ABOUT ME
My Heart
In Hospitality
By Silvia Kirkland
My blog - an exciting adventure and chapter of my life - all started in 2020, born from a complete worldwide meltdown. When Covid-19 hit, I found myself with no work, no income, no idea of what was coming next... like so many others.
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Needing a productive approach to invest my time and my knowledge; looking for a way to give back to the hospitality world and contribute as much as I could during those difficult times; pursuing an exciting idea to help and connect with all the people in my same shoes in 2020, My Heart In Hospitality was born.
I have worked in the hospitality industry for about 17 years. Starting in sales & marketing, food & beverage, guest relations, and finally Rooms Division.
I am now the Business Development Manager in Eagle County for Vail Resorts.
My experience includes 12 luxury properties, two of which I proudly opened, in five countries (Greece, Italy, UK, The Netherlands, and the U.S.) and 9 cities (Rhodes, Milan, Portofino, London, New York, Austin, Amsterdam, Washington DC, Vail Colorado. Most of my career has been in Guest Relations and Rooms Division, which is where I consider myself somewhat of an expert.
My aim here is to provide my humble opinion and to share things the way I've experienced them.
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If you work in the industry, you know very well that hotel life is not for everybody. As fun and enjoyable as it seems this business can be pretty tough.
It requires extreme flexibility, incredibly long days, full availability, a second-to-none ability to multitask, the capability to diplomatically please all guests all the time, and to work under great pressure. And don't expect to get rich; it doesn't pay good money.
We do it because have the PASSION for it, and we get the ENERGY from it, from the guests, the employees, the constant action, the fast pace.
I strongly believe knowledge is power and sharing knowledge is what I like to do. When we know something and we pass it on, we increase the opportunity for success in our network. I am here to tell you what I know about the business and how I have made it throughout my career. And I hope you will share your knowledge back with me, with us, tell us your opinion and let the network know what your experience has taught you.
My blog is intended to give and share opinions on operational and behavioral topics with my fellow hospitality experts, to bring support and advice to beginners, to provide mentorship to middle management looking to shape their leadership skills, to create a powerful network where we can help and support each other, within our crazy but fantastic world called hospitality.
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Silvia Kirkland