Decima Stallman has hung up her duster after more than 30 years of housekeeping at Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club. Since the hotel opened in Bearsted in April 1988, it has been her job to ensure guests have a warm welcome.
Decima started work as part of the contract team even before building work on the hotel had fully completed. Within a year, the first hotel manager had asked her to join the staff as head housekeeper – a role she has held ever since.
For the past three decades, the grandmother of eight has risen early to manage the team of housekeepers working hard to keep the 120-bedroom hotel in good condition. During the hotel’s early years, she was also instrumental in organising regulars sell-out shows to raise hundreds of pounds for Kent-based Demelza Hospice Care for Children.
“I stayed this long because I really love my job and wanted to hang on so I could see the hotel through its 30th anniversary. But now I am ready for a lie-in,” she says.
Hotel manager, Nick Hawkes says: “Decima has played an instrumental role in the success of Tudor Park. Housekeepers are the unsung heroes of a hotel and Decima is a popular member of the team and will be sorely missed. We wish her good luck in her retirement.”
H&C News Comment: We would like to congratulate Decima on the longevity of her career with Marriott, a great achievement.