Name: Tony Gallop
Job Title: Cellar & Stores Supervisor
Tony's journey at The Grand has been one of chance. Having worked at The Grand for over 14 years, he had initially heard from a friend, who was working in Room Service and had asked him to help out for a few weeks over the summer. Throughout his time at The Grand he has worked across a few departments, so it seemed only fitting that Tony would be the right person to ask about his experience working for Elite Hotels.
Back when he first started helping out a friend, it didn’t take Tony long to realise that The Grand was a great place to work and jumped at the chance to apply for a role in the Concierge department. After a successful interview, Tony then spent the next 10 years helping to greet and manage all of our guests, working to make each and every experience a special and memorable one.
He has since developed within the company and takes on a new role as stores and cellars supervisor – which is a vital role within the hotel, making sure each department has everything they need to make guests as comfortable as possible. From meeting and greeting guests to running his own department, Tony feels he has continually developed and made some great relationships across the hotel.
Always cheerful and happy to see you, Tony loves his role and coming to work on a Monday! The variety of tasks and the fact that no two days are the same keeps thing interesting and challenging.
For anyone seeking to work in hospitality, Tony has a really positive outlook; “Hospitality can be a fantastic industry to work in. You get to meet so many nice and interesting people and it can feel very rewarding when you know that a guest has had the best experience they can when visiting the hotel and you have contributed to that.” Tony acknowledges that as with any job there are challenges and difficulties but has never felt these out way the positives of being part of The Grand.
Through working in the cellars, Tony has had the chance to get some special training and has completed his WSET Level 2. He also had the opportunity to visit Canard Duchene in France to look at champagne production and where the hotel champagne comes from.
Tony is very positive about his experiences working for Elite and this really does come across when you speak to him. Although his proudest moment could be winning the Clay Pigeon shooting at the Long Services awards celebration at Ashdown Park last year! He also feels that being able to change procedures and make a difference to staff and guests is his most gratifying achievement so far.
His three words to describe working for Elite; “Supportive, Teamwork, Motivating.”