This hotel has good karma.

It always has. Call it what you like - feng shui, karma, a happy spirit – The Listel Hotel has always had it.

...Maybe it’s because the hotel has almost always been owned by a family.

...Or maybe it’s because the kitchen is at the heart of the hotel.

...Or maybe it’s the remarkable staff and their passion for the place.

All I know is that no amount of mediocre or even stellar management seems to be able to mess it up. It just has it.

Our owners have always encouraged us to be as independent as they are, to respect traditional hotel management methods while experimenting with new and original ideas. Some have worked, others not but we’ve all benefited from this pioneering sensibility.

Then there is the kitchen concept - it truly is at the heart of the building. It’s on the route which all of the hotel’s staff travel on 15, 20, 30 times a day. Arriving for your shift? Only way is through the kitchen. Going to the staff room for a quick coffee, a call home? Can’t avoid the kitchen. Going from the guest rooms to the restaurant? Quickest way is through the kitchen.

It’s like the best kind of party where most of the evening is spent kibitzing with the cook, helping prep vegetables, sampling the olive laden bread, offering to carve the chicken just so you can score the chicken tenders. What are people more passionate about than food and the fellowship that comes with sharing it?

Then there are the people, they really seem to love working here, love the people they work with. They take pride in every aspect of the hotel and in all they do. Words like "empowerment" have an absurd ring to them. "Doesn’t everyone know that you can and should do the right thing whether someone tells you to or not?" muses a Listel Hotel employee.

Or maybe it’s simply the Connies, Narinders, Elzbietas, Nicks, Jasons, Sherris, Lenkas, Nicols, and the Marinhos on our staff who make a point of knowing every guest.  They put their heart into their work, not just their time and skills.  They consistently go the extra mile, not just for the guest but for their coworkers as well. They set the tone and place the bar for service excellence higher every day for all of us.

Yeah, maybe that’s it.

Thanks, everyone.

Jim Mockford
General Manager