Tell us a little bit about your career path with Kempinski?
I joined Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi on 3rd June 2013 as a Guest Services Supervisor. I was fresh out of a local hotel brand and was ecstatic about joining the newest five-star hotel on the block. After a myriad of trainings, I eventually settled down into my position at the call centre. I enjoyed every moment interacting with guests from across the world: In-house, local, international, pranks, security-sensitive, language-barrier challenges. You name it. If there’s one virtue that I learned and mastered over the years at this hot seat, it is ‘patience’.
During my 5 year tenure, the hotel would host Presidents, Prime Ministers, Heads of States, Princes and Princesses, Sports Stars, Celebrities, dollar-billionaires among many other amazing array of guests. Meeting their communication needs, seamlessly, was quite an experience.
In September 2018, I started cross-trainings at the concierge section. The trainings had initially started as a nudge to multi-skill, but due to my hospitality aspirations, Kempinksi rekindled my passion for concierge duties. In September 2019, I was appointed to step in for the position of Chief concierge who had separated with the hotel. Interim concierge or not, my aspirations were simply coming true. Then in January 2020, I was confirmed as an Assistant Chief Concierge for Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi. Since then, I have enjoyed every bit of this job. The experiences, conversations, rough patches, learning-on-the-job episodes, late nights and early mornings – all has been one exhilarating roller-coaster ride. And I’m not disembarking.
Tell us a little bit about your hotel.
My memorable moment remains to be the first day I set foot at The Villa Rosa Kempinski. In my opinion, Villa Rosa Kempinski is the best hotel in this city. It stands on a pedestal for the competition to emulate. Its reputation is unrivalled and our Kempinski DNA values are deeply entrenched. We are the pinnacle of hospitality in Kenya and the region and the opportunity to work here provides you with the best that the industry has to offer.
A couple facts about the property is that during the Roman times, our pink property was regarded as a building for wealthy people. Rosa means Pink in Spanish, hence Villa Rosa Kempinski. Garden lights and fountains are phenomenal in European elegance hence, the several fountains in our hotel and the garden lights on our driveway. One hidden treasure at our property is our wall of fame that captures employees’ moments.
What is it like working at Villa Rosa?
Working at The Villa Rosa Kempinski has overtime made me more sociable, open minded, empathetic, accommodating, and respectful of different peoples’ personal values, cultures and beliefs. Kempinski embraces everyone: colleagues, guests, business partners irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, religion and beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, education and national origin.
Being part of this team for me is like being in an exclusive club. We all work towards mission ‘success‘. We all have shared goals and that’s what unites us. My favourite team moment is when we express in subtle ways that we appreciate and respect each other. It’s simply an amazing feeling.
I have also won several awards through recognition by my colleagues inclusive of ‘My moments’ stories’ and ‘Employee of the Month’ awards. I have been mentioned by many guests on various guest-feedback platforms for assistance and service offered to them. This gives me the motivation to forge ahead every day.
There is no ordinary day at Villa Rosa Kempinski.