Five months living in the hotel and I finally got a backstage pass! (Just who do you have to um..know 'round here to get a behind the scenes tour!?) ;) I'm not sure what I expected, but the sheer size and complexity of the hotel's underbelly simply blew me away. I guess if you're not in the industry, you expect 'back of house' to be a fairly compact entity; perhaps a canteen, a few offices, and a kitchen or two. I mean, front of house in most 5-star establishments is huge, so just how much more can there be, right? But let's not forget this is a 400-plus room hotel with three restaurants and hundreds of staff - in Mainland China no less, where space is abundant! So, with my small person in tow, it was a little like stepping through the magic door in The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe. Not unlike Narnia, right now - it feels like the winter in Xi'an is seemingly endless! As you expect in 5-star digs, the hotel 'stage' is brightly lit with staff buzzing around 24/7. Concierge staff are smiling and gushing at every corner; lobby bars are serving up colorful cocktails and fine dining restaurants are wafting with delicious-smelling cuisine. Mean time, ballrooms brim with glittering events and hotel rooms are decked out with fluffy white robes and plush towels; not to mention your king sized bed adorned with crisp white sheets. But behind the curtains of the stellar 5-star performance, what's really going on? Venturing out of the spotlight and into the abyss, we (much to my surprise) found a rabbit warren of corridors. The scenery is very bare bones, but don't be fooled - behind closed doors we found bustling hives of activity. A small village at play. Despite the Chinese New Year 'skeleton' staff list, we were met with "Xin Nian Kuai Le's" at every turn….quite lucky the hotelier had a few remaining Hong Bao (not sure what that is - click here for the lowdown) stashed in his pockets for this emergency journey, because in this intricate maze it clearly wasn't going to be a quick prop change. My first surprise, dark rooms filled with metal framed bunks cushioning sleeping workers - on split shifts. ‘Shushing’ a boisterous Ava, we scurried past - but apparently they're used to corridors heaving with bodies while they catch a few zzz’s. For many staff in China, hours are long and a kip between shifts is not out of the question. Further down in the wings we spotted separate kitchens for literally every type of food preparation you can imagine. Yes! A budding chef's paradise, you will probably salivate at the idea of a room just for chopping veges! A sushi making kitchen, pastry kitchen, bread making kitchen, butcher, fish prep room etc etc…..the list goes on! (My small person echoing complete surprise at the bread in its doughy form. 'It's white!' she pipes up! Obviously mummy doesn't make her own bread!) Up another alleyway…and the scene is set for dozens of workers washing, folding and ironing everything from towels and sheets to clothes and well, hopefully not my underwear at this very moment in time! (Shudders.) A laundry the size of a small apartment lay before us with enough starch to stiffen a Xianease noodle - the staff probably thought we were mad, oohing and ahhing over giant clothes dryers and sheet straighteners but it was spectacle worthy of applause indeed. Along the hall and a dry cleaning-style shopfront is overflowing with fresh costumes uniforms in every size and shape (shoes too) where staff check in to collect their week's supply. Relaxation rooms (Green Room?), a florist (yes, how else do you think those daily decorations adorn the lobbies of fancy hotels - a set in need of constant revamping), a staff canteen serving 2000 meals a day…and of course a bevy of offices with busy workers. Tightly shut doors opened on to massive plant rooms with boilers for keeping the water hot, electricity flowing (usually), aircon in action and well basically the 5-star show up and running. (We all know what happens when they stop! If you don’t, er, perhaps read this!) We stopped off to say hello to the ladies in ‘service express’ who take all incoming calls to the hotel…. Their English is considered pretty good, but if we're ordering dinner by phone we usually muddle our way through with their English and my woeful Chinese, in the end hopefully achieving some sort of edible room service delivered. Today they spy Ava and I and immediately start giggling and using the words "salmon" and "broccoli!" Yep! We westerners are a pretty predictable lot! All we eat is broccoli and Sal-mon! (Kind of.) With 300 security cameras installed in the hotel (don't worry, there are none in the rooms, or so I'm told!!) there's even a security room with an entire wall of monitors - enough to rival a TV station, so I believe! And as a city with a serious bike culture, there's also an impressive parking bay for these two-wheeler modes of transport. Nearby to the hotel there are also dormitories for around 100 staff who live more than two hours away. They are basic but a much sought-after alternative to taking a mammoth journey to and from work each day in manic traffic. Staff also get to eat three hot meals a day and shower - a common scenario in Xi'an workplaces. So, backstage, in this giant village, it's definitely a no-frills affair; but here in Xi'an where daily life is relatively simple and for the majority of Xianease, luxuries few and far between, it's no doubt more appealing to hang in Narnia where the never-ending winter is warmed up with proper heating. Just as a hotel can be a refuge for its guests, it's also a home away from home for the staff in a place where outstanding performances are a prerequisite for 5-star presentation. There's no doubt, through the revolving door, there's a pretty well-oiled machine that (for the most part) keeps the wheels on the 5-star wagon rolling! The show must go on! Psst, as for what goes on front of house, behind closed doors.....you might like this post I wrote. Fool's Paradise. Some guests are in a league of their own! … [Read more...]
