We meet Fauzia, Director of Housekeeping at Le Germain Hotel Toronto, and Justin, Guest Service Agent at Alt Hotel St John's.

This is À la Germain, the podcast about the people who bring Germain Hotels to life every day.

I'm in studio with Jean-Yves, Clara, and Marie-Pierre Germain.

Hello, everyone.

Bonjour.

In this episode, we meet Fauzia, Director of Housekeeping at Le Germain Toronto on Mercer, and Justin, Guest Service Supervisor at Alt Hotel St John's.

These two people have two different professions in two different hotels, but they have attention to detail, respect, and incomparable hospitality in common.

Three values that were surely at the heart of the Germain philosophy when, Jean-Yves, you opened the first boutique hotel in Canada.

Yes.

Late 80s, I was with Christiane on a trip in New York, and we were there for a restaurant business, by the way.

And we were staying at the Hotel Carl Morgan, designed by André Putman.

They built the hotel in beginning of, let's say, I will say, 83, 84.

And at the time, it was what they call Hotel Boutique.

And we went there, come in the lobby, took our room, and we find things that, if we do a hotel, it will be like that.

The bed, bathroom, towels, everything was comfortable.

People were nice.

Asking for something, always yes.

Always, I'll do my best.

Kind of value that, okay, if we do hotel, that's what we will do.

When you were on that trip to New York with Christiane, and you're coming from the restaurant industry, and you see this boutique hotel, what was the decision process like to embark on this whole other industry?

What was the conversation between you and Christiane?

Before we went, we did the trip.

We never thought doing hotel.

It's really the new, the feel we had there that make us, let's go and let's try to do that in Canada.

You felt good, and you wanted to bring that to your hometown.

That's right, that's right.

Simple as that.

Simple as that.

And then here we are today.

That's where we are.

Great.

Respect is an important value for Fauzia at the Germain Hotel Toronto on Mercer.

When we met, she told us that she knew she would spend her entire career at Le Germain on her first day in the hotel's housekeeping department 20 years ago.

Let's hear what she had to say.

I feel very, very respected here.

That's the main thing, I'm staying here.

I don't run for luxury or something.

For me, my dignity, my work, my respect is more important.

If somebody will give me some incentive for money, and somebody will ask me, okay, choose respect, or this bonus or this money, I will choose respect instead of money.

Paris-Pierre, any reaction to that?

I find it so touching to hear Fauzia say this.

I met Fauzia when she first started working with us.

In fact, she's the one who welcomed me on my first day, working in our hotel in Toronto, and hearing her talk about respect, and I know the way she treats her team, and this is something that she also embodies very well as a manager.

And we know many people whose first job is to come work for us, like Fauzia many years ago was her first job.

And it's very touching to hear her talk about respect and how important it is to her.

We spent the morning with Fauzia and her team.

It's 8 a.m., time for the briefing, but also for a habit that Fauzia has created, a team warmup.

Good morning, ladies.

Let's start with stretches first.

Who will start, Brenda?

Come on, Brenda.

One, whoa, two, three.

Who is next?

Goenny?

Okay, you next.

Goenny, in Chinese, in your language, yeah.

One more.

Oksana, maybe you?

Maybe in Urdu.

Okay, ladies, today we have 58 morning rooms, 96 evening rooms, arrival 60, and departure 22.

Any question?

Okay, have a good day.

Thank you.

The team leaves for the rooms, and we ask Fauzia for more details on her approach to starting the working day.

When you stretch, your body gets warm up, and you are ready to work.

Sometimes you are just to make fun, you know, the briefing board.

I don't read it.

I just ask somebody to volunteer and give the briefing.

Just to have the sense that they own the place.

Clara, Fauzia's approach is great for keeping her team motivated, is it not?

It is.

It absolutely is.

Actually, I was smiling when I was listening to that, because first of all, inclusivity is very near and dear to my heart, and to let her team express themselves in their language and to celebrate that, I think, is absolutely wonderful.

