Walk along the streets of Orchard Road and for every five people you pass by, at least one will be a tourist.
In 2015, Singapore saw 15.2 million visitors come to its shores to indulge in what the city-state had to offer. Singapore has consistently ranked as one of Asia’s best tourist destinations through the years. The hotel sector has also contributed much to Singapore’s economy and has a 0.8 per cent year-on-year growth in room revenue – but that is not what this article is about.
Let us instead focus on the 35,000 hotel employees who continue to contribute to this success – the ones who often forgo their own holidays to ensure others have a great one.
Meeting with One
Rashidah Mohamed, 48, celebrates Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji every year. Fortunately for her, she is the only one in her department celebrating those festivities. She has been in the hotel line for 18 years now.
“My colleagues will cover me when I go on my leave to celebrate. On most public holidays, I will be working, be it Deepavali, Lunar New Year or Christmas. But on both Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Haji, I’ll take my leave.
“My colleagues help me out during this period, and I will help them out when they need to celebrate,” said Rashidah.
The hotel line is the only industry she has ever been in. After being a housewife, she found a position as a housekeeper at the age of 29. She gradually climbed the ranks to become a team leader and today, she is a senior coordinator for the housekeeping department in RC Hotels.
Working Shifts
Like many other hotel employees, passion for the job is what keeps her going. As the hotel industry operates 24/7, Rashidah works six-day workweeks of 8- to 10-hour shifts that rotate through the day and night.
“My children are all adults now, so I don’t worry about having someone to look after them. But when they were younger, yes, I needed my mum’s help to look after my children when I went out to work. Now, they are the ones looking after my mum,” said the mother of two, whose children are now in their 20s.
Rashidah’s daily duties include coordinating and providing administrative support to all areas of the department, updating the records of lost and found, maintaining the security of all room keys and locks to various cabinets and drawers, and ensuring all guest requests are addressed in a timely manner, among a long list of other responsibilities.
“It’s a tough job. As a team leader, I had to check rooms for defects and ensure they were clean. There wasn’t much interaction with guests. As a coordinator now, I interact with guests on a daily basis, via phone and emails. I pick up so many new skills working as a coordinator, even soft skills. Sometimes guests can be demanding. If that happens, I have to tell myself to be calm, firm and professional. That’s how it is in the industry,” she said.
Many would call her job role as the epicentre of the housekeeping department, although she works behind the scenes. Without a coordinator, there would be no one to control the housekeeping operations of the hotel.
“Communication and operations will break down without someone to coordinate. I take my job seriously and do my best,” said Rashidah.