When the Lights Go Out: Hotel Confessions
It was late afternoon and little Miss A and I were sitting in the hotel lobby bar having a spot of afternoon tea. (What's a girl(s) to do in a new city!) Ava was doing her best to entertain the staff….regaling them with tales about dad liking beer, mum speaking Chinese (I do?) and did you know I wore a purple wedding dress when I got married! (I did?) I was cringing a little at what might be revealed next, but just quietly, enjoying the peace -- when 'boom' the lights went off. Nothing too serious, we initially thought. Nothing to bat an eyelid over…naturally there was a bit of commotion, some surveying of the damage. Was it just in the bar or the was the entire hotel without power? Wait, we think it's the whole area! I casually queried whether this was a normal occurrence? There is apparently a government request for businesses and homes to reduce their power usage between 4 and 6pm but the staff were confident this wasn't the problem. In perfect timing, Ava needed the toilets, which of course happened to be in pitch black, so we called it a day on our fancy cakes and went upstairs to our room. By now the sun was setting and dusk meant it was getting rather dark. The hotel known for its vivid red glow was gradually becoming a shadowy figure of its former self. Given the small fact that candles pose an insurance liability in a hotel, I decided we had no choice but to head to the (conveniently located on our floor) 'executive club'. After all, what's a girl(s) to do in a power outage? A glass of red for me and apple juice for junior, that's what! Emergency lights kept things (like my wine glass and the all important fairy wings) manageable…...meantime, a frantic hotelier I know was in and out trying to ascertain the problem through various muddled translations from Chinese to English with his number two and the powers that be… (no pun intended). Generators were hastily arranged for and negotiations(?) on price underway. Meantime, irate customers paying through the nose, were clearly getting hot under the collar at the lack of five star facilities, naturally oblivious to the fact this 'unexplained event' seemed to be in no one's control. 10pm and still no one is any the wiser on why the power cut has occurred....(at least no one is taking ownership). For the frantic hotelier, answers are lost in translation and things are getting chaotic with the generators still no where to be seen. When they finally do appear, it seems they have come with the wrong bolts to connect these thick, rope-like cables that are now splayed out across the bowels of the hotel. (The hotelier's aware one wrong connection and it could go more than a little haywire!!) I can feel his blood pressure rising by the minute…… as he bids us goodnight to survey the scene - us tucked up in bed clutching our torches. I wake every half hour, the air now stifled with no air-conditioning, no clock or phone to tell the time….and still, no hotelier. He tells me later, there are frustrated guests lining up at reception in what is now the middle of the night ready to report the injustice of such an atrocity on social media the next day….then there's the drunk woman who's planted herself precariously on a chair in the lobby, too intoxicated to find her room. An Australian is checking in at 130am - behaving far more reasonable than most (go Aussies!) as he's told of the current dire situation. "Sorry Sir, this is not Fawlty Towers, yet." A few restless hours later, voila - it's 4am on the newly-lit clock and the entire room lights up, hell the door bell even rings, the air conditioning starts whirring….and we are back in business, my small person none the wiser. Phew. The hotelier arrives minutes later…. exhausted and still unclear as to what has just occurred in the last 12 hours. But for now the hotel is charged up! A few hours later, it's a new day, he's up and off to see the Power Bureau. Apparently a show of authority will ensure more efficient 'handling' of the problem at hand. We wait…. Mid afternoon and a damaged cable is found 120 metres from the hotel and things are hopeful of being resolved (provided the hotel agrees to fork out the cost of fixing the wayward cable) but not in any hurry... and certainly not soon enough for the enraged client who's holding a swanky corporate party in the sunken garden that evening, boasting enough lights to sink a battleship (or possibly a hotel)?! Who really knows….... The generators pump furiously through the day and night to keep the hotel in action but the luke warm water and intermittent power shortages are not enough to keep hotel guests from blowing off steam at any moment. The pollution in Xi'an is not the great at the best of times and now fumes from the generators are wafting through the atrium, guests now complaining they are suffocating. I think the hotelier is greying by the second. Another night and between 4am and 7am the power switches on and off several times, each time it does, the door bell rings. I'm starting to think maybe I really am in Fawlty Towers. After all, this is China. Basilllll!!! … [Read more...]
Beyond the Five Star Gates, Poverty Knocks!
