ROCKINGHAM — A rust-red shipping container and a giant green catfish on the side of a U-Hail trailer became impromptu backdrops Thursday as managers of the rising Fairfield Inn & Suites quizzed scores of applicants.
The new hotel — scheduled to open in June — stirred significant interest among those looking to move up or on. Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., their cars crowded the hotel’s muddy parking lot as the unfinished building loomed in the background. Its 64 rooms require 25 housekeepers, as well as kitchen and front desk workers.
“I need a big change,” said Connie Poole of Hamlet, who sat in a phalanx of folding chairs, awaiting her call for an interview. Poole just left a part-time job and works a handful of temporary positions. She was looking to become the housekeeping manager.
“It was part time, and she cut my hours,” Poole said of her former position. “I couldn’t afford to go to work” anymore.
Shanta Little of Rockingham was looking for a housekeeping position.
“I am the perfect person for this job,” she said. “I am a hard worker. I take my job serious.”
As trucks zoomed by on U.S. 220, hotel general manager Debbie Stack and assistant manager Charles Worley conducted the interviews on folding tables decked with pots of mums. They will manage the hotel when it opens in June, after choosing their staff from those who interviewed Thursday.
The new Fairfield Inn & Suites promises a “stunning” contemporary look and feel as a moderately priced member of the Marriott corporate family.
The building formerly housed a Comfort Suites hotel.