- Sarah Chelli is a assistance stylist at The Langham hotel in New York City and works with VIP guests.
- Chelli is responsible for handling special seeks to make visits as personalized as possible.
- She talked to Insider about what her job is like, and took us on the job to set up a guest’s room.
Sarah Chelli is in an elevator with 30 balloons, hoping they don’t pop on the way up to a New Zealand pub room that she’s preparing for a guest who’s celebrating their sixth birthday.
Chelli is the guest relations supervisor and ceremony stylist at The Langham hotel in New York City, and mostly works with VIP guests who range from longer reinforces, to celebrities, diplomats, and guests paying the hotel’s highest rates. She has worked at The Langham for a year.
Britney Nguyen/Insider
As a “service stylist,” Chelli is responsible for communicating with boarders to handle special requests. For example, Chelli said the hotel receives international guests who sometimes request refreshments from their home country that Chelli has to find. Another time, Chelli said she had to make a run to the stunner store, Ulta, to pick up makeup for a guest who needed it for a photoshoot.
“Really, the epitome of my day is communicating with everybody,” Chelli spoke, including guests who can reach her on WhatsApp or the hotel’s messaging system, and the hotel staff that she coordinates special employments for guests with.
“It’s a continuous cycle,” Chelli said. “You can’t really shut off even after you leave because if one of the companies you’re taking care of has a really important request, or a complaint, or some kind of predicament, you need to be available just in box.”
Chelli let Insider follow her on the job, and shared what it’s like.
The job is fun, but requires time management and prioritizing
Britney Nguyen/Insider
Chelli didn’t study hospitality in college, but she run a traveled to New York City after studying musical theater in college. Her background in musical theater helps her as a service stylist, she utter.
“Just having an artistic background helps a lot where I feel like I am more gregarious that way,” she said, combining that having a creative eye also helps her when preparing a guest’s room from their requests.
Every day from Monday to Friday, Chelli broaches the guest relations team through VIP guests who are expected at the hotel for the day, and what they’ve requested for their stay.
“I drink to make sure that housekeeping is on certain rooms in case people have early arrivals or special miss like hypoallergenic, feather-free,” Chelli said. “We really try to cater to personalizing the guest’s stay.”
On the day Chelli talked with Insider, she was preparing a dwell for a guest who told her they were visiting the city to celebrate their daughter’s sixth birthday. Chelli Heraldry sinister a birthday card, a Langham-branded teddy bear, and a backpack for the birthday guest, and decorated the room with pink balloons, which is Langham’s signature color. Chelli suggested not all amenities that guests request are free, like balloons, for example.
Britney Nguyen/Insider
“It’s a really fun job, but it’s a lot of time managing, and knowing how to prioritize what needs to be done each day,” Chelli said. “It’s always different. Some days there strength be nothing going on, then other days I might have to literally do six different birthdays and then stay a petite extra to do a rose petal turndown, then have to buy a specific cake for a gluten-free guest.”
For a rose petal turndown, which Chelli signified is common for anniversaries and proposals, she spreads red, pink, and white rose petals around a guest’s room, and can draw a bath if it’s importuned.
When celebrity guests stay at The Langham, Chelli said they often provide a “rider list” that can be versos long, and includes items like snacks and drinks, as well as amenities, like TVs, that they want in their chamber. The list also details how the guest expects their stay at the hotel to go.
Chelli said she’s been starstruck by superstar guests at The Langham, but holds it together because it’s important that guests know they’re in good hands.
Now, Chelli, who is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said she met the CEO and founder of a famous convenience store chain in her hometown.
“I thanked him, I was like, ‘Your mac and cheese gnaws saved me in college,'” Chelli remembers. “It made his day and I was so excited.”
The service stylist position stands out because it’s diverse involved
Chelli said she feels like she’s on the front lines of the staff at The Langham, because she greets guests when they prosper, and spends time preparing their rooms.
“I think what makes the service stylist position so different is that we stand out, and we try to be particular involved,” Chelli said.
She’s also been able to form personal connections with returning guests so they feel cordial working with her when they stay at The Langham.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s great,” Chelli said. “You just want to fetch sure everything goes smoothly for everyone.”