As we gear ourselves up to embark on our second expat gig; unlike last time, when we moved to Hong Kong - this time two have become three! Moving to China is not just about James' new job and mum's unbridled enthusiasm for adventure, it's also about the small person amongst us and what it means for her. Too small to understand the complexities of why we are moving to a different city, but big enough to know we must live away from family for the immediate future. Old enough to know daddy works in hotels, but too young to know not everyone can walk into a five star hotel and instantly have staff running to get you chocolate ice cream with sprinkles on top! There's no denying an expat life for kids is a lark! Travel, exotic experiences and more often than not, nannies at their beck and call. Throw in 5-Star shenanigans and it's plenty of poolside pampering, fancy food and hand-picked presents perfectly placed on your holiday 'heavenly' bed. This next gig will have us living IN the hotel...(not to mention in a city where blondies are looked upon with sheer wonder and amusement, especially pint-sized ones). So you can imagine, I am keen to make sure my little "Third Culture Kid" (yes that is a fair dinkum term) doesn't become too accustomed to the finer things in life at the click of her chubby fingers. (Of course, these rules need not apply to Mint Mocha-swilling mummies.) In all seriousness though, as we immerse ourselves into a life where untold luxury is at our fingertips - a life where groceries are supplied by the hotel chef, a driver takes us to our each and every destination and housekeepers keep our things in order, there's never been a more crucial time to remind ourselves that we must not become immune to the hardships of the world. A great reminder came just recently via my dad, who went to a work conference in Fiji. Just a short three hour flight from Australia, it was his first time to the neighbouring pacific island. After a few days in the popular tourist haven, he sent an email which sent goose bumps prickling all over my body....and was a stark reminder that in many, many countries right across the globe, usually not too far beyond the five star gates, lies a parallel universe, one that's more often than not steeped in poverty. This tiny paradise on Australia's doorstep, was no exception. In Fiji, 250,000 people live in poverty. Forget five star feasts, facials, foot massages and frolicking in paradise, beyond the palm fringed beaches, its back to the bare basics... and in these traditional island villages life is all about the three F's - family, farming and fishing. What my dad experienced reminded me very much of my trip to Kenya, Africa in 2007...perhaps it's why the story resonates so well with me. After volunteering at an orphanage in rural Kenya we travelled south to the Mombasa coast. A postcard-picture perfect beach was flanked with leisure laden pockets of paradise, while a stone's throw away, locals lived in mud homes without power. To me, this email captures a moment in time, delivering a poignant message that all too often gets lost in today's fast-paced, frenzied society, monopolized by modern day manipulations and the eternal quest for material possessions. He wrote: "Fiji has been a reality check. The poverty is in your face. There is a definite misconception about this pocket sized utopia. Sure, there are cheap air fares to this tropical paradise, but it's also very third world - local communities are craving for the bare basics. On Tuesday, 30 managers (including myself) embarked on a support mission to a very poverty stricken area, just one hour (in the bush) from our luxurious five star hotel. I was confronted with no electricity, poor housing and no roads….in a place where 900 houses exist…each with just two rooms, it was hot, dry and dusty . But what stood out immediately, above and beyond the realities of this shanty town were the big smiles! A complete reality check unravelled before me. In the morning I painted. In the afternoon, I mixed concrete. English was minimal and it was sign language between me and my Fijian workmate - who was maybe 30 - all the way. He used two fingers to indicate dry cement and seven fingers for gravel mix. On we went, all day, drying and mixing, a dynamic duo. "Keep up 'whitey' - shovel faster," he joked….it felt like we were part of the chain gang! This guy earns $2.05 an hour, but oh how happy he was. At the end of the day we washed up; exhausted he shook my hand. It was emotional. I go home soon - to a bed , a great family, a car. I travel. I enjoy at times much more than I need. I handed him 20 dollars…he says 'No boss!' I say, 'Go to the pub, have a beer…' This was more than a day's pay for him…but for me it was a truly humbling, once in a life time experience. I saw my granddaughters, three and two respectively - little Ava’s and Lillie's, everywhere. Another group of managers made bed bunks… You know these little guys, until they received the bunks, had never slept in a bed. I helped deliver a bed to a family at the end of the day. A little Lillie, the same age caught my eye…I went and chatted and I told her about my girls…she was shy…I kept chatting to her and at last...came a beaming smile! I said goodbye and trekked off back to the bus, air conditioned with soft seats… As we moved off, I looked out the window, here was the little girl with her sister (an Ava) waving, a big toothy smile. My goodness I will always remember that big smile. The stand out is this hotel, flushed with all the amenities you could ever ask for, yet just 20 minutes out, utter poverty…nothing except the bare necessities. But it's these people, who have nothing in life but each other, who showcase the very best in humanity." Thanks for the brief reminder Poppy. All too often, we get caught up with how much we don't have. How many of us are guilty of enjoying the finer things in life without giving much thought to those that go without, really go without? Whether it's a dinner out, a new outfit, or the ability to go on holidays and stay at a luxury hotel, it's all too easy to forget (or turn a blind eye to) the harsh realities might be lurking just around the corner! Next time you grumble or complain the water's not hot enough or your cheese platter is a little on the lean side.... remember not too far from your five star paradise there just might be a family grinning from ear to ear about a plate of dusty rice to share and a wooden bunk to clamber into. A life lesson I surely hope we can teach our Ava and Lillie. What about you? Do you have similar stories of your own? I'd love to hear. Leave me a comment! … [Read more...]