Trisha Debuke always loved family vacations when she was a kid. But it
wasn't the amusement parks, the traveling or the chance to meet relatives
across the country which appealed to her most. It was the hotels.
"I used to love pulling up in front of a big hotel in our family car and
waiting there while my parents arranged for the room. There was such a sense
of excitement knowing we would soon be walking through those nice, clean smelling
halls and opening the door to our own little sanctuary away from home," says
Debuke, who is now the general manager of a hotel.
Debuke admits that hers was a rather odd fixation for a child, but says
there was always something about hotels that fascinated her.
"There is something about staying in a hotel. It's like playing house and
being pampered at the same time. It was a place to relax at the end of a hot
day in a sticky station wagon, a place with fluffy towels and fresh sheets
and cable TV."
But there's more to hotels than amenities, at least for the manager.
"My responsibilities include constant attention to guests and employees,"
says hotel manager Hashem Melhem. "I am a part of a team of professionals
who operate the hotel 24 hours per day. I offer direction, guidance and advice,
and am always available to offer support."
Like Debuke, Melhem also loves hotels. He started as an hourly employee
and worked his way up. "There isn't a bad thing about my job," he says. "Coming
to work every day is a vacation."
It wasn't always a vacation for Debuke, however.
She started work as a chambermaid when she was 15, and was supervising
by the time she was 18. She attributes her quick climb up the hospitality
ladder to hard work and an ability to relate to people.
After graduating from high school, Debuke spent one more year in her supervising
job. In spite of a great reputation for service and efficiency among the hotel
management, Debuke found herself hitting a wall.
"Everybody liked the work I was doing, but I kept getting passed up for
promotions. People with much less experience and initiative were speeding
by me because they had an education," she says.
This experience was enough incentive for Debuke to head to college and
get her degree in business administration. Although the courses for her program
were rigorous, she kept a part-time job at a hotel while she attended college,
so she could keep her foot in the door. This turned out to be a good move
and one she credits with her quick success after graduation.
"I had a friend in the same program who was taking his master's degree.
He had the best marks in the country and very high references from all his
professors, but when he graduated, he had no work experience -- nothing to
tell potential employers he could do some of the nitty gritty work involved
in hotel management."
In spite of her friend's hard work and success in school, it took him years
of entry-level positions in hotels before he ever got an interview for a hotel
manager's position. Debuke, however, earned her first management position
by 28.
"Experience and education are very important in this field. To be successful,
you have to really maintain that balance," she says.
Training and experience have always been "the main drive" for Melham's
career, too. He has held jobs as assistant department head, department head,
division head, executive assistant manager, and general manager. "My educational
background includes a degree in finance and a wide variety of inter-company
courses and seminars in human resources, labor management, leadership skills,
problem solving, sales and marketing, and food and beverage."
Both Melham and Debuke agree that to make it in the hotel world, you have
to thoroughly enjoy what you are doing. "You'll have to have an obsession
with the hospitality industry," says Melham.
Debuke has never forgotten that sense of refuge she got from hotels as
a child. Now, she tries to ensure each and every one of the guests who stay
in her hotel feel like they are being pampered.
"It's the little things that make a big difference to a guest's experience
in our hotel, things like extra towels, complimentary coffee, quick room service
and friendly staff. I do my best to make sure my staff and I maintain a high
level of service."
Overseeing service is just one part of Debuke's job as the general manager
of a hotel. She also oversees the hotel restaurant, recreational facilities,
front desk and rooms. She also maintains hotel budgets, assists marketing
managers and looks after personnel.
Debuke cautions, however, that the hospitality industry is not for everyone.
The hospitality industry demands people who are friendly, outgoing and capable
of being team players with the other members of the staff.
"You have to be excited about the work you do in this industry. I don't
mean that in a selfless, workaholic, 'Oh, I love scrubbing floors with toothbrushes'
kind of way. This is just a really neat job," says Debuke.
"I meet people from all over the world, people who have traveled everywhere
and love to have a place to rest and tell their stories. I get to provide
them with that comfort, and if I'm lucky, hear their stories," says Debuke.
Sometimes, hotel managers even have a chance to do a little stargazing.
"My most memorable day was when I met Sophia Loren in person," says Melham.
"It's a wonderful way to earn a living," says Debuke.