And furthermore, I think a sign of true leadership is to give space to others, and when she lets others read the board and take that space, I think it's wonderful, and for sure the team feels that they own the place, that they have ownership, and that it's not just listening to someone telling you what to do during the day, right?

So I think it's beautiful.

And it's also touching on respect when we talk about that, is acknowledging that we all come from different backgrounds and letting people express themselves in their own language.

I don't know that you can do anything more than to welcome them into our culture.

Someone you know well, Clara, and who also has some great morning habits, is Justin at the Alt Hotel St John's front desk.

We asked him how he starts each day.

So for the most of my time as a guest service agent, before I was a team lead and before I was a supervisor, I would normally work the 7am to 3pm shifts.

So I had to get up, you know, 5.30am in the morning, every morning, 5 days a week.

And every day that I would come to work, I'd normally be singing to the co-workers, Good morning, good morning.

What a brilliant day to say good morning, good morning to you.

And it was kind of my way of getting everyone's energy up and making sure everyone was in a good mood, no matter what happened at home, what happened yesterday.

Today is going to be a fabulous day and we're going to enjoy it.

Clara, how did you feel about this little morning ritual?

There is no way that this doesn't put, like we're all here together, everybody's smiling.

There is no way that this doesn't put a smile on your face.

And he's right, you know, working in the morning, you wake up very early in St John's, it's often very dark at that time.

So, you know, I think that what he did and what he does to motivate the team is definitely working.

And it makes people, you know what, you start the day with a smile, it makes you happy.

And if you're happy, you take care of your people, you take care of your guests, you take care of your colleagues, so everybody wins.

Another habit Justin has developed over time is the way he responds to customers.

We've compiled a few moments from his morning.

Hi, how are you?

Oh, living the dream, what could I do for you?

Hello, how are you?

Living the dream, trying to.

Hello, Kim, this is Justin Tobin calling from the Alt Hotel.

How are you doing?

Oh, living the dream, enjoying the fact that it's Friday.

When asked why he says this, here's what he tells us.

It tends to make people laugh.

It tends to make people chuckle.

They don't expect you to say that.

They expect you to say, I'm good or I'm okay.

But usually if you say something so positive, it'll make the other person almost chuckle and have a good day too.

It's like I'm forcing them to have a good day, you know?

Is this an approach that speaks to you, Marie-Pierre?

Oh, this makes me laugh because I think my husband would argue with Justin that living the dream is his saying.

He actually has a T-shirt that says living the dream printed on it.

So yes, it makes me laugh.

But the other thing Justin says is the kettle is always on and we mean it.

And I don't think that could be any more sincere than it is.

Like, you know that you are always welcome when you walk into the hotel and Justin is there to welcome you.

It really touched me when I heard him say that.

Justin puts a lot of his personality into his hospitality, which makes it all very natural for him.

But that doesn't mean that his two years at the hotel have been easy.

We asked him about his biggest learning curve since his arrival.

The biggest challenge was explaining to people when I don't know something.

Because I'm the type of person that I would always want to provide an answer.

I always want to make sure that the guest is satisfied.

And to be honest, it was really different to say, I'm truly unsure, let me check with my superior, let me check with someone who will know the answer.

And that's definitely something that I found cumbersome at first.

So when we asked him if he had any advice for a new employee, here's what he said.

When you tell a guest something, it becomes bonafide in their mind.

So whatever you tell them, they're going to have an expectation set.

And they're going to be disappointed if you don't follow through on that.

So if you're truly unsure about something, it's much better to tell them that you're unsure and you will get back to them with the proper answer, as opposed to saying something that might not be correct.

And because of that, could create a false expectation.

Sorry, but I hear him say that, and I feel like a very proud mother.

I'm like, ooh, it's the things that I said.

Why?

Because it wasn't like that?

No, but because like it's true, Justin always wants to please people, which is awesome, don't get me wrong.

But then it's a learning curve to learn how to...

How to...

Manage expectations.

Manage expectations and not, you know, if you don't know the answer, it's fine, but you need to go get the answer.

