Oct. 4, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by The Ramkota Companies Inc.

Val Carman is rarely far from the front desk.

To varying degrees, it has been that way for decades.

Starting at age 21, a new mother, she took what was meant to be a part-time job as a front desk clerk at the Ramkota Hotel in Sioux Falls.

“I lasted part time for just a few weeks, and the rest is history,” she said.

Now the general manager of the ClubHouse Hotel & Suites – she has been since it opened in 2004 – her desk sits feet from the front desk, still.

“So I’m available whenever needed,” she said. “I’m backup if the phones get busy. I’ll always answer reservations or answer questions so the team can concentrate on helping the customer.”

Carman and her team’s intense focus on customers keeps people coming back. The ClubHouse on any given night is filled with regular guests. Carman knows them down to their preferred rooms.

“She’s one of the main reasons we have such a strong following at the Sioux Falls ClubHouse and so much returning-guest loyalty,” said Josh Schmaltz, president and CEO of The Ramkota Companies. “She gets invited to graduations and weddings of guests that have stayed with us. It’s pretty special.”

So is the honor Carman recently took home from Experience Sioux Falls, which awarded her its First Impressions Award in the hospitality industry. She was nominated by co-workers Jan Gruenwaldt, chief operations officer for Regency Hotel Management, and Nathan Kasselder, director of sales and marketing for the ClubHouse in Sioux Falls.

“Nearly two decades into it, she maintains the same expectations for service and excellence for her team to offer ClubHouse’s customers,” they said. “She’s a true professional, dedicated industry leader and genuine ambassador of hospitality, creating a home away from home for the busy and weary traveler.”

In fact, that captures Carman’s motto for her team.

“Our motto is ‘Welcome to your house. Your home away from home is here.’ And we try and deliver that,” Carman said. “We want it to be very comfortable for everyone. I’m fortunate every day I read reviews that say how friendly our staff is. It’s very important. The rest we can teach, but we can’t teach that.”

Carman’s team overflows with longevity. She easily can point to everyone from the kitchen staff to maintenance team to find someone with more than a decade of experience at the hotel.

“That loyalty is rare,” Schmaltz said. “That long-term employment is something you don’t see in an industry where some people float around for another dollar an hour or less. That’s what makes our company so special.”

It’s also what has kept Carman at Ramkota for her decades-long career.

“It’s an absolutely great company,” she said. “You have good and bad days in this industry, but have I ever wanted to jump ship and go to a different hotel? No. And you become family. This is our big house. We all have homes we go home to, but this is our big house, and it takes all of us to make it happen.”

That’s shared throughout Ramkota’s culture, which spans South Dakota and far beyond and includes an ESOP, allowing qualifying employees to share in ownership.

“What makes our company great is people like Val and people I can point to at every single one of our properties,” Schmaltz said.

For instance, last year brought another key honor to Ramkota when it was honored by the South Dakota Parks & Recreation Association for its work at Custer State Park.

“That’s a whole other team delivering the same incredible service in western South Dakota that we see in eastern South Dakota,” Schmaltz said. “The longevity and dedication we see is just so rare in hospitality, and we know our guests benefit from it as much as we do as a company.”

One of the most rewarding parts of Carman’s career has been watching her colleagues grow their own careers, she said.

“That explains in itself a lot about our company,” she said. “It’s a company with a lot of long-term careers and a lot of opportunity.”

As for the ClubHouse team, they’re now excited to debut recent renovations and get ready for more.

The existing guest rooms have been redone, “and they’ve all come together very well,” she said. “They’re very nice – modern but still very comfortable – and guests have been enjoying them.”

Renovations in the public areas are complete as well, with new carpet and wall vinyl, meeting rooms and “a beautiful new great room, breakfast area and kitchen,” Carman said.

“We’re busy and happy to have the renovation wrapped up. It’s a very exciting time to be here.”

And they’re not done yet.

“Now that the renovation is complete, we are focusing on the next big thing for the ClubHouse Hotel & Suites,” Schmaltz said. “We expect to start construction of the addition yet this year, with a late 2024 completion date.”