Going extra mile for guests leads to front desk

Moving from Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania 15 years ago was not an easy transition for native Spanish-speaking Iris Velazquez. But she was determined to make a better life for herself and she knew she had to find a job to help make ends meet.

Her lack of English skills was certainly a stumbling block, but, as luck would have it, a friend who worked at the Hampton Inn in Lancaster, Pa., helped arrange for Velazquez to be interviewed for a housekeeping position. She was hired on the spot.

Fourteen years later, Velazquez is still working at that Hampton Inn, although she's no longer a housekeeper and now speaks fluent English. During her long tenure at the hotel, Velazquez was promoted from a housekeeper to a night security position to her current job as a guest service representative at the front desk.

"Moving from security to the front desk was not necessarily a promotion for Iris. It was more of a way for her to prove that she made it; that she can now work at the front desk and effectively communicate with guests," said Chris Shellhammer, g.m.

But even when she worked in housekeeping and security before she had perfected her English, Velazquez had a gift for going the extra mile for hotel guests.

"One of my goals is to understand what guests need and want," said Velazquez.

And, if that means dropping everything to help a traveler in need, she'll do just that. One time, a man told Velazquez that his wife was feeling sick and he didn't know what to do or where to go to seek medical attention. Thinking quickly, she got in their car and directed them personally to the nearby hospital, where the woman was admitted. Velazquez stayed at the hospital until she was released a few hours later. The grateful husband sent her poems every Christmas for several years.

Another time, a guest accidentally locked his kids and keys in his truck. He had an extra key hidden somewhere under the truck and Velazquez personally tried to find it. Unsuccessful, a dirty Velazquez called the automobile club and waited at the car until help arrived.

"The guest was so happy with my 'extra mile' that he sent me a sweater," she said.

Velazquez also goes out of her way to help out at the hotel.

"I came in once and found out that someone checked out at 7 p.m.," Shellhammer said. "There was no housekeeper here to clean the room, so Iris cleaned it."

Name: Iris Velazquez

Title: Guest Service Representative

Property: Hampton Inn, Lancaster, Pa.

Years in lodging: 14

The most important thing learned while working at a hotel: "To do my best to satisfy guests and to always have a positive attitude."

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