Other Hospitality Workers
This unit group covers Hospitality Workers not elsewhere classified. It includes Bar Usefuls, Doorpersons and Porters.
An afternoon at the Grand Marlowe
You are the doorperson and porter at a city hotel, welcoming guests, carrying bags and answering questions at the front entrance. It is 3pm and two tour coaches have just pulled up. The lift to the upper floors is running slowly and the front desk is queued out to the door.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Young man, I have a bad hip and I cannot walk from here to the desk. Do you have a chair? And my case is heavy. Could you take it up straight away?
Bring a chair, help her to the desk and tell them she needs help
She is checked in sitting down and her bag follows. She says thank you and leaves a note in the guest book. Looking after the person comes before moving the bag.
Take her bag up first, as she asked, and leave her at the door to wait
She gets her bag but is left standing. Her hip is no better, and a guest in discomfort is the thing you are there to avoid. Both parts of the request mattered.
Tell her the desk can arrange a wheelchair, and go back to the coach
She waits ten minutes for the desk, which is still busy. You were not unkind, but you left a guest who needed help to find it herself.
The service lift is out and you have the wedding luggage, about thirty bags, that need to go up to the third floor. We could stack them on the trolley, but it looks pretty full. What do you think?
Pile the trolley high to save trips and push it very carefully
A bag slides off at the corner and a guest nearly trips. You saved two trips and put people at risk. The easy fix is not always the safe one.
Wait for the lift to be repaired before you start on the bags
Nothing falls, but guests are waiting in their rooms for their bags and the lobby fills up. Waiting is safe, but a plan using the stairs would have helped them sooner.
Split the load across two trolleys and keep the walkways clear
It takes a bit longer but everything arrives intact. Guests notice staff who move calmly. Safe carrying is as much a skill as speed.
Our group has had a lovely night. Can we leave our drinks in the lobby? We are a bit loud, sorry. We will keep it down!
Tell them the lobby is not for drinking and ask them to leave the hotel
They go, though a bit offended, and some are staying at the hotel. You are firm, but a gentler first move would have kept the mood intact.
Let them stay in the lobby so they do not make a fuss at the door
Within ten minutes other guests complain about noise and the front desk has to step in. It would have been easier to deal with the group early and kindly.
Thank them, offer a quieter spot and let the front desk know
They move to the bar lounge and the lobby stays peaceful. Guests tend to respond when you are friendly and clear. You told the desk in case it continued.
How it went
At midnight the doors are quiet and the last coach has gone. You carried, welcomed and kept a few small problems from becoming big ones. Front-door work is about presence, patience and knowing the building well. Do you like being the first person someone meets?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The bag that went to the wrong room
A fictional case set in a grand old hotel in the city with a busy bar and entrance.
The situation
Tevita was working the front door at the Grand Marlowe on a busy afternoon when two coaches arrived within minutes of each other. Two identical black suitcases ended up on the same trolley. By the time he noticed, one guest had already gone upstairs, and a woman was asking about her bag. Tevita could have asked guests to sort it out themselves, but one of them was already in a hurry to catch a train.
What they did
He took a breath and checked the luggage tags on both cases. He found that one had been put on the wrong trolley. He rang the front desk to get the room numbers and sent a runner to swap the cases before the train guest left. He apologised to both guests and then wrote in the logbook how the bags had been mixed.
How it turned out
The woman caught her train with minutes to spare and thanked Tevita warmly. The hotel started tying coloured tags on bags from different coaches. Tevita said the part he enjoyed was knowing a small checking habit had saved someone's day.
What would you do?
- How would you stay calm with a guest who was in a hurry?
- What small habits help you keep track of things when it is busy?
- Why do you think Tevita wrote it in the logbook?