Executive Housekeeping Today- August 2008 - (Page 24) The Riviera Hotel and Casino Welcomes I.E.H.A.! On September 7 to 11, 2008, hundreds of I.E.H.A. members from around the world will come to the newly-renovated Riviera Hotel and Casino in fabulous Las Vegas, NV, for I.E.H.A.’s 42nd Educational Conference and Convention. With this many professional housekeepers coming through the facility, there will be great expectations for the Riviera housekeeping staff but this doesn’t faze I.E.H.A. member Jimmy McDonald, Director of Housekeeping Services for the hotel, one bit—he’s used to maintaining a 24-hour facility that is visited by thousands of diverse guests each year. “The Las Vegas market is one of the greatest melting pots in the entire world; and with the world travel accessibilities available today, we regularly have someone from the Far East standing next to someone from the Middle East standing next to someone from Texas—and with this come differences in culture, language, and social attitudes,” says McDonald. “Each guest that comes to Vegas is different, so the types of complaints we have would never have been brought up in any other city. Our mistakes are magnified—so, we have to work and try harder to please each and every guest by providing exceptional customer service at all times.” McDonald also isn’t fazed by the slew of housekeepers coming to his facility because he is highlytrained and educated in his position—he has been working in the housekeeping department at the Riviera for over 19 years, and has been involved in the hospitality industry for 38 years overall. In o by Laura M. DiGiulio, Editor addition, he is directly responsible for 325 employees; a hotel with 2,173 rooms and suites; all interior public spaces, including four restaurants, five showrooms, and a 125,000-square-foot casino (considered one of the largest in Las Vegas); the Uniform Room; and the Laundry Room. On top of all this, McDonald has the longest single tenure of any housekeeper at any major Las Vegas hotel property! “The Riviera Hotel is constructed on 26-acres on the North end of the famous Las Vegas Strip,” says McDonald. “We are honored to be a Las Vegas icon that continues to reinvent itself. With a history of over 50 years, the Riviera is home to some of the longest employment tenures compared to other properties on the Strip. We are very proud of the fact that when newer properties open up, we do not lose our dedicated employees.” Operation: Re-Model Besides being in charge of hundreds of employees in such a large facility, the Riviera guest rooms are currently going through a contemporary-style remodel, and will feature updated furniture, sleek lighting fixtures, European-style beds, and amenities that include flat screen televisions, wireless Internet connection, iPod/MP3 alarm clock radios, and refrigerators. Many of these new rooms should be completed by the time the I.E.H.A. Convention comes around. “The Riviera is remodeling our rooms to give us a new signature look—everything gamblers to conventioneers to sightseers to yuppies to seniors will enjoy,” says McDonald. “When Vegas started its first dice game, the gambler was given a rather common room with few frills, as we wanted you to spend all of your time in the casino. But now, the new look of Vegas is one of superior rooms with lots of amenities. We want the guest to experience something here that they don’t have at home.” It also helps that McDonald has previous experience in hotel remodeling. Prior to working in the housekeeping field, he was hired as a special courier for Howard Hughes, and his home base was the famous, historic Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip (this hotel closed in 1996). That job led to other job opportunities over the course of the 19 years he worked there, and ultimately landed him in the housekeeping field. Through testing, it was discovered that McDonald had a flair for decorating and construction, and he had good organizational and leadership skills. At that time, the Sands Hotel was going through a remodel and McDonald was assigned the task as the quality assurance analytical representative, and he worked with all departments involved with the remodel, including housekeeping. “While working closely with the Executive Housekeeper and his staff, I came to admire their hard work that went unnoticed by everyone, including other hotel staff and guests,” says McDonald. “I found out that cleaning a guest room is not an easy task, and I became interested. The hotel sent me through the I.E.H.A. training program and I became a C.E.H., working as an Assistant Housekeeper in charge of the seven pools 24 Executive Housekeeping Today/Convention Program 2008
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