WESTPORT, MA. (December 3, 2012) – The South Eastern Economic Development Corporation has selected Lafrance Hospitality’s Fairfield Inn & Suites, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, as the “Small Business of the Year” for 2012 from a pool of 350 candidates. The hotel is located in the New Bedford Harbor, just a five minute walk from the National Historic Park.
“We are very pleased to present our Small Business of the Year award to Fairfield Inn & Suites for the impact which this $11 million hotel has had on the New Bedford waterfront and the city’s economy with its 106 rooms and 33 employees,” stated Maria Gooch-Smith, SEED’s executive director. “Richard Lafrance showed tremendous foresight and faith in New Bedford’s economic renaissance by developing the first city hotel in 40 years during a recession. In addition to the impact on tax revenue and employment, the hotel provides much needed quality hospitality in the area,” Gooch-Smith went on to say.
The award was presented to Richard Lafrance, CEO of Lafrance Hospitality Company, at SEED’s 30th Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 29th, at White’s of Westport in Westport, Ma.
The Hotel is part of the Marriott Hotel and Resorts chain. The five-story building has 82 rooms and 24 suites, a fitness room, an indoor pool and a total of four meeting rooms with 3,000 square feet of event space. The Waypoint Event Center, a full service event and conference center, adjoins the hotel.
Lafrance Hospitality Company owns Christian’s Catering and five restaurant/banquet facilities: White’s of Westport, Ten Cousins Brick Oven, Rachel’s Lakeside, Bittersweet Farm Restaurant and Tavern and the Waypoint Event Center at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. It also owns the Hampton Inn & Suites of Plymouth, Ma., the Comfort Inn & Suites of Dover, New Hampshire, and the Comfort Inn & Suites of Farmington/Wilton, Maine. The company owns or operates two Hampton Inns, in Westport, Ma., and Dover, New Hampshire, as well as a Homewood Suites by Hilton, in Dover, New Hampshire. Most recently, the company built and opened a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, in New Bedford, Ma and has acquired a Holiday Inn Express in Milford, Ma.