Friday, July 11, 2008

Life in an AI, Not as a Guest

I have been spending quite a bit of time, recently, in one of the area’s biggest hotel complexes. We currently have a contract with the hotel and it sends us about 120 students, per month, to study English. There are a couple of other large hotels that do the same but this specific one is the most serious about making sure its employees can communicate at, at least, a basic level of English. It is, also, one of the few hotels willing to pay for its employees to learn. In an area where most hotels pay about the same and offer the same benefits, this extra benefit is seen as a draw to many of its employees.

They have now offered us space, in the hotel, to offer classes to those employees that find it difficult to come to Playa to study. Some live in towns like Tulum, Carrillo Puerto and Coba, while others work split shifts and cannot come in the hours we offer classes. That is the reason I have been spending time in the hotel.



The hotel complex (5 hotels, with another being built) employs over 3000 people. 2400 of them live in the “poblado”, which is a large housing complex for the employees. Within the poblado, there is a large dining area, a mini-grocery store (with discounted prices), basketball courts, a soccer field and, soon, an internet cafe and game room. Depending on the employee’s position in the hotel, the apartments hold from 1 to 8 people. Managers are afforded small houses, while garderners will share with 7 of their co-workers. Housing and meals are considered as part of the benefit package, and most employees earn between 2500 and 8000 pesos a month. Receptionists, guest service workers and others, with a higher level of English, earn more.

I have been told that the turnover rate is around 400 employees a month, which keeps the HR department at full speed. Frequent recruiting trips are made to villages, towns and cities, including as far away as Chiapas. Transportation, for those who do not live on-site, runs on a regular schedule to Playa, Tulum and Carrillo Puerto. Some wake up a 4AM and return to their house at 10PM. 10 hour days, split shifts and 6 day work weeks are the norm.

Yet, with all this, we have people lining up to take advantage of the courses offered by the hotel, through us. Almost all of the employees I talk to tell me the same thing. They want to learn English because they know it is their key to a better future. I am continuously amazed at the extent some people will go to better the lives of their family. I also have become more aware of just how much I used to take for granted.  The attitude exhibited by these workers is exactly the attitude that is going to lift Mexico into an economic force to be reckoned with.  All that is missing is the abandoning of some traditional thought processes that lead to corruption and too big a gap between have’s and have not’s.  I have met a lot of people that will soon “have” and it makes me happy that I can get paid for something that is going to help in that respect. 

In any event, I just wanted to offer a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of an AI.

Posted by PlayadelSoul in 19:26:55 | Permalink | Comments (7)