Sign Me Up

I just spotted this item in the International Herald Tribune. I need this. We all need this.

"Over a week's stay at Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, Cyril Richardson dined on ceviche and lobster tacos, rubbed elbows with some celebrities attending a wedding at the resort and retired each night to his $650-a- day suite with views of a desert garden and the ocean beyond.

"But Richardson, 57, from Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, wasn't on vacation. He was being paid to do this.

"His stay was part of a new staff-training program by his employer back home, Little Dix Bay, a Rosewood Resort and a sister property to Las Ventanas.

"It wasn't all play. During the daytime, Richardson, a restaurant supervisor, donned a Las Ventanas uniform and went to work, taking notes on special touches he observed, like offering guests cold towels before lunch on hot days or using several waiters per table to place dinner entrees in front of guests in a choreographed flourish.

"In a new twist to traditional employee training, luxury hotels, cruise lines and spas are paying for staff members to go on vacation, or at least to try out some of their high-end services. Crystal Cruises is working on a program that will allow its front-line employees like waiters, housekeepers and blackjack dealers to try out the spa treatments, wine classes and tourist excursions it offers to guests.

"This year, the Plaza Athénée hotel in Paris began inviting staff members who have worked there for at least a year to stay overnight as guests, all expenses paid. Employees of Canyon Ranch, the spa resort based in Tucson, Arizona, can use all its spa facilities and attend classes for no charge. Massages, facials and pedicures are offered at a steep discount.

"The idea is to educate employees at many levels, from receptionists and housekeepers to restaurant managers, about what it's like to be a guest and to put an end to the "Ask the concierge" runaround that guests often receive when they have a question about some service or amenity."

This has got to beat hell out of working on the line.