Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

3. What is your most unforgettable front office moment?
During the winter of 1993, there was huge snowstorm in Chicago, and O’Hare airport was closed. I was the front office
manager at Hyatt Regency O’Hare at the time. We began the day with 200 arrivals. I left for home about 6:30 a.m. and was
called back about an hour later because we now had an additional 800 arrivals, and the hotel was sold out. When I
returned to work there was a long line of people that stretched from the front desk outside the front doors. Guests were
arriving on our airport shuttles and literally standing in line from that point. For the next two hours, we checked guests in
to more than 800 rooms. About 90 percent of the guests had dinner in our restaurant or ordered room service. To conclude
the evening, we entered about 700 wake-up calls for the next morning.
We all pulled together as a team to serve our guests. Despite the circumstances, our guests were happy to have a
place to stay, and they appreciated our efforts. We made an otherwise difficult situation tolerable. This was one of my best
days at Hyatt.