Diary of Wenzel Weinich the Côte d'azur competitor :
"The David Campbell Trophy and the competition of the “Best Receptionist of the World” was the first time introduced to me by my hotel when I was informed to be selected for participation. Naturally that I felt very honored to be chosen and eventually getting the chance to represent the region and my hotel at the international final in Christchurch, New Zealand in January 2011.
Since there were not enough participants from hotels on the French Riviera for their own final competition I had to pass a written exam in order to be qualified for the national final in Paris 2 weeks later. On Friday, 19th of November 2010 I therefore had for the first time the chance to meet members of the AICR Côte d’Azur at the Negresco Hotel in Nice when the test of 1.5 hours was conducted. Questions were related to general knowledge of the hotel industry on a national and international level as well as problem resolutions in Revenue Management, complaint handling and Sales and Marketing strategies.
With the announcement of the results one week later, I received the good news that I was under the first 16 receptionists from all over France and Monaco who had qualified themselves for the final in Paris at the Hotel Fouquet’s Barrière. The competition sounded promising with 14 finalists from 4 and 5 star hotels in Paris and one from Strasbourg.
Thanks to AICR Côte d’Azur who sponsored my trip including a stay at Le Méridien Etoile, I took off for Paris on Monday, 6th of December with their president Mr. Jean Jacques Poulet, one day before the Grand finale.
On the day itself and prior the competition, I already had the possibility to meet several other finalist and exchange and share opinions and experiences which was one of the many reasons why going to Paris excited me, besides also visiting during my 3 days a few of the famous hotels.
In front of a jury each of us had to handle two challenging face to face situations with guests (one being in English, the other one in French) which was a very interesting and realistic exercise, very similarly happening daily in my hotel. The second part of the final was a personal interview conducted in English with 4 jury members about personal motivations and goals and professional judgments.
In the evening of the same day, all participants and several hospitality professionals had the chance to meet again for the closing ceremony and a cocktail where the results of the day were announced. The overall feedback for everyone was very positive and the organizers were delighted of the high level of professionalism and commitment to this event.
Finally, the representative of the Hotel George V was the lucky winner and even though I had finished on the 6th position and there was naturally some disappointment in the beginning of not travelling to New Zealand, I was very glad and proud to have undergone this experience where I also received very good personal feedback from the jury members.
I’m very grateful and would like to thank for all the supports I have received from my hotel and the AICR Côte d’Azur for this competition and glad that I was the one representing the French Riviera for such an important event.
Also a big appreciation to the organization and AICR Paris who once more realized to make the national competition happen and who was very open minded to accept candidates from outside of Paris. I’m sure that by this and also by the fact that the national TV stations were present, a good basis of promotion for the next years is created, where hopefully many new talents will have the chance to compete with each other.
In the end, Paris seemed to like us so much that due to weather conditions and snow storms, Mr. Poulet and myself were unable to leave on Wednesday as expected. Instead after practically the whole day waiting at the airport, we were still able to find most probably the last room in town and returned to Le Méridien Etoile for an additional night, which was realized thanks to the Assistant Front Office Manager, Mr. Lionel Mazzia."
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