I just finished binge watching Season 1 of Netflix’s Altered Carbon and I loved it. In addition to a great and crisp storyline, the characters including Joel Kinnaman as Takeshi Kovacs, Martha Higareda as Kristin Ortega and Trieu Tran as the evil Mister Leung. But as a hotelier myself, by far my absolute favourite character was Poe, the Hotel Manager of the Raven Hotel (played masterfully by Chris Conner).
When Takeshi Kovacs checks in to the Raven Hotel after being ‘resleeved’, he is Poe’s first guest in nearly 50 years. But looking at how well the hotel has been maintained, you would never think it!
Poe is the consummate host. The moment Takeshi enters, he is made to feel welcome. And once he officially becomes a guest (by smashing a bloody hand on the registration screen), he is fully taken care of and even protected by automatic weapons turned on the bad guys. Poe, with his moustache, and constant polishing of glasses behind the bar soon becomes a viewers favourite. I long wondered and tried to analyse just exactly what it was that made him so endearing. And the answer came in a reply he gave to a fellow AI when playing cards.
When asked why he still bothers to run the hotel, his response is clear: because he loves the job!
He could have easily given up and spent all his days playing cards and gossiping about what goes on in the town. But instead, he takes pride in what he does. In one episode, he even goes as far as saying that he is the hotel and the hotel is him!
Which got me thinking: the best hotel managers I have had the pleasure and honour of meeting were all the same, they loved their job. Sure, the hours are long and sometimes the guests might be a tad difficult. But the best hotel managers are able to power through, day after day, simply because they love their profession. This gives them the ability to provide their best service, not only to their guests, but also to their staff, ensuring that both are happy.
And the pride that they take in their job is clear too! You can see it in their faces and in their actions how proud they are to be in their current position. It is not a dreary job to take care of the guests but a matter of pride. And trust me on this, when you come across such managers as a guest, the difference to the 9 to 5ers who are just counting down the clock till the end of their shift is massive.
Unfortunately, the world being what it is, not all these hotel managers always get the promotions they deserve. But they are patient, biding their time, and until their time comes to climb the career ladder, they are more than content to simply serve the customer, with a joy and pride that is second to none!
Thorsten Edu 