Who is Michelle Land?- All About the Michelle Land Award

Each year, Welcome to Memphis presents an award that is very near and dear to our hearts. The Michelle Land Award is presented annually to a nominee who provides exceptional service in exceptional circumstances. Named after the first Pick Award winner, the award has a very special story behind it!

Michelle Land was a breakfast hostess at the Holiday Inn at Germantown Parkway and Wolf River. A few years ago, a couple stayed at the hotel on a road trip with their three-year-old daughter, who carried a small stuffed lamb with her everywhere she went. After staying the night, the parents got up early to continue their drive, putting their daughter in the car without waking her. A few hours down the road, they discovered they had left the stuffed lamb behind in their hotel room. With an inconsolable little girl in the backseat, the parents called the hotel and asked for help finding the lamb. 

Michelle Land–herself a mother and grandmother–understood the predicament intimately. She not only found the lamb but took pictures of the lamb all over the hotel–in linen closets, at the serving bar, behind the front desk, in rooms while beds were being made. She texted these updates to the family all day, letting them know the lamb was helping serve guests coffee, checking guests in, and making the beds. The next day, the lamb was shipped via FedEx in a box with a few holes punched in the top so the lamb could breathe. With the lamb, Michelle included a “paycheck” of a couple dollars to compensate the lamb for her hard work. 

The Michelle Land Award, inspired by this story of Michelle’s exceptional service to a traveling family, acknowledges the incredible work team members do for those visiting Memphis hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

 
Managers, team members, and guests can nominate hospitality industry workers for awards including the Michelle Land Award by visiting this link.