Receptionist Jo van Lent (right), of Crowne Plaza
Queenstown, welcomes "conference guest" Novotel Queenstown
Lakeside operations manager Mireille de Graaf in a
re-enactment of one of the Receptionist of the Year
competition's role-playing challenges. Photos by James
Beech.
Receptionists Daria Felde, of Hotel St Moritz Queenstown,
and Fanny Castro, of Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, will
represent the South in the national Receptionist of the Year
competition in Christchurch on September 23.
Miss Felde won and Miss Castro was runner-up in the Southern
branch competition, held in Novotel, by the Association of
Rooms Division Executives of New Zealand (Ardenz), on Friday.
"It's the first time St Moritz have been competing and the
first time I have competed in a while. It feels really,
really great. It hasn't really sunk in," Miss Felde said.
The duo competed against six other receptionists - Jayne
Stewart and Daniela Mayagoitia Rodriguez, both of Sofitel
Queenstown Hotel and Spa, Jolanta Goik, of Peppers Beacon,
Brad Cavanagh, of BreakFree The Waterfront, Jo van Lent, of
Crowne Plaza Queenstown, and Todd Felton, of Novotel.
Receptionist Todd Felton (right), of Novotel Queenstown
Lakeside, assists "VIP with an issue" Novotel executive
housekeeper Sally Carr in a re-enactment of one of the
Receptionist of the Year competition's role-playing
challenges, with judging panellist The Rees general manager
Mark Rose behind.
All candidates were asked to talk about themselves and
their hotel with the objective of "relaxing and instilling
confidence". They were quizzed on yield management, profits,
costs, products and promotional ideas.
Role-playing with two actors tested how they coped with
demanding guests in different scenarios.
The panel of judges consisted of Ardenz president Terry
Johnston, of Christchurch, Hospitality Standards Institute
regional training adviser Andrea Gibson, of Cromwell, The
Rees general manager Mark Rose, Novotel human resources
manager Catherine Monaghan and Crowne Plaza front of house
manager Guy Robinson.
Miss Felde and Miss Castro will take on the winners and
runners-up of Capital (Wellington) and Central
(Rotorua-Taupo) branches in the national competition in
Christchurch. The national winner will represent New Zealand
in the international final in Prague, Czech Republic, in
January.
New Zealand has been represented five times since 1995,
winning once and being first runner-up twice.
Novotel front office manager and competition hostess Lauren
Sall said there were eight contestants this year, up from six
last year and five in 2009.
"The Otago branch of Ardenz is quite small, but we are hoping
to bring awareness to the event to get other hotels in the
area involved in future.
"The whole process is more for experience and career
development and the opportunity to travel."
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.