Madeleine Makes A Grand Impression

Madeleine Verrall, who meets and greets thousands of people each year at Eastbourne’s five-star Grand Hotel, has an extra reason to smile.

The guest relations assistant, who previously worked on the reception desk and re-joined the hotel three years ago in her current role, has been named Employee of the Year 2009.

Madeleine, who was born and went to school in Eastbourne, has become a familiar face at the hotel where she is responsible for meeting guests, looking after VIPs, helping to co-ordinate special events such as birthday parties or anniversary celebrations and dealing with special requests.

A 23-year career as a tour manager in the travel industry made her the ideal candidate for the position when she decided she wanted to move to pastures new.  And she had already got a taste for life at the Grand after completing a private hotel receptionist course and working at the hotel for a year in 1990.

“The time had come for a change and I wanted to stay in one place rather than travel around all the time,” said Madeleine. “I knew I wanted to continue working with people, but wasn’t quite sure exactly what job would fit the bill, and then I saw the advertisement for guest relations assistant. I had already spent a year at the hotel in between travel jobs and really enjoyed it, so I was delighted when I was offered the post.

“Every day is different and I work with a great team. We have lots of regular guests, even including a few people who remember me from my travel days, and they have all become friends. As well as meeting and greeting guests I look after special requests, which might be anything from making sure there is a specific type of bottled water in the room to having blankets and sheets instead of duvets and any other personal preferences, so I work with all the different departments in the hotel. I love the job and it was a real honour to be told I had won the annual award.”

Members of staff at the hotel are nominated for the award by their department heads and Madeleine won a two-night stay at a top London hotel, with tickets for a theatre show of her choice. Grand Hotel General Manager, Jonathan Webley, presented her with the award.

Mr Webley said: “The Grand Hotel has won many tourism industry awards over the years. All of these accolades are due to teamwork and the ongoing commitment of the members of staff, which is why we like to reward them with our own internal awards. Since re-joining the hotel Madeleine has made a big impression on both guests and staff with her cheerful, helpful personality and the warmth of her welcome.”