But Will There Be a Concierge Decathlon?

A peek inside the seventh annual Hotel Olympics.

by Dana Henry

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Inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, guests shuffled from the information desk to the sandwich spread. Then an entourage of about 20 clad in matching T-shirts busted through chanting "Hilton in the House! Woo-woo!" and marched their bright blue "Hilton Garden Inn" banner down the hall.

This was the Hotel Olympics, an competition between area hotels where staffers break from their black-tie uniforms and employee policy chains to demonstrate what Philly hospitality's really all about. Created in 2001 by the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, Hotel Olympics was originally confined to housekeeping. Then other departments wanted in. Now in its seventh year, the contest included 12 games and a host of area support including volunteers from various culinary schools, nonprofits and hotel management grad students, and sponsorship from Proctor & Gamble — a hospitality service supply company that runs its own housekeepers' rumble in Denver, Colo.

More than 400 contestants made this production the largest to date. Tinsel pom-poms were shaken, T-shirts spun like helicopter blades, noisemakers blew and maracas rattled as Def Leppard and Michael Jackson played through the sound system. The DJ announced each of the 18 hotels as they entered the auditorium. Cheers. Boos. Booty dancing.

Competition commenced with a pie-eating contest. For the "Fajita Flip," participants were given a shallow stir-fry bowl for catching while their partners threw plastic veggies and a large rubber chicken over their shoulders with a skillet. For "Blind Folded Bed-Making," housekeepers were timed as they dressed a queen-size bed, including stuffing the duvet cover, using only directions from a partner and their own sense of touch.

Then, there was the "Martini Dash," a server's worst at-work nightmare. Participants carried a full tray of martini glasses filled with coffee beans through an obstacle course of bright yellow Caution — Wet Floor signs while wearing goggles and flippers. The events closed with a "General Manager Match" that resembled the Newlywed Game, where a hotel staff member tried matching answers with the boss on questions such as "How many employees were on payroll as of last Friday?" and "Does your hotel have a college intern? If so, what's the intern's name?"

Though there was plenty of quirk, the real spectacle was team Courtyard by Marriott. With the most members, Courtyard entered in bright orange shirts with a boom box that played, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and a banner that read, "The Champs are Here." The group was lead by Chris Weney, a fourth-year front office supervisor and third-year competitor, who wore his team shirt around his head like a do-rag and, through a megaphone, shouted, "We ain't on the porch no more," while holding last year's trophy in the other hand. At the opening, Weney, representing last year's winners, flicked the switch on an electric torch and was met with boos from other teams. By the end, Courtyard had defended their title and Weney explained the unabashed show of spirit: "It's a big event for us to get together as a hotel and come down here."