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APPLETON – In his role as director of catering and convention services at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley, Tyson Siebers said he is often immersed in the details.
Details, he said, definitely matter when he’s taking care of National Football League (NFL) teams that patronize the hotel when they play the Green Bay Packers.
One might even liken it to assuming the role of quarterback – with travel, accommodation, food and other intricacies of each experience for coaches, players and support staff driving Siebers’ schedule at the Paper Valley during football season.
On occasion, he said that even includes calling his own audibles – all in the name of delivering top-notch customer service.
Siebers said the NFL teams that regularly visit the Paper Valley as part of their NFL game schedule know him.
A 22-year veteran of the Paper Valley, he said he initially worked as a banquet manager and progressed to director of catering and convention services about eight years ago.
Initially, Siebers said his role in catering focused on the planning aspects of NFL teams’ accommodations but broadened to include the contractual side.
As a result, he said he is now involved from beginning to end – securing contracts with NFL teams’ travel directors for the football season and then executing all the intricacies of those contracts for the hotel that is operated by Driftwood Hospitality Management.
The height of the work, Siebers said, usually kicks off at the end of March – during the NFL Travel Directors’ annual conference – where others like him meet with travel directors to share information about how the Paper Valley can serve their teams.
By mid-May, when the NFL schedules come out, he said a lot of teams have submitted their hotel specifications, menus, etc., to make the bidding process a bit smoother.
“We’ll bid on every team on the Packers schedule, even the preseason, and hope that our offerings are more attractive than other properties,” he said. “There were two teams that didn’t stay here last year, but the trend has been that we capture all but one, maybe two, in a year.”
Each NFL team’s stay, Siebers said, involves taking care of the 160-250 NFL players, coaches and support staff who descend on the hotel during a typical pre-game day stay.
Siebers said his attention to detail, customer service skills and commitment to delivering elevated experiences are well known to NFL team members who return year after year.
They’re equally acknowledged by the NFL travel directors, who recently recognized him as NFL Travel Directors Convention Services Manager of the Year.
As part of that honor, he said he traveled to the NFL Travel Directors Meeting held earlier this spring in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – an event attended by executives and front office personnel from all 32 NFL teams.
A job well done
The recognition doesn’t surprise Linda M. Garvey, director of business development and community affairs – Siebers’ leader.
“Tyson is a very down-to-earth person who is very real and communicates well,” she said. “He sets up both the hotel and his clients for success. I have been doing this work for 37 years, and I would put Tyson up against anybody who I worked with in that role.”
Garvey said she credits Siebers’ compassionate nature, attention to detail and focus on relationships as his winning combination.
“Tyson has a coaching and teaching heart,” she said. “When it comes to arrival time for any of the NFL teams, all of us – from the top down – get behind Tyson because he is the point (person). Anything he needs, we fall in step behind him.”
Accommodations
Every aspect of an NFL team’s trip to the Fox Valley, Siebers said, is designed to maximize performance, eliminate stresses and deliver on as close of an “at-home experience” as possible.
The travel directors, he said, seek to re-create – as closely as possible – the same experience players, coaches and other personnel have at their home hotel and facility.
Siebers said that may include accommodating specific recipes or specific ingredients for recipes (such as grass-fed beef, for example).
“The people I work with from the football teams are pretty organized and expect things to run a certain way,” he said.
Siebers said that includes the ever-present “hot button” issues, such as having a streamlined and smooth arrival at the hotel.
“Arrival is key for these teams, and if that goes smoothly and all their rooms are ready when they get here, we’re already setting ourselves up for success,” he said.
Siebers said he and the team plan their offense with a preconference meeting on the Friday before the Sunday game day, meeting with the “advance people” who the team typically sends ahead to begin going over details.
He said it’s a full-team attack – whether it’s the front desk assembling 200 key packets; the kitchen and catering team staying until 11 p.m. or midnight for late-night meals only to return at 5 a.m. to make breakfast; or the engineering staff ensuring the rooms are in full-operational order.
“It takes a village,” he said. “The experience is a reflection on everybody on the team.”
In larger markets, Siebers said NFL teams often stay in luxury brand hotels, such as the Four Seasons.
The Paper Valley, he said, focuses on elevating itself by exceeding customer service expectations and delivering a premier experience.
“The NFL teams like the services we provide and like seeing the familiar faces,” he said. “We are fortunate to have some tenured employees here.”
Siebers said teams are positioned in a designated wing or section of the hotel, with dedicated staff assigned to that area.
He said they contribute extra touches and attention during each team’s visit, such as turning the lights on in the rooms before they arrive.
And, Siebers said, they always honor and respect their VIP guests’ privacy.
“We try to offer them as much privacy as we can,” he said. “It’s a business trip for them, and while it may be fun for others in the hotel to see a player, they are here to attend meetings, eat and rest. We have done a good job of (maintaining their privacy) at arrival and departure.”
The number of hotel rooms engaged, Siebers said, is contingent on the size of the team and its personnel.
A smaller team, he said, may need 160 or 180 of the 388 guest rooms, whereas a team, like the San Francisco 49ers, requires closer to 250 guest rooms.
The number of meals provided, Siebers said, is lower, with the Paper Valley serving only a contingent of that larger group.
Marketing and other personnel, he said, often eat elsewhere, including at Vince Lombardi’s Steakhouse, and some team members eat out or order in, leaving 90-130 players and coaches eating the hotel’s food on-site.
Siebers said he designates a ballroom for their use during their stay – setting up a variety of TVs, in addition to the tables, chairs and food service.
“It’s often their place to hang out,” he said.
On occasion, Siebers said the NFL travel directors request a regional dish on the menu, and though it’s easy to default to cheese/cheese curds and brats, the chefs have also offered some fish options.
More occasions than not, he said, NFL travel directors opt for the cheese curds.
The number of meals provided during a stay, Siebers said, is contingent on when the team arrives and when the game is scheduled.
If it’s a Sunday game, he said the team arrives the day before and assembles for an arrival dinner together or eats out downtown.
Most, he said, have a snack before bed and then eat breakfast if it’s a noon game.
If it’s a late afternoon or evening game, Siebers said the Paper Valley provides two to three meals that day.
“The team may leave the hotel at 9 a.m., but they’re still in the state and working, and I often get texts (for a variety of reasons),” he said. “One coach left his laptop in the room, so I delivered it to him. I also brought a player to Green Bay when he missed the bus – they arranged a police escort for me. But a lot of the stuff can wait and be shipped on Monday.”
Though he watches football, Siebers said he doesn’t have the luxury of putting his feet up on the couch to watch the games.
But he said he enjoys watching the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, because he sees the teams every year and has built professional relationships with them.
Siebers said he is able to offer his job the focus and attention to detail he does because he is provided flexibility and time to recharge after an intensive NFL football weekend.
“I really enjoy what I do, but we’re encouraged to take a day off after, and it’s nice to have some work/life balance,” he said.
The Paper Valley was also nominated by the NFL Travel Directors for Most Valuable Property of the Year – a distinction awarded to hotels that demonstrate outstanding hospitality, seamless event execution and top-tier guest service throughout the NFL season.
Though they did not receive that distinction, Siebers and Garvey said the team is still a winning one for the NFL and the Appleton community.
“We know (the Paper Valley) is a community anchor and what we do matters to everyone around us,” Garvey said.
