Page 5 of A Taste of Paradise

I could get used to this …

True to her word, Erin had spent time settling into her new and utterly stunning location, as well as sampling some of the excursions and services offered by The Palms to their guests, before officially taking up her role. In the time it typically took visitors to acclimatise to the tropical weather, she had become an expert on many of the resort offerings. The venture had taken every moment of her ‘free time’, but had been worth the exhaustion that now plagued her on her official first day on the job.

Now, she once again found herself standing before the full complement of staff reporting to or connected with Guest Services. Dressed in a neatly tailored white linen pencil skirt suit that she’d paired with a palm-print blouse and court heels, Erin knew she looked the part. Her flyaway auburn hair was controlled in a conservative chignon, and her make-up was immaculate. She was the embodiment of control.

‘I’m glad everyone seems to be in such good spirits this morning,’ she greeted warmly, as she sat on the edge of the boardroom table. Folding her hands in her lap, she again made eye contact with various faces.

‘Firstly, I wanted to reiterate that I am very serious about maintaining The Palms’ current standard of excellence in every aspect. I don’t condone shirkers. I expect everyone to pull their weight and go the extra mile. We are in a service industry and we need to provide our guests with what they paid for and more, be they locals or visitors. They’re spending their money with us and we need to justify it.’ She paused, then continued. ‘I have a two-strike system. Two warnings and then you’re out.’ Her eyes fixed momentarily on the faces that seemed to baulk at her words. ‘But I’m also someone who likes to get her hands dirty. In other words, I intend to know your job as well as you do, better even. I want to know what works and what doesn’t so that you can carry out tasks to the best of your ability. For the next few weeks or so, I will be joining and shadowing your teams to get a better sense of what your day-to-day here at the resort looks like.’

There was an audible murmur mingled with both looks of confusion and smiles of amusement. One was a little bolder than the others, which immediately caught her attention. ‘Yes, in the back? You have a question?’ she inquired.

A man of average height, wearing the resort’s signature cream-coloured short-sleeved shirt and eggplant shorts, stepped forward. ‘Michael Manley, Miss Howard, nice to meet you. I wanted to ask, does this mean you will be working on the grounds too? Cleaning up, even?’ His scepticism was clear, and the entire room remained silent in anticipation of her response.

‘Yes, Michael, I will indeed,’ Erin replied without hesitation. ‘I’ve already chosen which teams I’ll be joining, though I won’t reveal when that will be,’ she continued with another cursory gaze around, then smiled. ‘It’ll be a surprise.’

As Michael stepped back into the crowd, she began to steadily traverse the room. ‘Hey, I understand that there are hiccups in every organisation. Things that are complained about among the team but never said, because you don’t believe anything will happen. You feel that management only cares about the guests, and not you. Let me assure you, that isn’t the case with me. Our people are an integral part of what makes a place such as this work. If this team isn’t happy, our guests can’t be happy, and that is the crux of my job. So I need to make sure you’re happy. Feel free to approach me with any problems, drop me a note anonymously if you so choose, but I would like us all to come to the point of not only being bosses and employees but also teammates with a common goal.’ Erin completed her turn around the room and finally stopped at the head of the table. ‘I also believe in compensating good work.’ She paused to let the words sink in since announcements of this kind were typically taken more seriously. ‘And I’ve agreed with Grant and management to offer periodic reviews with commensurate monthly awards or bonuses for good performance.’

She rested her fingertips on the table and leaned onto her arms in emphasis. ‘This is the start of a brand-new chapter for The Palms. Once we all work to our strengths, there’s no limit on what we can achieve, and of course, by staying true to the resort’s long-standing motto “A Taste of Paradise.”’ She finished, dismissing them, and as she stepped back from the table, the room began to empty out. The aforementioned general manager Grant Evans approached then, welcoming each of the staff as he made his way to where she stood.

‘Great start, Erin,’ he said brightly, with a cherubic face that always seemed to be smiling, though she knew there was a keen brain at work behind it. ‘Extra brownie points for mentioning the hotel’s motto too. Nice touch.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, pleased. ‘How can I help?’

Her superior’s cheerful face quickly became more serious. ‘I got an urgent call. Seems that we are to expect a VVIP – very, very important guest this week. CEO of Discover Earth?’ When she didn’t react, he continued. ‘Currently one of the hottest ecotourist agencies in the US. Their founder Daniel MacKenzie’s here to scout out resorts on the west coast for eco-certification plus “potential partnership”.’ Grant accentuated those words with the curling of his fingers into bunny ears. ‘Sources say Breezy Shores is courting him too but he’s coming here first, so obviously we need to put our best foot forward.’ He perched on the edge of the table, enlisting a small hop to achieve the necessary height.

‘Eco-tourism?’ Big business for their industry, Erin knew, and of course, all things sustainable were massively en vogue right now. And rightly so.

‘This guy has a direct line to a global tourist network seeking more environmentally friendly experiences, and willing to pay big bucks to get it. Having him personally endorse the resort for eco-certification would be amazing, of course, but to have him partner with us too would truly put The Palms on the map.’

