Working Capital: What a ‘Lobby Ambassador’ does for guests at this DC hotel
A historic hotel nearby the White House in D.C. has its own form of a diplomat: a “Lobby Ambassador.”
It’s a title Paul Carabello has held for nearly two decades at The Hay-Adams Hotel in Northwest D.C. For roughly nine hours a day, he stands near the double-mahogany doors, ready to cheerfully welcome the hotel’s worldwide clientele.
Carabello helps guests get to their rooms and manages the lobby in close step with the bellman, doorman, and the concierge — many of whom he’s worked alongside since being hired at the hotel in 2006.
“It may sound repetitious, however, the people you meet and encounter is what makes each day unique,” Carabello told WTOP.
Much like a traditional diplomat, he’s built connections with guests and has learned the habits and preferences of the hotel’s regulars — who include politicians, celebrities, athletes and other people of influence.
For Carabello, a hotel lobby isn’t just an entryway. It’s an office, a stage for the staff to express all that D.C. has to offer.
“I like to think that he is the face of The Hay-Adams,” said Franziska Boelke, the hotel’s head concierge who was hired in the summer of 2006.
Unlike many D.C. workers, his uniform is a two-piece suit.
“He’s the best dressed man in this entire hotel,” Boelke said.
No nametag, but instead he sports a shiny lapel where the hotel’s name is listed in swirly golden letters.
The space smells sweet, with lilies at the center of the lobby and two small seating areas on either side. It’s 30-feet tall ceilings are white and gold with intricate carvings.
The hotel’s original walnut paneling from 1929 circles the lobby, which is about the size of a spacious living room.
“I believe that we as a whole, the whole team in the lobby, wants to offset perhaps people who may not be used to this level of formality and elegance with our warmth and our hospitality,” Carabello said.
It’s a vibe he works to maintain, even as protests roar outside the hotel’s entrance at Lafayette Square or when a 20-minute presidential motorcade holds up traffic — both of which are mundane scenarios for Washingtonians but prompt the curiosity of some guests.
A day at work — ‘what a little oasis’
His work to set the energy of a space begins at home, before he’s even left for work.
“Making coffee and putting on some jazz music to help start the day off calmly, but yet in an upbeat mood,” Carabello said.
Dressed in his two-piece suit, Carabello walks about 30 minutes to the hotel year-round — with the exception being some of those sizzling summer days that bake D.C.
He gets to work and reads “The Day at the Hay” a form that lists upcoming events and lists guests arriving — he skims for new names or familiar ones too.
“Whether you’re a repeat guest or a first timer, we want you to feel welcome and again, have a pleasant vibe like, ‘Well, what a beautiful spot, what a little oasis here in Washington.’”
As part of his day-to-day work, he’ll guide guests down to the hotel’s popular bar “Off the Record,” or offer personalized recommendations about D.C. museums. He’s saved many a tourist from visiting the White House with a bag, which aren’t allowed.
‘Too good to be true’ How Carabello makes DC feel like home
Carabello grew up in the suburb of Reading, Pennsylvania, and moved to D.C. to attend American University, where he graduated with a degree in International Studies in 1992.
Plan A was to get a government job. Possibly the state department or maybe foreign service.
But when that proved difficult, a friend helped him get a job as a travel agent. In spring of 2006, he saw a job listing for his current position at the Hay-Adams.
“I almost thought this was, in a way, too good to be true. It just sounded like it fit my personality,” Carabello said.
He was hired within a week of applying.
“I just felt like D.C. was my home, and I’ve never left so I’ve spent more of my life here in Washington than I’ve had anywhere else,” Carabello said.
And at work, he works to make guests feel at embraces.
“I believe a lot of people feel it’s home away from home, and not just a fancy hotel,” he said of some of the hotel’s regulars.
A DC diplomat in his own right
He’s become a sort of diplomat in his own right, representing D.C. to those who stay or visit the hotel and building lasting relationships with guests.
Boelke said Carabello is notorious for remembering guests’ names, including area college students who come back to visit the hotel when they’re older.
“That is the most special touch when somebody can walk through a hotel and somebody recognizes them from like, 10 to 15, years ago,” Boelke said.
And like any functional ambassador, Carabello is ready to respond to a crisis. Sometimes, those spontaneous moments take him outside his lobby.
One prominent guest in town for a state dinner called the hotel ahead of time, they had forgotten their shampoo — one that happened to prove difficult to find in D.C.
“I felt like I was in a movie,” he said.
After visiting three high-end salons, Carabello had success.
“We finally, between the assistant, the concierge and me laid our hands on the exact very right shampoo and everything was perfect,” he said. “We had it right there before they arrived.”
“Hence, that’s why they stay at the Hay-Adams, because we can get things done,” he said.
When a guest who has stayed at the hotel for decades forgot her watch, Carabello’s shopping once again saved the stay.
“It’s fun to go shopping, even though, you know, it was Macy’s and not Tiffany,” he said. “But that’s all she needed.”
Another time, a guest leaving the hotel arrived at the airport to realize he’d left behind his insulin.
“Within minutes, I found it and jumped into our house car and met him very quickly at Reagan National to be sure he had it before he boarded his flight,” Carabello said. “That was … not what I ordinarily do, but that’s when I realized, my position can be just outside the lobby, and very important.”
That type of service has earned him a reputation — guests have sent him thank you notes, Christmas cards and exchanged travel advice.
His warmth extends to his coworkers too.
“I hope that his position is something which will continue to be a very Hay-Adams position, because I don’t know of anyone else in the city who has a ‘Paul’,” Boelke said. “I hope that our friendship, which is within these four walls and outside, will continue for many years.”