Embassy Suites Hotels Employees Pick New Designer Uniform On "The Apprentice"

(Wednesday, May 24, 2006) - Designer uniforms tell employees that their company values them and wants them to succeed! The airlines started the designer trend and now add Embassy Suites Hotels is leading the hospitality industry to designer duds. ESH planned new uniforms for the staff of the chain's 190 hotels BUT they asked their employees about their needs.

Embassy Suites Hotels, the first all-suite upscale hotel brand also "recruited" The Apprentice candidates to tackle the task - design uniforms for the staff of Embassy Suites Hotel in lower Manhattan where top New York designers would be at their disposal. The winning designer --Oprah Celebrity Favorite Edward Wilkerson of Lafayette 148 -- and his fashionably functional uniforms were just announced. Click this link http://www.atembassy.com/apprentice/uniform_images/below to see the winning design. The new uniforms will ultimately be rolled out to all Embassy Suites Hotel by late 2006.

The BIG challenge was meeting the needs of the chain's 30,000 team members. Here's where Embassy Suites Hotels' employees really helped. Many hospitality companies have designed uniforms for their employees, BUT Embassy is the first to involve its employees to this degree. Employees were consulted in the initial Apprentice task and employee focus groups were conducted in five markets to fine tune the designs and make sure they were functional and comfortable in addition to fashionable. Here's a sampling of what they discovered:

· Front Desk agents want to look "chic & sharp," while standing on their feet for many hours and smiling all along;

· Restaurant and breakfast servers requested shorter aprons - 6-8 inches in length with two zippered pockets and ¾ sleeve blouses for women that don't get in the way of work;

Chefs are always chopping, stirring, wiping, stretch and with that comes spilling, sweating and wear and tear on their uniforms; so they want pants in light-weight breathable material and the jacket needs to be made out of a thick, soft material (pima cotton was requested) with knotted, cloth buttons and vents under the arms.
· Bell Staff have to do one of many jobs at the drop of a hat and struggle with looking professional while never letting guests see them sweat;

· Housekeeping are proud of what they do and want to look like a professional; one houseman explained he wants to look "hip-hop" and another employee added "Get with the times."

For more information, please contact:
Alicia Rainbolt
Senior Account Executive
Travel & Economic Development
Ruder Finn, Inc.
301 East Fifty-Seventh Street
New York, NY 10022
Tel 212.593.5863
Efax 646.792.4352
rainbolta@ruderfinn.com

View all Embassy Suites Hotels Press Releases

This article has been read 321 times.

Printer Friendly