He slid off the desk to face her squarely. ‘Basically, Erin, landing this guy is a huge opportunity for us and one to really test your mettle and show off your stuff to the big boys.’ He added, referring to head office in Philadelphia, ‘I expect they’d offer significant compensation too.’

‘When is Mr MacKenzie arriving?’ she asked. Grant needn’t have mentioned any financial bonus; she was immediately driven by the challenge alone.

‘Within the next day or two, or so I’m told,’ Grant replied, a look of satisfaction creeping up his cheeks as he noted her enthusiasm.

Erin grabbed a glass of water and finished it in several quick gulps. ‘Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it. By the end of his stay, the guy won’t want to leave this island, or indeed The Palms.’

Grant’s shoulders visibly relaxed as he exhaled. ‘I knew I could count on you.’ He checked his watch. ‘Now I have a meeting shortly that I need to prepare for. Keep me informed if you need anything. And enjoy your first day.’

Erin walked out after him and closed the door behind her. Her first hour on the job and already she had a quest to fulfil. Turning, she pressed her back against it and folded her arms across her chest, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Hello, mountain, here I come.

Chapter 5

The rest of the day passed in a blur of chaos, as Erin worked closely with the reception desk while getting acquainted with the day-to-day running of the resort. As always in the hotel business, one thing after another seemed to crop up. When it wasn’t a poor dead frog found in one of the garden’s submerged Jacuzzis (right as a guest was about to go for a dip, of course), it was a pipe breaking in one of the outdoor showers by the pool, then a water main near the beach bar. Accustomed to the rapid response of service providers in Vegas, she was a little taken aback at the length of time it took to get things done. Everyone seemed to work on ‘island time’, which, depending on the person, varied from as little as five minutes to sometimes hours after they assured they’d fix the problem.

Once she’d got to grips with guest-arrival protocol and the variances in offering between the resort’s two very different accommodation wings, plus finally had a couple of smaller teething problems under control, the day was further derailed by a temporary glitch in the IT system, whereby the entire network went offline during their heaviest check-in period.

Here, Erin shot into action, and was quick to direct waiting guests to the beach bar to sample The Palms’ signature welcome cocktail, while the tech department worked feverishly to get them back online. Never one to be caught off-guard, she had printed out today’s arrivals list when she’d come in that morning and thus was able to ensure guests’ luggage was directed to the correct rooms without a fuss. They could update the system once it was functional, but luckily guests were none the wiser that there had even been a problem. She also personally delivered every room key to the requisite visitor waiting in the bar and took the opportunity to inform them about that evening’s entertainment and dining offerings, so that they felt immediately in vacation mode.

But any earlier minor crises were overshadowed by an emergency meeting request by the head of housekeeping. This was something Erin hadn’t anticipated; her first day on the job and thanks to her earlier ‘in this together’ speech, she was already dealing with employee issues. A cleaner for the Sanctuary wing – aptly named due to its proximity to the lagoon and bird preserve – was having some difficulty conforming to the requirements of her contract, specifically times of work and the procedures for lateness. The younger woman, called Nellie, had also missed that morning’s meeting, which Erin didn’t take as a good sign. Until discovering that the younger woman lived on the east side of the island, over an hour’s drive away. She had no transportation of her own and two small children to get to school each day. Whenever the bus failed to arrive, if something happened with her kids, or when she missed the transportation, she was late. It was unavoidable, she insisted tearfully. But Erin got it; Nellie was a mother doing what she had to in order to provide for her children. It was admirable and she had the utmost respect for those who braved parenthood alone and took it with the level of seriousness and importance that it deserved. She’d only wished her own mother had shared the same thinking when she was a girl. While her dad raised her as best he could, that pain of abandonment was something Erin never got over. Nor truly understood. And she was determined that no one would ever hurt her like that again.

A quick call to Human Resources to identify another staff member in the same area produced a porter who lived a few minutes away from Nellie, and who, after a short conversation, agreed to offer a lift. He’d be given a small payment for the inconvenience, Nellie could relax a little, and everyone would be happy. Erin was thankful for the swift resolution. It didn’t bode well to have to issue warnings the first day out; it sent a negative sign to the staff, and she was hoping to have a smooth transition into her new post.

Now, she was standing behind the front desk alone since Makellah, the receptionist on the afternoon shift, had fallen ill and needed to go home, leaving Erin and the concierge to handle new arrivals. Thankfully the day was winding down and the evening shift change soon to begin. She might finally get a taste of paradise for herself, Erin mused, glancing out at the palm trees swaying hypnotically in the breeze as the sunlight turned golden. The entire day had been a never-ending parade of people and problems, and she wasn’t sure if she could take much more. Vegas had nothing on this: it truly had to have been the most exhausting first day in her career, but at least it would soon be over and she could maybe catch the sunset on the beach and let the cooler evening breeze work on some of this humidity. She pushed back some damp tendrils of hair from her face, the chignon of earlier no longer so neat or controlled. And her stomach grumbled then, helpfully reminding her that she’d also missed lunch.

‘Stop that,’ she ordered sternly, grunting at her disgruntled abdomen as she organised the various sheaves of guest check-in information ready for input once the IT system was back up. But her stomach wasn’t playing ball. ‘I’m warning you.’