You will soon be able to stay in a Queen Creek hotel. The town’s first hotel, the Hampton Inn by Hilton Queen Creek, opens on Monday, Dec. 14.
Despite its recent growth spurt, there has never been a hotel in Queen Creek. Construction on the 107-room Hampton Inn began with a groundbreaking on July 17, 2019, said Samantha Stallings, corporate director for the hotel.
She added the town’s fast growth was one reason for Hilton opting to open a hotel in Queen Creek. The closest hotel to Queen Creek is the Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix East Mesa.
“Our owner really recognized the demand in the location,” she said. “People want a place to put their family members. And there are weddings — I mean tons of weddings that go on, especially at Schnepf Farms — and people were having to go all the way out by the Gateway Airport for a hotel.”
The Hampton Inn is at 20768 E. Maya Road off Ellsworth Road and behind Sprouts Farmers Market.
In October, the hotel held a three-day job fair to staff the hotel. Stallings said about 120 people from Queen Creek, San Tan Valley and even Florence applied for 20 job openings. The positions cover the front desk, housekeeping, maintenance and sales.
“Just the quality of the candidates that came through was phenomenal. It was better than I’ve ever seen,” Ms. Stallings said and added that all the jobs were filled.
“Our philosophy is although the positions have been filled at this time we are always accepting applications because you never know what could happen,” she said and encouraged people to keep applying.
Ms. Stallings added that town officials and other businesses had been supportive of the hotel. That support is especially important as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the economy, said Doreen Cott, Queen Creek’s economic development director.
“Having QC’s first hotel continue to move forward during the pandemic has been very positive for the town and our economic development efforts,” Ms. Cott said. “The hotel will bring additional jobs and bed tax to the community and has been a highly anticipated amenity for the town.”
Ms. Stallings said the hotel would use a rigorous cleaning and testing protocol to keep employees and staff safe from COVID-19.
“In addition to our regular cleaning practices after a room has been vacated, it is completely sanitized from top to bottom including extra sanitization on what we call high touch-point areas, things like door handles, remote controls, thermostats,” she said. “And once the sanitization has taken place the room is actually sealed with a sticker that the guests can see right when they walk up to the door so they know that nobody has been in that room since it’s been sanitized by our staff.”
All staff members are required to wear masks at all times, with guests required to wear them when they’re in the hotel’s public spaces. Dining areas will be socially distanced.
“We have extra staff on hand that will be sanitizing the high touch- point areas all over the public space frequently throughout the day, such as elevator buttons and things of that nature,” Ms. Stallings added.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley @AzNewsmedia
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here