And so, you know, and I would often say it's okay to be transparent and to say that you don't know and that you're going to get the answer.

So I'm very proud, little proud moment for me.

Do you have anything to add, Marie-Pierre?

No, I think transparency is really key in this.

Yeah, yeah.

Honesty is on every floor at Germain Hotel.

Back in Toronto, Fauzia also had an opinion on the matter.

Honesty pays you back.

Other day, something happened in room and guests called front desk.

Front desk said, the mini bar, we have a small fridge is there, right?

Guest said, there is a leftover food there.

And my assistant, she was, oh Fauzia, I inspected that room.

So they call house person to go, guest is okay, but guest asked to come and remove that food packet.

House person was going.

I said, no, no, no, house person is not going.

Florinda, you go.

You go by yourself.

You present yourself, introduce yourself, tell them, sir, it was my mistake, honest mistake.

I missed that part to inspect, right?

And I'm so sorry.

And she went there, she came back and she was laughing.

So, oh my God, guest was so happy.

He said, oh, you shouldn't come, you know, that's okay.

But she said, Fauzia, I told him that it was my fault, sir, because I missed to check this.

I missed to check.

It's my fault, not my staff fault.

It's my fault.

When manager takes, you know, you be honest with your guest, they become very happy.

Do you think that that was well handled, Clara?

I think it was very well handled.

And I think that, you know, that's ownership to go and, you know, it's her mistake.

So she dealt with it.

And I think, you know, at the end of the day, we're human beings welcoming other human beings.

Mistakes happen and they're very okay.

It's the way that we handle them that is that makes a difference for the guests.

And, you know, I think that for guests, it's very, very hard to stay upset if someone sincerely apologizes for a mistake, because unless they're perfect, you know, everybody makes them.

So I think it was very well handled.

I think these things will happen.

It's just how you will manage what happens.

You know, mistakes, as you say, Clara, mistakes happen, you know, and nobody is badly intentioned.

I think we all wake up in the morning and we want to do our best.

So it's really how you're going to turn a situation around that will make the difference in the end.

And fun fact, I don't have a real number, so I'm going to, it's not scientific, but I look at all of our guest comments and reviews and everything every day.

And I would say on top of my head that at least 50, 60% of the positive reviews are about recoveries and not about how everything was perfect.

It was like, oh, there was something happened and they dealt with it amazingly.

So mistakes are not necessarily a bad thing.

They might be an opportunity actually to make this day amazing.

When you arrive as an employee at a large organization like Germain Hotel, you might think that your impact will be minimal.

However, small personal initiatives can have a big impact on the organization.

Justin has English, Jewish and Mi'kmaq roots.

Here's one initiative he developed in just two years at Alt Hotel St John's.

Something that we spoke about before was our colorful touches and our welcome amenities where we write cards and these types of things.

Something that I've really tried to work towards is language inclusivity, and that's been really important for me.

So actually welcoming people in their language, whether that could be Swedish, Finnish, if we're sure of what the person speaks.

A big thing that we've done is try and promote indigenous languages of the province, so to make people feel welcome on the land that they're walking on.

We even have a equality sign over here that's written in English, Mi'kmaq, Inu'amon and Inuktitut, as well as French, and that affirms that this is a positive space for everyone.

Justin then pulls out a few cards to show us some examples.

So this is written in Inu'amon, and it says, Gwaii Bojuu, and you can see that this is actually the symbol of the Inu nation.

So then this one was done for Spirit Song Festival.

So Spirit Song Festival is an Indigenous music and culture festival that our hotel is a proud sponsor of.

This says, Jelazi Bojuu Attelehai, so it's Mi'kmaq, Inu'amon and Inuktitut.

And then this one is just another version.

Welcome, Bienvenue, Jelazi Attelehai, Grès.

This is already a great initiative, but Justin has taken it a step further.

Another thing that we really helped develop was medicine ties or tobacco ties.

So this is a First Nation practice that's given as a gift of respect, usually to elders, but not necessarily always.

We actually have our own little medicine ties here that we save for guests who we know are guests of honour, who have travelled a long distance to come and stay with us.

