Local hotelier awarded General Manager of the Year

Debra Lang, longtime Carson Valley resident and general manager of Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Minden, was named General Manager of the Year at the 2017 Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association’s Stars of the Industry Hospitality Awards Gala.

According to the NHLA, the award honors a hotelier who has demonstrated superior professionalism while operating an NHLA property and has taken a leadership role in the industry by actively participating in association, community and industry programs.

Lang started her career in hospitality at the front desk of the Sahara Hotel and Casino at Lake Tahoe. What she originally thought would be a summer job turned into a career. In 1984, Lang was offered a position at the newly built Carson Valley Inn Hotel and Casino, where she started at the front desk and worked her way up to executive director of hotel operations.

Lang left CVI in 2010 and accepted a position of director of sales and marketing at Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Minden and Carson City. A year later, Lang took over the position of general manager at the Minden hotel.

“It is a great honor to be recognized in that capacity,” Lang said. “To have been in the hospitality industry as long as I have, this recognition is humbling.”

In addition to her work at hotels, Lang has also served as board director on the NHLA Board of Directors since 2007. The NHLA has been a part of the Nevada hospitality industry since 1979. The group provides representation and advocacy in industry affairs at local, state and national levels. They also provide educational resources and programs to members.

“To be successful in the industry, you must put yourself in your customers’ shoes and treat them the way you would want to be treated,” Lang said.

Lang has lived in the Carson Valley for 35 years and resides there with her husband and three children.