Hotels should pay tribute to long service
Long-serving staff are a dying breed in the hotel trade and their loyalty should be acknowledged publicly, says the proprietor of London's Goring hotel.
George Goring believes many London hotel staff break the traditional image of being "international nomads" and he regularly holds awards for his veteran staff. He is now challenging hoteliers in London and nationwide to back a one-off award this year for each job category.
He believes loyal staff - especially those at the lower levels such as chambermaids, dishwashers, waiters and porters - are not appreciated in big corporations which sack their managers every three years and buy and sell so frequently that staff don't even know who their boss is.
Some staff, such as concierges, are more likely to stay on than, say, dishwashers (Goring believes his hotel set a record in the past with one who stayed more than 10 years) and the more volatile managerial sector. Managers, said Goring, tend to flit from job to job to improve their CV, or because they are dropped by the newest owner.
The Goring boasts a doorman of 32 years' service, a general manager with 29 years, and a breakfast cook, head hall porter, painter, hotel maintenance engineer, barman and chambermaids each in the early to mid-20s.
Goring himself (who was born in the hotel in 1938)can boast 36 years' service in one place.