So it's meant to restore your energy to keep bad spirits and things away, but it's given as a sign of respect.

Justin then brings us behind the front desk to show us one last thing.

So we have separate gifts just for Inuit guests.

We have handmade rattles to give to you.

Now this isn't given to every guest.

This is only for visiting elders from the Inuk community.

But we actually made, our team made these by hand.

We asked Justin if he'd had any feedback on these initiatives.

The reception on these has been hugely positive.

Just saying it's the first time that they've ever been greeted in an Indigenous language in a city that is not necessarily tied to a reservation or tied to Indigenous land.

The other parts of the province are more known for their Indigenous background, whereas here in St.

John's, the city doesn't have that same tie to culture, so to have that access to language has been immensely important.

Thank you.

Um, yes, well, I, you know, the amazing thing about this is that Justin just did it.

And he did it fairly early in his career at Germain Hotels at the Alt.

He did it just because he wanted to, he really understood what the Germain hospitality style was, and he took the initiative to just make people that he, and a culture that he was very familiar with, because Justin has indigenous roots, but he just took that and he wanted to make people feel welcome, and he took it.

Never asked permission to anyone, which is great.

And I think it's truly wonderful, and it's inclusive, and it's amazing.

I can't, I have no words.

I think what's great with Justin, and like many other team members that we have across the country, is that they have the ability to make a difference in the lives of our guests, and that happens when you stop and listen, and focus on welcoming the guests.

And I think Justin shows a great example of what we do and what hospitality is all about.

But you're no stranger to this kind of initiative, Clara.

Listen to what Justin had to say.

Honestly, I never thought I would get to promote Indigenous language and culture while working in a hotel, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've been afforded.

Honestly, I have to really thank Clara Germain.

She's always encouraged me to be myself, to show what skills I have to offer, and because of that, I've really been able to shine.

That must be nice to hear.

It's very nice.

I'm a little, I'm a very emotional person, so I'm emotional right now, but it's very nice.

And personally for me, individuality is something that I'm very proud that we have in our hotels, that people are allowed to be themselves, that they're checking in as themselves, that we encourage that.

And that is a good example.

So yeah, it makes me very happy, very proud.

To end the episode, we asked Justin what his biggest dream was.

And here's his answer.

My biggest dream would be to work with each of our locations to find out what indigenous groups are relevant and are from each area, to help them develop cards in their own individual languages and to really help promote indigenous culture and indigenous inclusivity amongst our company.

Do you think this is a realistic dream, Marie-Pierre?

I think it's already happening.

Justin is a great collaborator, and we've had many other hotels contact him to find out what he was doing so that in turn they could do something similar, because again, individuality and pushing that forward and knowing that you're able to make that difference is something that we encourage from the first day.

Yeah, I definitely think that it's something that we are, that it's a project for sure.

So we are working on that with Justin, with the teams.

We have other teams that are also doing amazing initiatives for indigenous and other communities.

Winnipeg is a good example of that.

They just won an award.

So it's definitely something that we are tackling at the moment.

Well, we talked about different cultures and respect at the beginning when we introduced Fauzia.

And I think this ties in to really wanting to welcome the people that, yes, are on our teams, but also who are walking into the hotels.

And we really express that with what we heard from Justin, doing it with First Nations, but also other cultures that are...

We have a big country.

What was the sentence you used before that you said was a kind of motto for the hotel?

Check in as yourself.

Check in as yourself.

Yeah, it's on our career, like our employer branding.

To encourage people when they come to work with us to check in as themselves.

You don't have special formulas that you have to learn to come and work with us.

It's all about who you are as an individual and how you can contribute to making people happy and doing that sort of initiatives.

And as a matter of fact, sometimes when people come in from a place from hotels where they had to learn the formulas, we kind of have to deprogram them a little bit so they can be themselves at work, which is always a nice fun challenge.

That's the end of our episode.

Thanks to all three of you, and especially to Fauzia and Justin for sharing their day with us.

See you all in a future episode of À la Germain.