I didn’t plan to go into hospitality. At first I wanted to be a teacher then I decided that was not a good idea; my mother said I should do something in tourism but I refused – probably because she was my mum! I always enjoyed languages and at university I took a degree in translation and interpreting in French and English.

After that I came to France to teach Spanish, to talk to children in Spanish and tell them about my culture, and after a year I wanted to stay in France so I started to look for a job. I sent my CV to the ibis Paris 17 Clichy-Batignolles and they wanted me to meet them after I came back from holiday but I was so excited about the prospect of having a job, I did the interview in the car on my tablet. It didn’t work very well, so we finished the conversation by phone and they took me on for a year; that’s how I came into hotels.

I started on the front desk and after a year I went back to Spain briefly. In 2020 I returned to France but it was just before lockdown. I found a job at ibis Styles Orly Tech and after three weeks we had to close. I couldn’t just sit at home all day so I started studying online for a Master’s degree in hotel and tourism management, and I wanted to work at the same time but it was difficult to find a job.

In Accor during lockdown we could work in other hotels so that they didn’t have to take on new people, so for a month I worked in a hotel at night and at the weekend on my own, then I went to the ibis budget Paris Coeur d’Orly. On the first day, I was talking to the housekeeping manager and I told her I was studying for a Master’s degree and was looking for an internship, and she suggested I send in my CV. They took me on at the front desk, where I worked for 18 months, and when my contract was finishing they suggested I take a sales assistant post at ibis Paris Cœur d’Orly which was previously managed by the same director. I will always be grateful to her for all the opportunities she provided me.

I didn’t know anything about sales but they took the time to teach me; I’m very grateful they gave me that opportunity. I was there from September 2022 until November 2024 and now I’m at Novotel Paris Est, also in sales. It’s different because it is a big hotel with lots of meeting rooms.

I love the fact you can develop in hospitality and see more than the job you are doing; there are so many opportunities. You can learn not only things that are relevant to your job but more than that, and there is the chance to work abroad – I hope to do that.

I would recommend hospitality because it is so rewarding and there are no limits to what you can do. People come to you at the front desk, for example, because they are lost, they are travelling; tourists often don’t know anything about the city, the language or the culture, and you can give them confidence; because I’m not from France I can see that. You are the human element in their stay in the hotel. And in sales, even more so, because customers come to you with an idea and you can help them make it work.

All this is being a Heartist®, to put your heart into your job. They are not just guests, they are people and it is important to connect with them – and there is every opportunity to do that.

Accor has given me what I have today, my career, and I am proud of having found something I love doing – especially as my sisters always knew what they wanted to do and I was a bit lost. I am surprised at how much I have grown, even when I didn’t have faith in myself all the people I have met throughout my career trusted me. Hospitality has repaid me many times.

And to people who are new in hospitality: discover and learn as much as you can because so much goes on behind the scenes. And you need a sense of adventure because every day in hospitality is different.