An 800-Room, Five-Star, Often-Overbooked Juggernaut
A nostalgic memoir excerpt from a former Hong Kong Hilton front-of-house team member, recalling life managing an 800-room five-star property in the pre-digital era of the 1970s.
The Hong Kong Hilton, circa 1976. — Photo by Pertlink Limited
Cast: Rajeev Ratti, Niale McLoughlin, and me — Terence Ronson. Mission: fill the hotel, keep the guests happy, and — most days — stay sane.
Somewhere around 1976, three of us found ourselves working the lobby of the Hong Kong Hilton — an 800-plus-room, five-star, often-overbooked juggernaut. We decided we were The Lobby Boys, a title adopted long before The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Looking back, I suspect we were hired mainly for our good looks, our willingness to work for little money, and enough chutzpah to charm our way out of almost anything. The bar, it seems, was refreshingly low.
This was a different planet entirely. Guests wrote letters — sometimes a full year ahead of arrival. They sent telegrams and telexes. We did not have faxes back then. They flew in on long-haul flights before Business Class had even been invented, stepped off exhausted, and expected a room, immediately, no fuss. The concept of queuing to check in had not been invented yet.
We were hired mainly for our good looks, our willingness to work for little money, and enough chutzpah to charm our way out of almost anything.
Terence Ronson
Read the full story ofThe Lobby Boys. Available now.
By Terence Ronson, on behalf of The Lobby Boys — Niale, Rajeev, and Terence
About Pertlink Limited
Pertlink Limited commenced operations on October 23rd 2000, and as IT Consultants exclusively caters to clients connected with the hospitality industry, helping them work through the maze of new technologies. Not only is Pertlink strategically placed to serve the industry from its headquarters in Hong Kong, it has been internationally recognized by numerous organizations as a global reach company helping the industry through its unique and unparalleled network of people who have vast expertise in the Hotel and IT industries. The team behind Pertlink, whose collective knowledge will be an asset to any company - will help maximize a Hotel's guest experience making it a positive one through the way technology is developed, marketed and used in the Hotel industry.
Media Contact
Terence Ronson
Founder and Managing Director [email protected]