Like many hoteliers, Anne-Marie Johns was “introduced to the hotel industry through summer employment.” Johns worked at the Chateau Lake Louise, while studying at the University of Western Ontario.
Her first job was as a server at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. “What I enjoyed most were the friendships created [and] meeting like-minded individuals open to adventure and travel.”
Johns supplemented her work experience by attending hotel school through Fairmont’s educational- assistance program. She also earned two certificates with Cornell University in Hospitality Management and Marketing, and participated in the Accor International Hotel Management Program in partnership with the ESSEC School of Business in the UK.
Now 32 years later — after stints at Montreal’s the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, the Fairmont Monte Carlo and the Jasper Park Lodge — Johns is happily ensconced at the Fairmont Mont Tremblant. “What makes the Fairmont Tremblant unique is the people culture and the colleagues’ genuine abilities to engage with our guests,” says Johns. But the hotel’s positioning as Tremblant’s only ski-in and ski-out hotel, and its re-positioning of its F&B offerings have solidified its position as one of North America’s leading ski resorts.
After a year in which COVID-19 has pummelled hotels, Johns has had the unenviable task of laying off employees and developing “a lean management structure with versatile leaders who could take on additional responsibilities in a variety of different operational roles.” But she also believes the pandemic has provided her leadership team “with the opportunity to be innovative in reviewing structures and processes while providing engaging guest experiences in a safe and secure environment. We’re currently building back to be better than ever.”
As part of enhanced protocols, Accor has launched the ALLSAFE program, highlighting strict safety and security protocols. “It’s critical that we don’t just talk about safety but that we deliver with action.”
And, as an added bonus, recently the AAA Four Diamond designated Fairmont Tremblant with its 2021 AAA Inspector’s Best Of Housekeeping Award, granted to hotels throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean that earn the highest possible cleanliness and condition scores.
