It's all about Hospitality

Through no fault of my own, I now find myself in the hospitality industry…this is in fact an area that I have always been somewhat curious of – and that’s not just because of my love for luxurious hotel beds, silver spoon service and people being at my beck and call 24/7.

And so Madam Fate happened to stick her beautifully manicured fingers into my life and after a few tedious and mind numbing temping assignments I find myself in the sales and catering department of a luxury hotel in DuPont Circle, Washington DC.

Little did my unknowing future employees know; that this “temp” actually has what she likes to think of as a little bit of experience in the event planning/marketing/sales/ promotion arena and actually does know what she is talking about.

So 6 weeks of proving myself (no one here has ever asked to see my resume) and I turned from “temp” to Sales administrator, another few weeks of doing what I do best and Voila – I am now catering coordinator. I have my own desk, computer, phone and get this – business cards!

I have learnt a lot about this new professional home of mine.

1. Hospitality is surprisingly the art of be hospitable – making people feel welcome and happy. It requires that you have a smiling happy and shiny disposition, know how to talk to people, be friendly and polite. Surprisingly – not everyone seems to know this.

2. A hotel is a conglomeration of many different departments. It is essential that these departments work seamlessly together to achieve the common goal. Communication between these departments is key. Again – not always the case…

3. There is no such thing as a 9 – 5 hotel job…

4. Possibly the most interesting thing about this job is the people. Colleagues and clients, this place is overflowing with different personality types. Some great, some testing, but nevertheless there is always something going on. There are flamboyant flairs, girly sparkles, catty conflicts and lots of peacock tail fluffing but the thing that I think is the common bond is that we all have a little bit of crazy…

So although I do not yet know if this is a permanent home for me I am enjoying it and we all sure know that I do indeed posses that little bit of crazy.

Honey I'm Home!!

Hello Folks,

Yes I'm still alive and somewhat kicking.

I have made a conscious decision to get back to my adoring fans (or at least I like to think that…) and make somewhat of an effort to keep up with my thoughts and put pen to paper a little more often.

So just a brief catch-up:

• The tempting thing landed me a permanent thing – I am now
Catering Coordinator at a hotel in Washington DC’s DuPont Circle
(more to come on that later)

• I very briefly touched on this a very long while back but I was
assisting some Amazing Wedding People with planning weddings. Well
I am now one of those Amazing Wedding People (again more to come
later)

• The Ikea Experience became somewhat of a hobby and I can now say
that my house is officially decorated and Mr. Ikea is a very rich
man.

• The Administrative nightmare known as a Greencard has been brought
back into my life and is just as annoying the second time round.
(You know there will be more to come on this one!)

So that’s the brief version. I promise to elaborate on all this in time to come.

I have missed you all and hope you missed me more!

PT