HOTEL INDIGO®- NAPERVILLE RIVERWALK APPOINTS NAPERVILLIANS AS GENERAL MANAGER and DIRECTOR OF SALES
- The Hotel Indigo®-Naperville Riverwalk has named Naperville residents Daryl Barnes, general manager and Doug Kelly as director of sales of its 158-room hotel located in the new Water Street District in Downtown Naperville at 120 Water Street. The two joined Hotel Indigo®- Naperville in late April in preparation for opening the Naperville hotel this fall.
Barnes has been in the hospitality industry for 22 years, beginning his career in Naperville, where he lived since high school. He was recruited by legendary restaurateur Dick Portillo as general manager of Key Wester and assisting in the subsequent opening of Luigi's House, went on to open Hugo's Frog Bar and Fish House in Downtown Naperville, and served as assistant general manager and food and beverage director of White Eagle Country Club in Naperville.
Recently Barnes brought his country club experience to the Holiday Inn Express/Comfort Suites in Austin Texas, where he developed the entire staff from housekeeping to maintenance and dining room to front desk to exceed guest expectations at every opportunity and generate over, ranking #1 nationally among 1800 hotels in the brand. 165 excellent TripAdvisor reviews out of 165 total reviews, never having received a poor review. Prior to his return to Naperville this spring, Barnes served as general manager of the Hotel Indigo®- Waco-Baylor, where in 14 months he achieved the 2015 Quality Excellence Award, 2014 TORCH - BEARER #1 in the Brand, 2014 Guest Recognition award of excellence and TripAdvisor #1 Hotel ranking and #1 Restaurant ranking.
"I am a firm believer in the concept of "The answer is yes, now what's the question?" says Barnes. "I want our guests to know I surround myself with people who exceed expectations and will do whatever it takes to create the greatest guest experience. Hospitality is about making friends, creating relationships that ensure a memorable experience. Those relationships extend to the guests, the staff, and the numerous local organizations that define the Naperville community and make it great. We expect our staff to become enmeshed in the Naperville experience so they can convey that experience to every guest."
Barnes says his vision extends beyond the guest experience to the community at large. "Don't be surprised when you see our Green Team out in the community, sprucing up the neighborhood, volunteering at community events and helping local charities," he says. "Naperville is special. Just when you think it can't get any better, someone comes up with the idea for this beautiful, trendy boutique hotel in this beautiful downtown. It's like the cherry on top of the sundae that is Naperville. We are thrilled to be part of that."
A North Central College graduate in marketing, Doug Kelly also grew up in Naperville and began his hotel career with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide as Complex Sales Manager for Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers Westin Chicago River North Complex, representing 1633 guestrooms and 150000 sq ft of combined meeting space, and exceeding revenue goals each year for three years.
He comes to Hotel Indigo Naperville Riverwalk from Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, where he was Area Senior Sales Manager and Chicago City Sales Manager for business travel representing 1350 guestrooms and 20000 sq ft of combined meeting space, including Hotel Allegro, Hotel Burnham, Hotel Monaco Chicago, Hotel Palomar Chicago, and was part of the pre-opening team for Gray Hotel Chicago. Kelly's efforts resulted in the group exceeding average total group revenue goal annually for the past three years. When Kimpton was acquired by Hotel Indigo® parent IHG® (InterContental Hotels Group), Kelly was the first employee to transition to IHG, and when Water Street developer Marquette Companies chose IHG® to manage their new hotel, he saw the opportunity to break ground in his home town.
"The Indigo high-amenity lifestyle brand is similar to Kimpton," he says. "The concept of understanding your wants and need before you ever check-in and offering very personalized service will work so well in Naperville. People who visit and do business here are intrigued with the community and want to know more. In the Water Street District and within just a few blocks, we can offer guests a broad range of cultural, shopping and dining advantages. It's so much more than the average hotel experience, this truly offers a neighborhood vibe you might find in a larger city. For the business traveler, there are a number of IHG Corporate Gold companies surrounding us, and our robust corporate traveler programs will make Naperville an even more desirable business destination."
Marquette Companies CEO Nick Ryan sees Barnes and Kelly as the perfect team to open
Hotel Indigo®-Naperville Riverwalk in the Water Street District. "We were looking for people who shared our philosophy of a hotel that is completely connected to the community and delivers an extraordinary level of service," he says. "We found Daryl in a nationwide search of Hotel Indigo®. He is passionate about what he does and truly cares about his staff and the guest experience. He believes as we do, that you need to work very hard and have fun doing it. Doug has great energy and gets the big-city boutique guest experience. He understands that our local businesses deserve respect. Together, these two leaders are creating a partnership with the community. I'm confident they will make the Hotel Indigo®-Naperville Riverwalk Naperville's hotel."