Keeping a cool head in the most stressful of situations is a huge challenge. As reception manager of the Bell Rock hotel, Markus Widmann ensures the smooth-running of the hotel. “No day is ever the same – today, it is organising ten heart-shaped balloons in no time, then a special type of milk, finding the best train connection or return a lost teddy, and these are just the simple tasks. Quality is always the ultimate goal,” says the 35 year-old. The reception is the heart of the hotel, the pivot point of all concerns.

“Every day is like a rollercoaster ride for me, action-packed and full of variety,” says Ivan Serajlic, born in 1977 in Fulda, about his job as reception manager of the El Andaluz, Castillo Alcazar and Santa Isabel hotels. For Désirée Spitzer (30), reception manager at the Colosseo hotel since summer 2013, her day also begins with organisational tasks: which guests are arriving? Is there anything special to look out for? What events are taking place? 

Tours of the hotel have to be made and tasks discussed, whether it be with the head housekeeper about a room request, the head chef about certain meals or other special requests (flowers, shuttle service or gifts in rooms), duty rotas, staff training... the role of a reception manager never gets boring!