Posted by I have mentioned a few times, I think, my liking of the Cambridge Suites Hotel in Toronto Canada. It is the hotel that my company uses when we are in Toronto. Many of the New Zealand team who now live in Toronto stayed there for long periods prior to relocating to their own apartments.
I first stayed there in 2011 and have stayed about six times now I guess. Each stay has been most pleasant.
The hotel is very conveniently located near the corner of Richmond and Yonge Streets. The rooms are a good size and are well appointed. I don’t believe I have ever eaten a meal there (there are so many places to eat in Toronto and I am normally dinning with colleagues or my Canadian relatives at some new place). I have had some drinks at the bar in the evening on he odd occasion and it is pleasant enough. The laundry service is great. The internet has improved over the time I’ve been staying there and is now very simple to use and complimentary. They book Town Cars for airport service.
The main reason I enjoy the hotel so much is the consistently (and I mean consistently) great service from the staff. I do not believe I have ever stayed at a hotel where the staff are, to a person, so helpful, polite and cheerful.
Much of this I suspect is due to the manager, Tim Ostrem.
I did once see him and his team delivering Christmas parcels using their groovy bicycle which has a big basket on the front. They were wearing branded furry hats and looked to be having fun spreading Christmas cheer.
I have only met Tim once and it was a brief meeting. But I am connected to him through many social media services (Twitter, Four Square and LinkedIn).
On my first visit to the Cambridge (Twitter handle @CambridgeTor) I tweeted my delight in having reached the hotel after the long haul travel from New Zealand. I noted the wonderful room I was in. The Cambridge replied to my tweet to welcome me. But more impressively when I returned to my room, from one of the aforementioned dinners somewhere, there was a bottle of wine in my room along with a note that read “Thanks for the Suite tweet” and a welcome from Tim.
This was a wonderful welcome.
Tim followed me on Twitter and has welcomed me personally on every subsequent visit.
On this most recent visit I ‘checked in’ to the Cambridge on Foursquare. Tim responded with a welcome and connected via Foursquare.
The next day a colleague and I headed around the corner to a local Starbucks for a coffee and I dutifully checked in there. After about 10 minutes in walked Tim (whom I had never actually met until this visit). He had seen my check in and had bought a Starbuck’s gift card as a welcome and to buy me coffee. Very cool and again a wonderful way of making me feel welcome.
Tim truly gets the power of Social Media as a way to monitor client satisfaction, to connect with his clients and to provide innovative and personalised welcomes to his guests.
I can’t say enough about the Cambridge Suites and will (obviously) continue to stay there on my frequent trips to Toronto.
Tim can be found @timostrem or on Foursquare as Tim Ostrem MBA and of course on LinkedIn… I recommend connecting.
A Mathom House of Sorts 