From tanning specialists to dog surfing instructors, hotels keep hiring for highly specialized and increasingly unusual staff positions.
At the world’s top hotels, no job is too small if it adds to a guest’s overall experience. Maybe that’s why hotels keep hiring for highly specialized (and increasingly unusual) staff positions. From tanning specialists to men who scare monkeys, here are some of the oddest jobs in the hotel industry.
Dog surfing instructor
California might be known for its surf bums, but at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, hanging 10 is for the dogs. At the
resort’s Su’ruff Camp, an instructor helps dogs large and small ride human-size
surf boards at the Coronado’s special dog beach.
Proposal concierge
Plenty of hotels employ romance concierges, who handle anything from
coordinating weddings to arranging special date nights. But the wedding planner
at Stowe Mountain Lodge in northern Vermont received so many frantic emails
and phone calls from would-be fiancés, the lodge turned it into a full-time
position to help guests plan special ways to pop the question.
Soap concierge
Forget the standard bar of hotel soap, the Viceroy in Rivera Maya, Mexico gives guests a custom slice of
soap on arrival, specially selected by the resort’s soap concierge. With
variations in fragrance, formula and texture, the locally made soaps change
seasonally.
Sunglasses doctor
A smudged or scratched lens might not be as serious as a sprain or broken bone,
but the Four Seasons Resort in Lanai, Hawaii employs a doctor dedicated to the
health of traveller’s most essential sunny day accessory. Known as Dr Shades, a
Four Seasons staff member makes hourly poolside rounds to repair any sunglass
dings with a kit equipped with screwdrivers, screws, nose pads and polishing
cloths.
Monkey man
Like many hotels, Aman Resorts’ Amanbaugh in Rajasthan, India leaves special treats for guests
before bed. However, the Amanbaugh has the more unique problem of hungry
monkeys stealing cookies from the jars left on room porches. Four monkey men
walk the grounds throughout the day and keep the critters on notice by repeating
the sound a dominant male monkey, meant to scare them off.
Duckmaster
A quintet of mallard ducks is the main
attraction at the Peabody hotels in Memphis, Orlando and Little Rock, but the job of
managing the flock is no quack. The Duckmaster must train each new group of
ducks to march from their rooftop home, down the elevator and into the lobby
fountain each morning, and the reverse each evening.
Shisha sommelier
Just like selecting wine, the process of picking tobacco for shisha (a hookah)
takes skill and experience, so the Ritz-Carlton in Dubai hired a full-time Shisha sommelier to help
guests navigate the process. Different flavours of tobacco can be picked to pair
with food and wine, or selected individually based on guests’ preferences.