I did various jobs before I joined hospitality, and have worked at Accor since 2016. I started as a receptionist in a small hotel near Milan and after a stage there, I moved to the Ibis hotel where I am now.

I love that Accor is a big company and that gives me many opportunities to develop, lots of colleagues from whom I can learn, and the company also gives excellent training.

This summer in Milan, I was alone on the night shift and suddenly, there was a lot of water flowing from the first and second floor, and the electricity was out, with no lights for an hour. A lot of guests were calling me to make sure everything was OK. I was also checking with the energy company to get electricity back. I was proud to be able to handle that efficiently.

It was not possible to prepare breakfast much in advance because electricity came back only one hour before the breakfast service started. The hotel has 440 rooms, and we usually prepare 300 to 350 breakfasts. Fortunately, some things were prepared the night before and some of my colleagues came to my aid.

At the moment I am a receptionist but I am moving to the F&B department as a waiter and my plan is to become a restaurant supervisor during the dinner service.

My proudest moment was when my manager told me that I am being given this new opportunity to develop because I had done a good job in reception.

For me, being a Heartist means to be friendly and helpful to guests, and to make them feel like they are staying at home.

If someone is newly in industry and wants to pursue a career, that can be very satisfying in hospitality, and with Accor there are great opportunities and excellent training.