Business receives award

SUPERIOR – A venerable business in Superior has been recognized for the second year in a row as a leader in the hospitality industry by one of most popular travel websites in the world.

TripAdvisor, a travel website that claims to be the largest site of its kind in the world, recently announced the recipients of their award of excellence which is only given out to establishments that consistently receive outstanding reviews from patrons.

According to a press release from the company, the award is given to the top ten percent of establishments.

The Big Sky Motel in Superior is just one of a few in the state of Montana to achieve the honor. Manager Rosie Schreckendgust said they couldn’t have done it without a staff that takes pride in what they do and strive to provide a superior level of customer service.

“We are pretty excited about it,” Schreckendgust said. “We were only able to do this because of the people we have here. We have such good people. We are proud of this motel and we want to maintain the personal service we have here.”

The Big Sky Motel was established by Richard and Shirley Hollenback in the early 1960s. While Richard is deceased, Shirley still owns the motel to this day.

Schreckendgust has been managing the business for three years and said she thought the reason the motel was able to offer such a high level of service to customers was because they are a small, family owned business.

“We are proud that it’s not a chain motel,” Schreckendgust said. “That’s how we do it. We are small enough that we can offer a level of service that bigger chain motels maybe cannot.”

The criteria for the award of excellence varies according to Schreckendgust. She said TripAdvisor takes into account several factors to determine what establishments are worthy of the honor.

“It’s based on customer reviews,” Schreckendgust said. “It’s based on service, cleanliness and friendliness among other things. We are very fussy about the cleanliness part. It doesn’t matter how big you are. You could be a five star hotel and not get this (award).”

Two Big Sky Motel staff members said providing a high level of customer service isn’t difficult. Lorraine and Keith Moyer, who have worked at the motel for over a year, said good customer service starts with a first impression.

“We feel like every person who comes here is important,” Lorraine said. “This is a wonderful place to be. As long as you have a smile on your face and you’re not busy talking on a cell phone, it’s not hard. You just have to treat everyone like they are important, because they are.”

Schreckendgust said she wanted to recognize the efforts of her staff, which includes Anna Getz, Amy Kelsey, Georgia Mulch, Kristen Bennett, Alyssa Hollenback, Tonya Maier, Mike Curtain, Ally Rodgers and the Moyers. She said, for her, the award represented a team effort to provide an outstanding hospitality option in the area.

“We are just so proud,” Schreckendgust said. “This means everything to us.”