Strange Hotel Jobs

The lengths to which some hotels go to make their customers happy can be crazy. Take a look at these really weird jobs coughed up by hotels.com which give the term ‘added services’ a new spin! Next time someone tells you he’s in the ‘hospitality industry’, he may not be the general manager or the executive chef!…

 

The Bed Warmer

The Holiday Inn Kensington Forum in London offers the services of a human bed warmer. If the sheets are a little too cold, forget the heater. A staff member will put on a special head-to-toe suit and jump into your bed. For the next five minutes, the Bed Warmers would move around in the bed to create an ‘ideal sleeping environment’ for you. I gather this person will get out of your bed before you get in….But errm….I am not sure if I want someone rolling between my sheets like that – even if he was invited and paid!

 

Bedtime Storyteller

Guests at The Hotel Andaz (above) in London can ask for the hotel’s bedtime storyteller to read them a tale of their choice. That’s a nice touch for kids….but an adult who still wants to be  read to before going to ‘beddy-byes’ just sounds a bit creepy to me. I don’t think I’d want that job – imagine reading to a strange man who’s tucked up in his stripey pyjamas! Hello, Oedipus!

 

Fairy Godmother

Now here’s a job that sounds fun – fancy being a Fairy Godmother? The Barnsley Gardens Resort in Georgia, USA has its own in-house Fairy Godmother whose job is to make guests’ romantic wishes come true, from proposals to birthday celebrations.  Does that mean you have to put on the frills and ringlets though?

 

Coin Polisher

Some people grow up to be doctors, lawyers, fashion designers and coin polishers. Well, yes –  and the latter gets to carry on a tradition which started at Hotel Westin St Francis in San Francisco since 1935. Way back then, the hotel director noticed that the white gloves of female guests got dirty when touching coins. To ensure the white gloves stayed white, he employed someone to clean coins every day. So the tradition continues even though the gloves are off….I don’t know…. Is this where disgraced bankers go to work?

 

Pigeon Chaser

I don’t like birds, so I don’t mind this job at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, India. They arm you and your colleague with these big white flags see, and you wave them about and run after the pigeons in the courtyard for nine hours each day. They don’t want these birds around, see….

 

Duck Master

Sanitation official, bus captain, duck master…..oh what fun you can have with nomenclature! Essentially he’s the guy that looks after the performing ducks at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, USA. But he’s not ordinary duck ‘looker-after’. He trains these birds as well, makes them do their song and dance twice a day for the guests – now that’s foreign talent! –  then stays back to clean the fountain in the evening. Maybe he should meet the guys in Jaipur and exchange notes.

 

Bespoke Shoe Polisher

Talking about odd jobs, the butlers at The Connaught are taking serious pains in the world of polish and shine – men’s shoes that is, not a pedicure. For £30 per session, guests at this London hotel get a bespoke shoeshine experience on a specially designed John Lobb shoeshine chair, by a butlers specially trained by John Lobb. Beyond a mere ‘quick buff’, privileged guys get a martini and a selection of newspapers and magazines to read while their shoes are brushed, waxed and polished. Their jackets get a free pressing too while they wait. You’ll need to book at least 24 hours in advance for this treat which lasta half an hour – that’s £1 per minute. Some guys may fancy this, but it sure can’t beat a girlie mani-pedi session!