Those who have chosen a career in hospitality know that it is one that involves a lot of sacrifices, yet it is also a very rewarding one in a number of respects, especially at a personal level. I happened to land in this wonderful industry by chance almost 12 years ago and I could not be more grateful for having that opportunity. I definitely do not make lots of money (this industry is actually underpaid if compared to others) but I think my career has been filled with such incredible experiences, and that is just priceless.
Last week, while spending time with some travel agents specialized in destination weddings during a trip to Dominican Republic, some memories came to me of the time I worked as a wedding coordinator at Iberostar Tucán & Iberostar Quetzal in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I really enjoyed those 3 ½ years and I feel they taught me a lot about the business from the inside out, especially because it required my involvement with all the departments of the hotel in order to guarantee the perfect wedding day for the marrying couples.
I have tons of wedding stories but the one experience that made me connect with people at a deeper level during that time actually had nothing to do with weddings or bridal couples. Instead it was about natural disasters. In 2005 we happened to face two major hurricanes in the area, apart only a few months from each other: Emily visited us in July and Wilma came by in October. In both cases, I was part of the team that stayed with the guests in one of the shelters we set up within the premises of the hotel.
We would realize afterwards that Emily was a sort of training for us since Wilma turned out to be one of the longest hurricanes in history to go across the area (it basically stationed over Puerto Morelos for days). To give you an idea what we had to endure, we all went into the shelter Thursday evening and even though some guests were able to go back to their rooms Saturday evening, Sunday morning was when finally the storm was over.
During the time this ordeal lasted, a team of about eight employees from the different departments of the hotel (guest services, entertainment, housekeeping, maintenance, etc.), including me, and about 150 guests stayed in the hotel’s night club with no electricity (hence, no air conditioning either) and we slept on mats on the floor.
As you can imagine, those 48+ hours seemed an eternity. To kill time we did all sorts of things with the guests, we played some games, we sang together, we talked, etc. The interaction was definitely very personal and we exchanged stories on where we were from, what our jobs were, what we liked, etc.
This, however, was also a very draining experience for all of us staff members because we were responsible for the safety of our guests. I can’t leave out the fact that even in the middle of the storm our F&B personnel still worked and made sure we were fed several times a day and for sure guests were really thankful for their bravery, even putting their own safety at risk.
I remember feeling very proud of our personnel afterwards but I also remember feeling very exhausted both emotionally and physically. Sunday morning, after making sure all guests could safely go back to their rooms, we were released from our duties but I didn’t want to go back home and be on my own. Luckily, one of my co-workers invited me to go to his place nearby where I could take a shower and put on clean clothes. After a warm meal prepared by his wife, I took a much needed nap (I had barely slept in the last three days).
When I woke up a couple of hours later, I decided to return to the hotel and as I was walking that direction, all of the sudden I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and I saw these Dutch guests that had been in the shelter with me. They were very cheerful and glad to see me and that it was all over. Then one of them asked me, “so when there are no hurricanes, what do you do at the hotel?” And I responded, “I coordinate weddings. I’m the hotel’s wedding coordinator. Remember I told you that?” They all started cracking up and one of them said, “we totally misunderstood, we thought you were the WEATHER coordinator!”
I thought this was really funny then but now that I look back, I think that those of us working in the hotel industry (especially in the Caribbean) could certainly be seen as weather coordinators: for the most part we face sunny days but in some cases we may also need to cope with some rain and storms, both literally and figuratively.
Hospitality people’s job is to make the proper coordination/arrangements so clients always have the best experience and with a smile, regardless the circumstances…just something to think about next time you go on a vacation! ;)