TALK ON THE STREET
February 11, 2015
Miles touts 2015 recruiting efforts a success
February 11, 2015
When nine-year-old Greg Gaubert cut the ribbon at the grand opening of his father’s hotel in 1973, he had no idea he’d take over his legacy of hospitality
But 41 years later, Gaubert is proud to receive one more credit of validation that’s he’s continued that legacy and then some as the Thibodaux-based Carmel Inn & Suites won the 2015 Louey Award in the limited service lodging category
“It’s out the ballpark. It’s very exciting. It’s very exciting to be recognized,” said Gaubert, owner of the business operated by he and his family.
Handed out annually by the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association (LTPA), 14 categories of Louey Award winners are commended for their contributions to the Louisiana tourism industry. Three out-state judges dole out the awards in order to remove any Louisiana bias.
“Our judges were looking for a property that is going above and beyond in servicing their visitors and really making Louisiana look good and really making the visitors want to come back to Louisiana,” said LTPA Director of Communications Laura Cating.
Cating said there were more nominations this year than
ever before, and the Carmel Inn & Suites beat out 43 other hotels in its category.
“The family owned and operated hotel rolls out the red carpet for its visitors, offering a delicious breakfast buffet each morning, plus a complimentary dinner for Monday through Thursday guests,” wrote the LTPA in its announcement of winners. “The Gaubert family’s aggressive marketing efforts, trade show outreach and work with group tour operators is also paying off, with a dramatic increase of more than 30 percent in international bookings.”
Carmel’s international acclaim is due in part because of Gaubert’s affinity for traveling and accruing hospitality ideas from far away venues. That allows him to take some ideas back home with him while making valuable connections and putting his place on the map for future Louisiana visitors.
“There was a hotel in Jacksonville that I always visited, and they always had something for you every time you checked in whether it was an apple, a cookie, a banana, they always had something for you,” said Gaubert.
Now, guests find a bag of goodies while checking in at Carmel Inn & Suites.
“You have candy at the front desk, whether we have fresh fruit, the coffee or sometimes we take deserts that we have that are in overabundance, and we’ll share that with our guests. The smiles that we get from the kids to the parents is something that really I enjoy in the hospitality of making their trip really special,” Gaubert said.
The goodie bag is one of many improvements the Gaubert family has made to the venue since breaking off from Holiday Inn five years ago and becoming independent. Being liberated from the guidelines of a hotel franchise has allowed the Gaubert family to add the complimentary dinner, free bottles of water, different landscaping around the building, enhance security measures and deck out the lobby with seasonable decorations for events such as Mardi Gras and the annual Manning Passing Academy.
“That really is a big difference from other hotels, because they’re not allowed to do all those things that we’re flexible to do in the hotel and being that it is a small town it’s very difficult for a franchise to grow,” explained the owner.
But most importantly is the friendly hospitality visitors find at Carmel that makes them want to come back in the future.
“We make a connection with our customers as if it were a home away from home. By doing this you make a lot of friends,” Gaubert said.
Until May, Carmel is the home of the Chef John Folse Culinary Bistro. At that time it will move to Nicholls’ campus, but Gaubert said he plans on opening up a restaurant in their absence.
Apart from the wonderful hospitality of Carmel, which includes 93 rooms and five suites, the building is registered as a historic landmark. It is the former site of the Mount Carmel Convent, and its cupola is still present at the top of the building. The convent was the first integrated school in the state and served as a hospital during the Civil War.
The owner joked that he’s getting used to winning awards, as the venue has won the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence two years running as well as the Excellence in Fido Award for the hotel’s pet-friendly qualities.
Gaubert said Carmel is the only pet-friendly hotel in Thibodaux, and he’s got his sights on becoming the only full-service hotel in town. Carmel currently qualifies as a limit-service hotel because it does not serve room service and lunch, according to Gaubert.
LTPA representatives Linda Curtis and Marion Fox (back row) present the 2015 Louey Award in the limited-service category to (from left) Danny Donham, Rhonda Gaubert, Greg Gaubert and Peggy Benoit of Carmel Inn & Suites in Thibodaux.
