bank grew up in Fort Dodge, graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High in 1988 and continued her education at the University of Iowa. While a student there, she was introduced to the hotel world.

“I actually started in Iowa City at a Best Western,” Von Bank said.

She subsequently worked at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and returned to Fort Dodge to help launch the local AmericInn. Immediately prior to joining the Holiday Inn Express team she was the Fort Dodge-based program and events coordinator of the Alzheimer’s Association for three years.

Von Bank said being at the helm of the Fort Dodge Holiday Inn Express & Suites is professionally stimulating and also provides her the chance to meet a wide array of fascinating people.

“I love meeting people,” she said. “We’ve had travelers from all over the world. I love hearing their stories. I love seeing how happy guests are and how much they enjoy their stay.”

Von Bank said the interactions with customers are among the highlights of her work day.

Those encounters can evolve into long-term friendships.

“Some guests become just like family because they stay with us so long that we really get to know them,” she said.

She said her message to past and future clients is straightforward: “When you stay at a Holiday Inn Express or any of the IHG hotels, you can always count on consistency in brand standards.”

The Fort Dodge Holiday Inn Express & Suites

The Fort Dodge Holiday Inn Express & Suites opened Nov. 25, 2014. The hotel has 82 rooms, which include suites as well as standard accommodations. All of the rooms have microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers and an array of other amenities. The property features a state-of-the-art fitness center and a swimming  pool. The staff numbers about 22.

The franchise for the hotel is owned by the Lamont Cos. of Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The Newcomer Award is the most important recognition the Fort Dodge Holiday Inn Express & Suites has won in its short history, but not the only one.

Within the Lamont Cos. network of more than 40 hotels, the Fort Dodge property achieved the top overall guest satisfaction rating in 2015. It also won the 2016 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor based on customer reviews and the 2016 Gold Award from Hotels.com.