Hotels are more than 'scrubbin toilets n makin beds' Hotels Are Glamorous!

It is not a stretch to say that most hourly hotel workers have seldom been hotel customers. That was the case with me. Growing up in Flint, with a large family, we went camping. Mom and Dad both worked hard all week and many Fridays, during the summer, both parents would rush home at five o’clock and pack the car full of all five kids and the camping gear. Dad bought a Comet in 61’. Those of you over forty-five will remember the cat eyes look to the rear tail lights. That must have been quite a site; all seven of us packed in that two door sedan, heading North on US23, with the car top carrier piled high and lashed to the top of the roof!

Michigan was great for camping. There were lakes and rivers with wonderful campgrounds everywhere. I now know that there were also some great hotels. We never stayed in any hotels. We either camped or stayed with family. Grandma Bracebridge lived in Traverse City, seven blocks from the bay. Staying with her was like being at a resort with one of the best beaches in the country. On cold and rainy days we walked downtown to the Park Place Hotel. For fifty cents each, my brother and I could swim all afternoon in their indoor pool. I’m pretty sure that is the only money a hotelier ever got from me in advance of beginning my hotel career.

An hour or so North-East of Traverse City is where one of the world’s most unique and truly glamorous hotels has been renting rooms since 1887. Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has a porch that goes on forever and no cars are allowed on the island so guests are picked up at the Ferry by horse and carriage just like they were a century ago. Many of the industries’ best servers have been employed for years in the food service outlets of Grand Hotel. During the winter, they travel south to work the cruise ships and island resorts until the hotel opens again for next summer’s season. If any hotels, today, can be thought of as glamorous, Grand Hotel has all the qualities.

After all, Presidents and Royals, Movie Stars and Millionaires all stay at hotels, don’t they? I have had many of these, as guests, through the years, and even folks in the rare air they live in, enjoy the special touches like Room Service and Spa Treatments one associates with a nice hotel. What would the casinos in Las Vegas or Atlantic City be without their hotels? There is a sense of extravagance about having someone else make your bed and clean up after you each day. I can tell you that the fun of watching the Bride and Groom’s family and friends check into their rooms and then see each other for the first time, down in the lobby, as they start a weekend of loving celebration is as real and exciting as knowing that President Ford enjoyed his dinner, right down to the cup of tea with honey that surprised him and made him feel right at home. That is what makes a hotel’s service special. That another person could feel good about serving your needs. When such service is delivered with sincerity and members of a hotel’s staff work together like a team, the results can be very glamorous! Perhaps you have felt it too.