My career in hospitality started in 1995 with a student job as a night auditor in a small hotel in the countryside in Northern France. To be honest, it was a horrible atmosphere with people who were very unpleasant to young people and trainees, and even the students weren’t nice to each other; it was awful and I decided never again.

But I gave hospitality another chance in a hotel in Amiens and I failed – that was the end of my adventure in hospitality; I decided it was not for me.

I got a job integrating call centres for incoming calls for the Pinault Group, now Kering, and then as a salesman, which worked well and I decided I was made for this.

After a brief spell back in a call centre when I had difficulty finding a job in the North of France, suddenly an ibis hotel and a Suitehotel were interested in my profile, so I thought I would give hospitality another try. And it had changed – I felt so welcome and needed; both hotels were happy with my skills, they knew I spoke French, English, German and Spanish; I was offered both jobs, and I chose the Suitehotel.

When I went back to Paris, the manager at the Suitehotel in Calais found me a job at Charles de Gaulle airport. After 12 months, I became Room Division Assistant, and in 2012, I became a trainer in hospitality as well.

I loved that so much, I abandoned hospitality for five years for schools to retrain adults for new roles. It was wonderful! I taught them to handle complaints, about housekeeping and reception work, and even gave a one-day special about how to keep it secret when superstars were staying in hotels.

After five years, my husband and I left France for Luxembourg and started work at the Novotel Luxembourg Kirchberg. I started as a Receptionist, then became Shift Leader, Office Manager at the Novotel Luxembourg Centre, Room Division Manager and a month and a half ago, I became Room Division and Quality Manager still at the Novotel Centre. I am enjoying that because when guests are unhappy with the service, I don’t take it personally and I want to make it better for them.

I love Accor because it encourages employees to be themselves; I have never been told don’t say that or don’t do that. I am very tactile and I am always surprised that guests never complain about that, but it is how I am.

Also, I like the Heartist® card. I travel a lot and the advantages attached to this employee card are unlimited; it gives me discounts in hotels, on car rental, if I buy an iPad or flights, pillows – it’s really useful; I don’t just earn a salary but I save lots of money as well.

I recommend hospitality for the contact with so many people; the great variety of mankind is concentrated in a hotel!

To be a Heartist® – be yourself and be spontaneous, pay special attention to people – it doesn’t have to be a particular occasion.

I found a way to retrieve a passport of a German lady who had flown from New York to Paris and she left her passport on the plane and it was going to Rio. I got it back and returned it to her and she said, ‘That’s fine, OK’ but didn’t thank me, but I did what I had to. That was when I realised I didn’t need to be thanked because I had done the right thing, and I was proud to have done that.

Also, I remember a schoolboy coming through the hotel lobby looking sad because he had had a training session in the hotel the following Monday and it had been cancelled. He was looking for another opportunity and was totally lost.

I said I didn’t have a position for him but as he was about to leave, I called him back because I remembered sometimes you have to give people a chance. He started the following Monday. That was in 2009, and now he manages a Novotel in Melbourne, Australia; and he still keeps in touch. It gives me goosebumps when I think about it.

I have two pieces of advice for new starters: be yourself, be natural, don’t try to be someone you are not because people will feel it; if you like to give – hospitality is for you. And be sophisticated – if you do something, do it thoroughly, to the best of your ability and with love; give your all. That’s what I say to my team, whatever you are doing, take the time to do it well.