Being Tami....: Haiti Lesson #9....Take Time to Notice Our Commonness

Be hospitable to one another without complaint 1 Peter 4:9

Well....if you are following this journey as I talk about the 30 things I learned in Hati....you will know that I am about to see our "hotel" for the first time. I have been in the hospitality business, specifically the hotel business, for almost 25 years.

Arriving at the Holiday Beach Hotel was a special moment for me on this trip. The first thing I had to overcome was the need to have a "Gotcha" moment. I could not "inspect the room" for hairs, dirt or maintenance issues as these things existed everywhere. After a few short minutes in the hotel....I decided it was best to focus on our similarities. This hotel had been described as a "nice" place given the community. So I was going to focus on that.

Upon entering the "property", we were greeted by the gate security guard. He would control who could enter into the hotel during the week were staying. We were then welcome by Jerry, the innkeeper. He was very kind to us and was there every day to say hello. We each received a key to a room with a number written in Sharpie marker on it. Each morning, turned in our key at the lobby office so the cleaners could get into our room. Upon returning later in the day, our keys were all in an cookie tin on the counter and we searched through the keys to find ours. No photo ID required!!!

I shared a room with 2 other amazing women, Suzie and Lisa. Our room was well appointed with 3 double sized beds, fashionable decor and a posh bathroom. Our assigned room was #29 located on the second level with an ocean view. Of course we did not have a window that viewed the ocean but from our guestroom door, you could see it. The doors all open to an exterior corridor and all of the corridors overlook the outdoor Bar and Resto as well as the courtyard and the ocean. The Bar and Resto was a nice place to sit during the day and enjoy a slight ocean breeze and drink a cold 7UP or Coca Cola. They also served food throughout the day and seemed to entertain a lively crowd in the evenings.

Thoughout the week...I did focus on our similarities. The service that we received was great. We were greeted with eye contact, friendly smiles and offers to help every day. Our room was cleaned every day and nice touches were added to the way our towels were folded etc. As Susie stated several times during the week...."It's almost like a REAL hotel" I think Jerry and his team demonstrated gratitude toward us and they were warm and hospitable. That is better than some of our REAL hotels in the US.