Is it just a book and reason to laugh? Or is it a call to action?
“Killing someone will tend to get you fired, and it doesn’t typically matter if they’re VIPs, honeymooners, celebrities, or another type of resort guest who may deserve it for being a downright class-A asshole. It’s just not good business these days, at least in the luxury hospitality industry. Though after years of catering to and pampering the whiny, entitled, and unreasonable people who can be found taking up short-term residence poolside in the caring hands of five-star luxury service, some staff who discover themselves in the role of managing the never-ending dissatisfaction of these guests may not find the idea of it so far fetched.” – Escaping Luxury, a humorous novel about hospitality absurdity, high crime, and a poisonous pufferfish named Zippy.
Whoa, okay. That’s pretty heavy were it not the foundation of my fiction novel, of course. Well, semi true novel would be more accurate, in fact. You will just have to read the rest of the book to understand how our hero, Bobby Makiado, makes it out of the luxury hospitality industry alive, and with some of his sanity still in the tank.
But what does it mean to Escape Luxury, actually? And why? Well, this may be a good place to start the blog I suppose, since blogs have to start somewhere.
Escaping Luxury is not about escaping the finer things in life like great food, travel and other potentially costly experiences. It’s not about turning our backs on materialistic items. In fact, I happen to value the little espresso machine that helps me start my day with a mocha, or the much needed bottle of wine that allows me to decompress after a day in the office. But they did cost money. And if we are escaping luxury, are we then to escape money? My answer is, no.
If we take the title of this book too literally then we can certainly get much more philosophical about what “luxury” means, and what its role is in the bigger mechanics of economics. This discussion, however, is likely to lead into argument, and feeling bad, or making others feel bad about ones position and involvement in their current social structure, and I’m not interested in going there as it will likely lead to revealing my own hypocrisy. I am certainly living a more luxurious life than others, and yet, a very poor and desperate one compared to those, say, at the Formula One race in Monaco, or fighting over prized white truffles in Italy. Hmmm. . . I wonder what the Source is up to. . .
In the words of Eminem, let’s step back to reality.
Like the gentle and graceful swan resting on a pond, yet paddling furiously underneath just to stay afloat, I’ve survived, or rather, am surviving, the chaos and associated bullshit of Luxury Hospitality. But not as a guest. As a servant. . . err. . . an employee. Like a blur, it started with washing dishes and cutting fruit for pies, and eventually, twenty-plus years later through all the ups and downs of pampering and apologizing, became a Resort Manager in a luxury operation, serving others.
In my world, my definition, my novel, Escaping Luxury is about escaping them. The “others,” that are to be served. And more specifically and for clarity, I’m talking about the rude, disrespectful, unnecessarily demanding, ungrateful crowd of travelers who forgot their manners and or don’t know how to function without a staff two hundred monitoring their every move so that their life goes unruffled.
Escaping Luxury is also about focusing on what’s important in life. Being intentional about our choices, finding adventure, seeking and exploring, questing to ensure our own personal fulfillment. It’s about perpetuating kindness, and particularly to those who serve others, #safetheservicestaff.
So, here we go. In an effort to find adventure, even if just for an hour. To quest. To dream. To strike out in the direction of personal fulfillment and purpose. And to protect and support the service staff of the world who have sacrificed their hearts and energies to those individuals who feel entitled to such service, let us together, whether physical or mental, escape luxury however you may define it, to the benefit of our own sanity and that of our friends and families.
“Dream big and never travel in a straight line” ~ Bobby Makiado