The classiest concierge in town

By Jill Tham

For 17 years Frank Thomas Croisdale has worked for the Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsview Hotel & Suites, but he is also well known for a successful career as the Contributing Editor for the Niagara Falls Reporter. “I was considered the nice guy at the paper. I would write funny columns and humanistic feel good stories,” says Croisdale. “It was a bulldog journalistic mentality and that newspaper and I sort of helped balance things out a bit.” With over 700 columns to his name including some bold pieces and some matter of fact articles, but mainly focusing on tourism, it was a perfect marriage to his work in the hotel and tourism industry.

“I thought I would be repeating myself if I continued in journalism and I decided to end that part of my life. It was an amazing experience,” he explains. While Croisdale was Vice President of Sales for Greyline, he met the owners of the Hilton. “They asked me to take over their tour sales and concierge department,” explains Croisdale. “Once I came here I never looked back.”

When it comes to being a tourist in Niagara, Croisdale has learned a few tricks of the trade. “If you are going to see the Falls, my advice is to experience it in as many ways as you can,” he says. “If you ride the Hornblower and don’t do the Journey Behind the Falls, you don’t get the full experience.”

Croisdale encourages visitors to embrace all that the area has to offer. “People still have a notion that Niagara Falls is some isolated area. They think it’s like the scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation where the Griswold family pulls up to the Grand Canyon in their station wagon and Chevy Chase bobs his head two times and they get in the car and leave,” says Croisdale. “It is a 12,000 year living spectacle and we try to promote the history of all of the Niagara Region, not just the Falls. I hope people can soak in as much of it as they can,” he says.

Croisdale recalls the days when the Minolta Tower and Waltzing Waters were the main attractions on Fallsview Boulevard.

“I love it when you get guests that were here 20 years ago and come back, and you see it through their eyes. Where they’ll say, ‘My goodness when we were here not too long ago none of this was happening on this street,’” says Croisdale, who believes that the next step for the area is to have more theme properties and shows similar to Las Vegas.

“Tourism is the lifeblood of the city,” he says. ‘You need to stay on the forefront of that. Fifty years ago there were cabins and motels, now hotels,” he says. “If we redid this interview 15 years from now we will be saying, ‘Remember when there was none of that on Fallsview, just big hotels,” says Croisdale.

Croisdale encourages locals to stop and appreciate the city as well. “Local residents should take a few days every year and be a local tourist. The sleep cheap is a great way to engage people, have a staycation, and see the area,” encourages Croisdale. “You don’t have to travel to find the incredible beauty and history we have here.”

Constantly captivated by the beauty of the Falls, Croisdale is a firm believer in the preservation of the area. “I think it is important that people are cognizant that you have to protect the Falls by not building right on the river,” says Croisdale. “That is why I love the Hilton Fallsview, it is backed up from that.”

“I was born in Niagara Falls, New York,” says Croisdale. “I have always known the Falls: it’s in my blood. Croisdale is the author of the best-selling book, “Buffalo Soul Lifters,” a collection of inspiring and heartwarming stories about the people of Southern Ontario and Western New York. “It was such a life-altering experience to write it. So many people entrusted me with their amazing stories and I was honoured to bring them to life. After 15 years it is still selling really well,” he says.

“We are very excited, this hotel (the Fallsview Hilton) will have a radical makeover,” says Croisdale. “The Hilton is building a 5,000 seat theatre with direct connections to the Fallsview Casino, which will replace the current Fallsview Theatre,” says Croisdale. “There are going to be huge acts coming to Niagara Falls. You don’t have to go to Toronto. You will be able to be in a more intimate setting and see it up close,” he says.

"I enjoy being at the centre of tourism, and being with the Hilton, the largest hotel between New York City and Toronto. It is an amazing thing to represent,” says Croisdale. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Croisdale is also the founder of Niagara Rises, an American not-for-profit group committed to enriching the community. His love of Niagara Falls and his ongoing commitment to the tourism industry is evident in the approach with his position with the Hilton Hotels. “In my job I teach. I educate people about Niagara Falls every day. I have students from around the world who sit in my ‘classroom’ and I really love that,” says Croisdale.

“If I had to isolate one thing that I love the most about my job it is that each and every day we meet the world,” says Croisdale. “Niagara Falls draws people from all over the world and the one thing they have in common when they get here is that they are inspired by the awe of the Falls,” says Croisdale, who enjoys the opportunity to help visitors make the most out of their trip. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” TM

For more information visit wnybooks.com/soul.html and niagarafallshilton.com

If you are going to see the Falls, my advice is to experience it in as many ways as you can.