The Office Coin Toss

In the hotel business, like any other, premium office locations are rarely decided without some drama. This post offers some comical office memories and the story of today's coin toss...

I can remember in one of my previous Marriott hotels, there was a guest room sewage pipe that ran through the wall in one office - use your imagination. The adjacent office was on the opposite side of the wall from the men's public restrooms - the urinal section to be exact. Some of the conversations you could hear were funny, but it wasn't so funny for the office occupant when the urinals overflowed. Lucky for her, there was also a guestroom toilet and bathtub immediately above her office. She had bathroom fluids seeping in her carpet or ceiling tiles on a regular basis! Sometimes we were sympathetic, but we usually just chuckled and poked fun like middle schoolers. Needless to say, neither of those offices were occupied by the most senior management. Although next door, my office was a comfortable distance from the source of the leaks, and the General Manager's office was across the hall (and featured floor to ceiling windows of course). I remember the vicious negotiations that were taking place about who was getting my office when I left.

Oh, there was also the Residence Inn in Richmond - I was spoiled with an office suite there! There really wasn't a sales office, so we converted a one bedroom guest suite into our office. I had the bedroom area and my two associates officed out of the living room space. In addition to the private bathroom and in-office coffee pot, we had a full refrigerator and stove, so deluxe homemade cooking was a semi-regular treat at lunchtime! The icing on the cake was our direct view of the swimming pool, which was particularly nice during the summer months!

Anyhow, suffice it to say that all things considered, my offices have been reasonably well equipped by hospitality business standards. In Bethesda, although it was located in the basement and in desperate need of redecorating, I did have an executive size office complete with a parlor style sitting area for fireside chats. When I interviewed at LTD, I saw a couple of the VP's offices but never had a grand tour. On day one I figured out why - it was/is a strange maze of custom made cubicals built into the front section of a warehouse. Don't get me wrong, the space is functional but not exactly Class A. There are two offices for directors at the front of the building; that's where the coin toss comes into play.

In an earlier post I mentioned that my friend Dawn got promoted. Well, now as a manager of eight people, she needs an office. As with any growing company, the addition of staff sometimes requires a bit of musical chairs. After all, you want people nearby their peers and subordinates for synergy and ease of communication. It makes sense that Dawn and I will each have one of the two aforementioned offices. As it turns out I already occupy one of them, but it is the less desirable - the one immediately adjacent to the reception area and copy room, and it has access doors from both busy areas. There is a window, but the other has two.

I gently mentioned to Dawn that since the (better) office next door was being vacated, I would move in there and she could take my space. The jovial "uhh, no" was her immediate response. Dawn and I get along well and are level headed enough to know that the office really isn't a big deal. Plus neither of us had a decent argument as to why we should get the office over the other. So, we agreed to a fair and square coin toss - refereed by our colleague. I won.

So, go take a trip and stay in hotel so Dawn and I can keep our modest offices!