Bali hotel front liner joins international competition

A hotel front liner from Bali will represent Indonesia for the first time at the “International Receptionist of the Year Competition” in Christchurch, New Zealand, from Jan. 9 to 14.

Putu Cintya Purnama Sari, who currently works at the Novotel Bali Benoa is set to compete with participants from 15 other countries to achieve the prestigious “Chef de Reception” honor, the David Campbell Trophy.

Cintya, 23, was voted “National Best Hotel Receptionist of the Year 2009” by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Hotel Front Liner Association (HFLA) and the Indonesian Hospitality Alliance. Due to financial reasons, the association could not send her to the 2010 international competition.

“Indonesia and Singapore will be the only Asian countries joining the international competition. Our country will be represented by Cintya, who beat on six other finalists at the national level,” HFLA chairman I Nengah Widiasa said Wednesday.

He said Cintya’s victory at the national competition was a prestigious award for Bali and was a great step forward for the island’s association and also an example for other hotel front liners.

Criteria in the competition includes general information about the participant’s workplace, local cultural knowledge, as well as a role-play.

“Preparing for the New Zealand competition involved hours of practice to ensure the role-play runs smoothly and questions from the judges are answered professionally. The role-play section contributes the most to the overall scores,” Widiasa said.

The role-play section will exhibit the participants’ ability to handle guests with good hospitality and manners, especially in unfavorable situations, he added.

Cintya said she never expected she could achieve the best at the local and national competitions that qualified her to compete for the international award.

“I never expected to win. My motivation was only to gain more experience in this challenging job,” she said.

Being a receptionist for two years has give her many experiences in handling guests with diverse characteristics. She said that in unfavorable situations, the key was to “turn the guests’ disappointment into satisfaction”.

“I want to make Bali and the rest of Indonesia proud.”

Olivier Moies-Delval, the general manager of Novotel Bali Benoa, said the hotel was delighted with Cintya’s great performance in the recent national competition.

“Cintya has nothing to prove anymore. It’s already an achievement that she could join this competition. With the quality she has shown, I’m confident that she will do her best,” he said. “There is no pressure, but we’ll be more than happy if she brings home the trophy.”