Who doesn't need a break?
I've expressed this blog with a male orientation for the ease of expressing my views and doesn't intend to hurt or chedo the lovely lady emotions :)
For Govt employees life's a vacation most of the time, not because they do not work (well most of the time) but because they're "well taken care of" with reimbursements for travel, stay, leaves etc etc.
But we're not talking about them.
Engineers, Doctors, Scientists, and all other "dignified" professionals also get time to take a break, so we're not talking about them either.
Since I've been a hospitality professional, particularly, a hotelier now a year short of a decade, I'm going to be selfish and make this about professionals of my genre.
Life as a hotelier starts from the time you've experienced the scorching kitchens, sweaty dish-washing areas, tedious bed-making tasks and the air conditioned comfort of the Front Office during the mandatory Industrial Exposure Training at a prominent luxury hotel. This is more like the tough and dirty training that can be compared to only the ordeal/ opportunity (however you want to put it) that defense cadets are put through. Though for the physical bruise bit of it I would say it's a little easier for us hoteliers.
Since a hotel management course is considered to be the last option for most low-scoring high-school passouts (atleast in India) what we don't realise is that whilst we have decided to take this war of an opportunity to be a hotelier, it is going to be the end of all the lunch-breaks, games-breaks, and even the loo-breaks. And what's even more difficult is to make our friends, in the aforesaid professions, understand that life's not all luxury because we're always around food and alcohol or at the reception.
Ok, now that you have the build up of how a hotelier (almost) comes into existence, let's come to the point of this blog :)
When a hotelier has to try plan a break which may include being off work for 5 days so that he can get married, or go talk to his girl friend's father because hoteliers don't have time for detailed arranged wedding related shu-sha of browsing through "4 million profiles" on matrimonial websites, they're expected to have thought about this 6 months ago and applied for leave. Which, also, by the way can get rejected if a large group of people from the aforesaid professions decide to come on an off-site or get married at an off-site location. I think this is the reason a lot of hoteliers marry late and end up sporting the salt'n'pepper look when attending PTMs in schools of their kids. Honeymoon is often a luxury that usually gets coupled with a conference that either of the spouse has to attend in the nearest pin code (yes, its true that even hoteliers attend conferences), and this could be possibly how the kids get produced.
Another, need for a break is when the hotelier thinks that the head's going to burst with all the gastroenteritis symptoms from the guest feedback of people on offsite wedding/ office parties (from the aforesaid professions). So he decides to take a 10 day break to an international zipcode, however, he often gets 3-5 day approval with an advise to holiday in a 3-5 hour by-flight location so that he can rush back to work in case another drops by!
Lady hoteliers who take the plunge to get married are often blessed with a break that comes in the name of Maternity leave. This might be looked at as an opportunity to relax or the tough task of carrying a future hotelier in the tummy (wink).
And because in either of the vacation options from above the hotelier is not really completely on vacation because "A soldier hotelier is never off duty" he always has to answer calls on his mobile and be available to check emails and revert; the ultimate decision to take a sabbatical comes into thought. And often this continues to remain as a thought for the next decade or so. And for the daredevils who manage to convince themselves to 'Just Do It' then stumble for the next half a decade or so trying to present this decision to their senior at work.
The need for a break becomes even more inevitable and the need of the hour as every year goes by trying all the convincing - the question always remains - when does the hotelier take a break!?!