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Hi from Croatia!
The hotel I’m working for this summer is adults-only. This means there is no stress induced by crying babies. Well, I guess, a tantrum-throwing adult can always show up. But strictly talking about generations, no kids are left running through the lobby, nor are used diapers discarded next to a poolside piña colada.
Still, anyone working in the hotel industry knows that a certain type of childish-behaving guest believes that constant whining, complaining, or raising voice to explain their disappointment will automatically result in benefits, so that their dissatisfaction could be silenced. After all, no hotel likes negative reviews.
But there is another, probably more secure way of receiving special treatment from hotel staff. And that is – by being polite.
Just the other day, two extremely nice ladies, a mother and a daughter, who were showing enthusiasm and gratitude as soon as they walked into the hotel, with hundreds of repeated thank-yous for the very standard treatment they received, found an unexpected reward. A front desk colleague decided to surprise them with a voucher for a grand poolside Bali bed, accompanied by a plate of fruit and glasses of sparkling wine.
Kindness never hurts. It typically pays off. I’ve seen it multiplying with that granny on a plane to Greece, or me receiving unexpected bananas in Cambodia.
So, last night, as I continued my bellboy summer adventure, at a job that’s practically all about kindness and helping others, I had a heartwarming encounter.
All guests have to be at least 16 to stay at this hotel, but a teenage girl on the spectrum had a very special, innocent yet inquisitive mind, as she bravely started talking to me, in between the noise of the live music and rain pouring incredible amounts of water over the parking lot, packing the lobby with people to the brim.
Glasses clinking, singer singing, and an occasional cheer for getting the winning playing cards, all these Titanic sounds mixed in front of the front desk. But the young lady, she was looking at the thunder creating its light show outside.
“Look! Do you know if something new has happened?”, she asked.
“I am not sure what you mean”, I said.
“Well, I have read that if the lightning strikes, it’s in a place where someone special is born, or something new happens”, I heard her saying through the noise, while her mother, standing beside her, garnered the conversation with a gentle smile.
“I haven’t heard of that”, I said. “That’s new to me. So maybe it is true. This is the new thing that just happened!”
Our small chat somehow landed in the world of bananas.
“You know, there are rainbow bananas out there!”, she enthusiastically proclaimed.
“Are you sure it wasn’t photoshopped?”, I asked.
“No, no, it is true, I googled it! There are pink, orange, and blue, all colors.”
The young lady’s mother just gently smiled again, and off they went, with her promising she would monitor the situation with the lightning and report back.
When it rains in this part of Croatia (Makarska Riviera is just across Hvar, the sunniest island in the Mediterranean), you can count on things getting hectic busy.
In between the moments of chaos that came with a storm (advice: always check the weather forecast before leaving an open balcony door in your hotel room, as cloudless skies can turn into a flood-inducing downpour in hours), that short conversation with our young adult guest offered a welcomed illumination, as strong as the lightning that flashed over the night skies.
Every hotel guest needs our attention. And sometimes, showing up as a listening ear is as important as solving a real issue.
Twenty minutes later, my superior let me off of an urgent physical job, taking it over, and explaining that the young lady had turned up at the reception, specifically looking for me, so I should go talk to her.
As I greeted the curious guest again, she was proudly displaying her video footage of the sky she had just taken. Something that, indeed, required my full attention. It was a personal joy to discuss the meaning of the lightning strike for a moment. In the middle of the hotel noise, just to be there and listen.
With unicorn-glassed perspective, and bananas that, as I’ve learned from my young friend, can be as tiny as a finger and as big as an arm (!), I didn’t have to use Google to confirm that rainbow bananas are real.
It didn’t really matter. Cutting the storm noise with a sincere spectrum of wonder – did. The encounter was a reward in itself.
Have a rainbow-filled week,
Ivan Kralj
Pipeaway.com
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