JANE LANT

I live in Burley-in-Wharfedale, and am up at 6.15am each day ready to arrive at work between 7 and 7.30am. My other half is the sort of person who is immediately wide awake after getting out of bed, which drives me mad.

I'm no night owl, but it takes me a good quarter-of-an-hour or so in the morning to feel anything approaching normal.

Breakfast is cereal with juice or tea against the background of BBC1.

I arrive at the hotel and check out the restaurant and public areas. If we have a conference on first thing I check to see if the night porter has got everything ready. On my way around the hotel I'll go to my pigeonhole and check for notices.

As my role was created recently - at the start of the year - I don't have a desk at the moment and must instead sneak in and use the reception manager's computer before she arrives.

At 8.30am the housekeepers come in so I'll stick my head in to check everyone is present and correct.

In my new role I look after reception, the restaurant, customer relations plus housekeeping, which is a new responsibility. Previously it had always been an area I'd avoided somehow, but now I'm looking after it I find it very interesting. It's not just about cleaning - you have to consider all sorts of things, such as the type of linen and the toiletries you use.

My job starts at the marketing stage and follows through to after the guest leaves. I'm looking at how to improve the product and what packages we can offer to entice people to stay. One example is that we allow guests to come and cut their own fresh flowers from our garden across the road. We're also exploring a link-up with Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate to offer guests authentic Yorkshire tea in their room.

At some point in the morning I'll liaise with our maintenance team, as we have a rolling project to keep the hotel up to scratch.

At 10am it's our "prayer meeting", something our present general manager Eamonn Elliott brought along from his previous job. Basically it's a heads-of-department meeting where we each have our prayer sheet of jobs to do. It includes information on what's happening that day and when guests are due to arrive. Usually we'll be done in 15 to 20 minutes, but if the managing director Jeremy Rata is there it can be closer to 45 minutes as he'll be either very excited about something or trying to put the fear of God into us if there's been a problem.

At 10.30am I may work on updating and maintaining the wine database we're constructing. It was started at the beginning of the year, and the idea is to record, with consent, guests' drink preferences when dining in our Burlington restaurant so we can invite them to special events we think will appeal. A recent such event saw 95 guests attend a talk on Champagne hosted by the son of Desmond Llewelyn (Q in the James Bond films) and the sales director of Taittinger Champagne.

I also have to do forecasting as part of my job, although my occupancy estimates are usually a little optimistic.

I review our room rates every six months. Recently our luxury rate went up slightly because we thought dinner in our Burlington restaurant (a Michelin star holder and recently awarded three AA rosettes) was worth more.

Usually I have a five-minute lunch break, which is my own choice. I often have some more cereal, and it's rare that I sit down to eat.

As director of rooms I'm required to visit local corporate clients, which is all new to me but very enjoyable. Taking time and showing an interest in them is certainly appreciated, and explaining the many services we have to offer has really helped business at our sister property the Devonshire Fell, which I also look after.

As you might expect I work very closely with the reservations team and spend a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour each day helping with administration in order to produce a weekly report looking at bookings.

As reception is now an area I have direct control over I see my role as a business within a business as I have to handle marketing, sales, and human resources. There's a lot of talking to do as the team is 25-strong and sorting out any work or personal issues takes time.

We've also doubled our guest relations team in a bid to offer customers more, which means we now have doormen, and morning and evening hosts available to help at all times.

Before leaving I'll make sure the evening staff have arrived and that the turndowns are under way. If we have later check-ins I'll stay to greet them.

If all goes to plan I leave by 7pm, which is just right for a working day.

I do yoga once a week, although I find it hard to maintain the enthusiasm required to get down to the gym. One of my favourite pastimes is planning my next holiday. I love travelling and don't use travel agents. Instead, I sit at my computer and plan everything meticulously myself.

Interview by Chris Druce

Just a minute...

What's your pet hate?
Wonky lampshades. If I see one I have to straighten it.

What's your poison?
Vodka tonic or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Factfile

Devonshire Arms
Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6AJ
Tel: 01756 710441
Web: www.devonshirehotels.co.uk