Nashville is one of the most iconic cities in the country to visit.
According to the Nashville Convention and Visitor Corporation’s research, 93 percent of all 15 million people who visit every year say they’re likely to come back.
Before the music and food scene can hook a tourist, their first impression is usually a hotel lobby, so the front staff can really make or break a trip.
“We are bellmen, we take the luggage up and down from the room so we’re the first and last people they talk to,” said Sheraton Music City concierge Nolan Pittman.
After 22 years in Nashville, Pittman was recently awarded by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation with a Hitmaker Award for outstanding “above and beyond” customer service.
He even won a trip to London next spring as a part of the honor.
Pittman was nominated by a couple from New Jersey he helped at the hotel. He surprised them by mailing them a poster from a concert they attended.
“That’s just how I was raised, and I treat people like I would like to be treated, and being a music lover I thought you know what I think there people would really appreciate that,” said Pittman.
Pittman’s manager Kate Higgins isn’t surprised.
“He has such a passion for hospitality. It’s so refreshing to have someone like Nolan on our team. He really takes pride in his work and you can see it every single day,” said Higgins who’s Sheraton Music City Director of Operations.
Pittman’s career in hospitality has taken him across the country, including a period of work with the Trump Organization where he helped flip properties for nonprofit use.
He says his work isn’t about the awards, but rather helping others, and he’s very happy to finish his career in Nashville.
“It’s the most positive place I’ve lived and it’s a beautiful place. Tennessee is great, and I love living in the south,” said Pittman.
More than 650 people have been nominated for a Hitmaker Award, and each month one of the nominees is selected for the honor.
Nomination forms are spread throughout hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions around town.
You can nominate a Nashville hospitality worker here.
