#eventgoer: The Hostess

You will see me at events like conferences and congresses that require additional staff to handle the counter and controlling access rights.

I pay particular attention to the clothes supplied by the organizer. If I’m to spend an entire day wearing them, I’d like them to be comfortable. And I mean the temperature as well - a thin dress in a heavily conditioned room is no good news.

I expect the organizer to equip me with dependable tools. A notebook, a tablet, software. If one of these fails, the attendees will blame me. And it’s not my fault that the tablet was not charged or updated.

I’m annoyed when it turns out that i have to hold a notebook or a tablet in my hands all the time when checking guests with the register. These devices have some weight to them and it’s really tough to hold them for extended periods of time. Add uncomfortable clothing to that and you got me a pretty exhausting day. And I still need to smile at every guest. May I add another thing? Lines. Sometimes, there are simply too few of us. And attendee stands in a line and once they get to the counter, they are tired or even annoyed. Some of them voice their less-than-favorable remarks regarding us. I try to issue ID badges as fast as possible but it really is stressful.

What I like most is conferences with long lectures. OK, it’s still a lot of work at the start but that goes for every conference or congress. However, longer lectures mean longer periods of relative peacefulness. It’s a good time to have a lunch or tidy up the counter.

Thank you for your time and insight, Julia. A good number of factors affect their work and just as many things depend on it. Julia is the first person your attendees will approach with problems and questions. She should know how to react. Should she admit an attendee that’s not on the register? What should she do if an attendee loses their ID badge? A hostess needs to know such things. Otherwise, she will feel embarrassed and the attendee could think that the staff are not competent. Look forward to another event goer soon!