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ALL-SERVICES LODGING REPORT

AIR FORCE LODGING

SOARING

Military Club & Hospitality spoke
with Air Force Lodging Chief, Maj.
Adam L. Baker, about the results of
FY16 and the state of the agency

MCH: What have been the highlights of Air Force Inns
during fiscal 2017?

Baker: One of the highlights for Air Force Inns was the
reinstatement of the Innkeeper Award Program that was re- Baker
launched last September. Two bases were nominated as our
Innkeeper Award winners for small- and large-base categories. Baker: The FY17 room renovations are going well and
Winner information is not available for publication at this time. as planned. For FY17 this will affect over 5,000 rooms, 160
buildings, costing approximately $155 million.

MCH: Did you start any new programs or initiatives or
expand any that already exist? MCH: Can you provide an update on any new training
initiatives and programs, or any planned for the future?
Baker: AF Inns is currently upgrading from 32- to 43-inch
flat-panel TVs (through attrition) to better serve our customers Baker: The staff has been working on a couple training
and mirror industry trends. initiatives. The In-Residence Accounting course will convert
AF Inns is currently conducting a study for the transfor- to an online course in FY18. This course will provide compre-
mation of converting hard-copy guest books to digital. We hensive training for lodging personnel involved in the lodging
are using Los Angeles Air Force Base as the pilot base. Other accounting processes and functions. It will consist of a five-
bases have been contacted and queried as to the preference week web-based platform comprising 21 training modules,
of switching from hard-copy guest books to digital. Many which includes an overview of the Air Force Services Lodging
of the contacted bases are overwhelmingly in favor of using accounting procedures and protocols. This training initiative
digital guest books versus in-room guest books. The study is has the potential to save $37,000 annually in TDY expenses.
currently ongoing until October 2017. We introduced the Air Force Lodging Training Blackboard
for Lodging Quality Assurance Trainers. The training blackboard
provides a central location for Quality Assurance Trainers to
MCH: Are there any Air Force Inns planned to be opened communicate with each other and share best practices. It also
in the next year? allows lodging operations staff an avenue to provide training
ideas, classes, industry updates and a “train-the-trainer” platform.
Baker: Facilities across multiple locations are slated to
open within the next 12 months.
• Scott AFB 284-room Visiting Quarters – anticipated MCH: Is there anything being done in the area of new
opening December 2017 technology, connectivity, Wi-Fi or other amenities offered
• Goodfellow AFB 10-unit Temporary Lodging Facility at Inns? Please explain.
– anticipated opening late summer 2018
• Eglin AFB 32-unit Temporary Lodging Facility – an- Baker: We currently have wiring infrastructure upgrades
ticipated opening late summer 2018 underway at 14 different installations; approximate cost $35
• Beale AFB 34-unit Temporary Lodging Facility – an- million. This work significantly improves all technology ser-
ticipated opening fall 2018 vices offered and allows us an agile response to our guest’s
expectations.
Additionally, we are working on building next year’s pro-
MCH: In last year’s update, it was mentioned that for FY17/18, gram. Comprehensive site assessments are underway which
$274 million was programmed for room renovations (a will lead to the engineering plans to execute FY18 upgrades
total of 323 buildings and 9,933 rooms). How are those at 10 installations; roughly $28 million.
renovations going? —MCH

8 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | OCTOBER 2017