While Serving as a Staff Member in a Hotel, Notice How You Are Always Being Watched!
Before I joined LodgeTender, I taught communication and team/leadership courses
at several universities in Colorado, and for the past thirty years I have consulted with government and private corporations worldwide.With my communication background in mind, I would like to share with you some of my more interesting communication observations and lessons from my travels across the rambling roads of Colorado and Wyoming.
Whether you are working the front desk, performing housekeeping responsibilities,serving meals or bar tending, you are always being watched. Now granted some people pay closer attention than others, but most people quickly survey their environment for safety, cleanliness, and friendliness. Whenever I enter a hotel lobby or restaurant, I first notice how many people are present, and what energy I feel the instant I walk through the doorway. Whether you know it or not you play a vital role in creating a positive or negative impression and experience for your guests.
With most hotel properties I have visited, I typically find young well-dressed employees, many from other countries, standing behind a front desk reception kiosk. In one hotel, there were five nicely uniformed personnel standing behind a long counter top, talking and laughing with one another. I wondered if they were working or playing? I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were having some fun while working on becoming abetter “team.” I feel great empathy for anyone who must stand the entire time they work. I can only imagine how difficult it is to stay engaged, act cheerful, interested and ready for action when you have been on your feet for several hours.When guests walk through your doorway, they will instantly notice who is on deck and the“vibes” you are giving off. Whether you work in a hotel or restaurant, the way you smile, speak,offer eye contact, and the way you display confidence or lack thereof speaks volumes about you and the establishment you represent.
Something to practice: When you interact with others, pay attention to how you “think” you are showing up. Try to imagine what others might be noticing about you when they are in your presence?
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