BLAKE LANKFORD

Experience

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  Woodhill Country Club

  May 2004 - Jan 2007

  Bartender, Wait Staff, Banquet Set-up, Locker Room Attendant
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  Deerfoot Lodge

  Jun 2007 - Aug 2007

  Culinary Intern

  Culinary Internship with Culinary Arts Instructor / C.I.A. GraduateProduced 3 meals a day for 200+ Campers and Staff for a Christian Boys Wilderness Camp in the Adirondacks of upstate New York.

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  CSM Corporation

  Jul 2007 - Jan 2008

  Engineer, Houskeeping - Courtyard by Marriott

  Helped with renovation of property as well as PMs for rooms. I also, helped out in Laundry on days that they needed extra help.

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  CSM Corporation

  Jun 2008 - Jan 2016

  I supervised five banquet attendants and ensure that meeting space was prepared to the client's requests and was the onsite "Red Coat" that assisted the client with anything that could make his or her meeting go as smoothly as possible during their event. As a supervisor, I also oversaw all Audio-Visual technical needs for groups in-house and liaised with outside AV companies when groups needed additional items. I also would run breaks for meetings on slower days as well as run lunches off-site at the Spring Hill Suites in St. Louis Park. Some of my other responsibilities include completing linen requisition forms, billing, banquet attendant scheduling, monthly purchases, inventory control and making the daily task sheets for the Banquet Attendants. Lastly, I was integral to the acquisition of yearly banquet capital projects process. Show less As the Front Desk Supervisor, I was responsible for running the lobby, including welcoming visitors, taking their information and choosing the best room to fit their needs. Address problems guests have with their rooms, collect payments and settle the register at the end of the workday. Other duties included providing extra services ordered by guests, communicating with and instructing other employees and ensuring the lobby remains clean, forecasting room inventory for two weeks out to assist with staffing levels. I supervised seven Front Desk Associates and assist them in providing excellent service to our guests as well utilizing inventory management for our Marketplace to make sure it was properly stocked. During the 3rd shift, my responsibility is manager-on-duty, which added the responsibility of balancing and completing the daily financial reports and following backup procedures. I am also responsible for implementing proper selling techniques to maximize room revenue while monitoring availability, and adhering to booking policies and procedures as well as addressing any technical issues that arose during my shift regarding our PBX, PMS, and POS systems. Lastly, I help out in other departments as well for the overall success of the property including Engineering, Concierge Lounge, Housekeeping, and the Shuttle service. Show less The foremost responsibility of my different positions (I was considered the Jack of all trades) is to provide assistance to guests in a friendly and professional manner while providing the highest level of quality service throughout the guest’s experience at our hotel. From making reservations, arranging transportation to and from the airport/mall, assisting check-in/outs, responding to guest’s requests, and reacting to complaints in a quick and professional manner. Also, I am responsible for implementing proper selling techniques to maximize room revenue while monitoring availability, and adhering to booking policies and procedures. In addition, I will help out in other departments for the overall success of the property in areas such as driving the shuttle, the restaurant, housekeeping, and engineering. During the 3rd shift, my responsibility is manager-on-duty, while balancing and completing the daily financial reports as well as comply with system backup procedures. Other responsibilities included securing of both the Residence Inn and the Courtyard facilities, patrolling of the premises, transporting guests to and from the airport, fulfilling guest requests, delivering express check-outs and newspapers, and providing morning coffee for guests, being an on-call engineer fixing any technically issues that arose with our PBX, PMS, POS, and guest room equipment. Show less

  • Banquet Supervisor - Marriott Minneapolis West

    Nov 2011 - Jan 2016

  • Front Desk Supervisor - Minneapolis Marriott West

    Feb 2011 - Nov 2011

  • Guest Service Associate, Night Auditor - Courtyard by Marriott

    Jun 2008 - Feb 2011
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  Hilton

  Nov 2015 - Nov 2020

  In this role I managed a team of 14+ full time, 10+ on call staff, and occasional temps. I was in charge of overseeing the monthly purchasing & receiving of equipment and products for four different departments within Food & Beverage. This included finding the best quality products for the best price and obtaining discounts on bulk orders. In addition to being the lead / project manager on many big-ticket capital item projects, which made me the main contact for many frontline sales reps some of which I met with weekly. On several occasions we also discussed the supply chain & logistics on timing of big orders for instance when we revamped our buffet serving ware. My team supplied the banquet staff with equipment and food to pull off 1,700+ person conferences and galas all while maintaining excellent productivity ratings. During my tenure I redesigned how we track and take our Quarterly Inventories of Glass, China, Silverware, and Equipment so we know what we need to bring up to par. As well as upgrade to a new food labeling system on tablets from Daymark Systems. Show less I help oversee 89K+ sq. ft. of Banquet Space in all aspects of the banquet operation. We do rotations every so often between our main focuses in the department from Facilities, Beverage, and Food. While I ran the facility side, I had been able to achieve an outstanding labor productivity ratio. I also conducted a quarterly inventory of all linen, tables, and facility equipment so we would know what we needed to purchase to keep our inventory at par and what needed to be fixed for tables and or added to capital items for the following year. During my beverage tenure, I was able to maintain an excellent beverage cost percentage as well as change our product line to align with Hilton Beverage standards which we had not been in line with before I took over. I was the project manager on numerous capital projects and had great comments from employees and clients on the new items, including 16 state-of-the-art mobile bars and bar backs that have upgraded the appearance and customization options that we rarely have groups source bars from production companies. Tech wise I troubleshooted Point of Sale (POS) issues as well as network connections (HSIA), trained mangers on ways to properly connect POS systems to the network, troubleshoot tech in general, and utilized advance Microsoft office solutions. During my time on the food side, I have received great comments from fellow managers and clients on my attention to detail and ability to pull off great events and collaboration with clients. Show less

  • Executive Steward

    Dec 2018 - Nov 2020

  • Assistant Banquet Manager

    Nov 2015 - Nov 2018
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  Freelance

  Dec 2020 - now

  Information Technology Consultant

  Fix / upgrade computers for Small Businesses as well as provide guidance on purchasing new equipment.Skills:Windows operation systems Microsoft OfficeNetworkingCustomer ServiceLinuxProject ManagementTrouble Shooting ComputersAsset Management

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  InterContinental Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport

  Jun 2022 - May 2024

  • Banquet Manager

    Jan 2024 - May 2024

  • Executive Steward

    Jun 2022 - Mar 2024
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  Ecolab

  Jul 2024 - now

  Territory Service and Sales Representative