34-year-old Chen Wenyan feels that the homestay is her charging station, and the one-to-one reception service of the homestay housekeeper ensures her privacy to the greatest extent. "When you fall into the mountains and forests, you will feel full of motivation when you return to life after absorbing natural energy."
Whenever there is a lot of pressure at work, 24-year-old Lan Baiyin always finds time to stay in the mountains for a night. Hidden in the B&B, she "curled up in bed like a puppy or a kitten". To Lan Baiyin's surprise, she couldn't see the housekeepers, but they were everywhere all the time, "always showing up just right, and even knowing what you need before you."
While more and more young people choose homestays for travel, many people also choose the homestay industry for job hunting. In June 2022, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced 6 new occupations to the public, and "homestay housekeepers" were officially included in them.
"Poetry and distance" is the expectation of many young people for homestay housekeepers, but when it becomes their own profession, how many people can stick to it?
A mature homestay housekeeper not only has light in his eyes, but also has work in his eyes
21-year-old Deng Qian likes to travel, she hopes to live a sojourn life after graduation, so she came to Goji Island, Zhejiang Province, known as the "Little Greece" in the East, to become an official homestay housekeeper, wanting to better integrate into the local life and experience the customs.
Gu Liping, who graduated from college in 2022, plans to give herself a one-year buffer period, thinking about whether to go to graduate school or take the public examination while working. She is optimistic about the development of tourism in the post-epidemic era, believing that homestay is the choice of high-end people to pursue quality life, and at the same time, she knows that homestay housekeeper has become a new profession, she feels that this is the most dynamic and promising time in the homestay industry, "the best time for me to enter the industry".
"The brave enjoy the world first." 23-year-old Gu Liping decided to be brave and came alone from her hometown in Jiangxi to Pingtan County, Fujian Province, more than 600 kilometers away, to become a homestay housekeeper as she wished.
24-year-old Liu Xin graduated from Guangxi Normal University for Nationalities with a major in tourism management, and after accumulating experience in scenic spot copywriting and planning, he wanted to change to a "quiet job". In February last year, Liu Xin came to Moganshan and lived a "secluded life" in the eyes of many people as a homestay housekeeper.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has given an official definition of the new profession of homestay housekeeper: a person who provides customized services such as customer accommodation, catering, and local natural environment, cultural and lifestyle experiences.
Private customization is the characteristic of B&B that is different from hotels. One-to-one online service from the time the guest places an order is a characteristic of the B&B housekeeper that is different from the hotel front desk.
Chen Wenyan chose Yunnan Jinghong Yourantai B&B this time. This B&B provides free pick-up (drop-off) service, and the housekeeper has confirmed Chen Wenyan's private dining menu in advance.
At the same time, the housekeeper will temporarily organize random activities according to the actual situation, for example, with the advantages of the surrounding environment, design seasonal experiences for guests, such as harvesting rice, picking mushrooms, night tours in the rainforest, etc., organizing guests to go out to taste the food of local specialty restaurants, taking parent-child families to the rainforest to explore and learn about rainforest creatures, and organizing film screenings.
"Any requirements for food, clothing, housing and transportation can be communicated with the housekeepers at any time, and they are very flexible." Chen Wenyan said. Sitting on 25 acres of mountains and forests, sporadically dotted with 5 Dai buildings as guest rooms, the housekeeper immediately locked the door after receiving the guests, and the outside of the open door of the consumption place is different, this B&B has always pursued the "closed business".
Liu Xin has a personal mobile phone and a work mobile phone, "personal mobile phones can run out of battery at any time, but work mobile phones can't." He believes that the attentive, proactive and sincere service provided by the homestay housekeeper is one of the important reasons why guests choose the homestay over the hotel. After nearly two years of work experience, Liu Xin gradually understood that a mature homestay housekeeper not only has light in his eyes, but also has work in his eyes.
In his opinion, the housekeeper of the B&B is in charge of the "home". The scope of work of a B&B housekeeper is not clearly defined, "treat the B&B as a home, guests come to your house as guests, and what you need to do as a host is the work of a B&B housekeeper".
Lan Baiyin's impression of the homestay housekeeper is that he is more enthusiastic, more humane, and has a sense of proportion than the staff of a five-star hotel. The housekeepers who received her were all post-95s, "they are very like good friends, and they are very natural and friendly."
"Poetry and distance are reserved for guests, and only chicken feathers are left for the housekeeper"
Before joining the company, Deng Qian, like many job seekers, thought that homestay housekeepers could have a life of "poetry and distance". After joining the company, Deng Qian found that she needed to sit at the front desk all the time, and from time to time there were guests asking for help, and she did not have the freedom she imagined.
Deng Qian's B&B has 8 rooms, which can accommodate up to 28 guests, and she is the only housekeeper, whose work includes but is not limited to the front desk, housekeeper, operation and cleaning, etc., no shifts, no vacations, and her work mobile phone has become her 24-hour personal belongings.
"There's almost no time for yourself, and the boss thinks you have to do everything when you get this salary." She thinks this is due to the fact that she didn't ask about the specific work content before joining the company, "Poetry and distant romance are reserved for guests, and only chicken feathers are left for the homestay housekeeper."
Deng Qian said frankly that homestay housekeeper is just a profession, and many people only show the good side on social platforms, don't beautify any job.
Carrying luggage, delivering food, repairing light bulbs... A lot of work is trivial things in life, Gu Liping has heard many people's impression of homestay housekeepers - miscellaneous, "will feel that the sense of value is too low, in the final analysis, the service industry is like this, it seems that anyone can do it".
Regardless of gender, every housekeeper is a "strong man". In the hall, the guests here are in a hurry to check out, and the guests over there need service, "while the strength can carry the tripod, it is also necessary to walk like flying", Liu Xin said.
Between a mature B&B cluster and a start-up company in the preparation period, Gu Liping chose the latter in order to accumulate experience at different stages of work. From the rough house when she joined the B&B to the business and on the right track, Gu Liping did a lot of work outside the scope of her responsibilities, signing contracts, talking about insurance, talking about procurement, and going through the administrative approval process..."This can make me understand the operation mode of the B&B, and I want to learn as much as possible while I am young, which cannot be exchanged for time and money." Gu Liping said.
Gu Liping is also thinking about her own irreplaceability. Taking the initiative to learn the operation of OTA (online travel agency), connecting with different platform channels, maintaining online stores, and consciously choosing to do "challenging, high-tech" work, Gu Liping feels that in this way, she can "not waste her academic qualifications and abilities, and improve irreplaceability".
There are not a few young people who use homestay housekeepers as a "professional transit station".
Liu Xin and Gu Liping both felt the yearning of young people for the profession of homestay housekeeper on their social accounts.
Some netizens often leave messages under their blog posts: Are you still recruiting? Need experience? What about salary? Do you have a lot of free time...
According to Gu Liping, the monthly income of the housekeeper in Pingtan County is 4000,5500-<>,<> yuan, and the labor contract is signed. Gu Liping feels that homestay housekeepers have low requirements for education and experience, which can alleviate the employment pressure of some young job seekers. However, "it seems that anyone can do it as a housekeeper, but not everyone can do it well."
Liu Xin, who majored in tourism management, believes that homestay housekeepers should be "proficient in eighteen martial arts", and his requirement for himself is to "become a comprehensive talent, and you have to go up wherever you need it".
In addition to paying attention to the salary and work content, you should also pay attention to the number of B&B rooms, whether there are supporting restaurants, commuting time, job configuration, accommodation conditions and other information.
Since May, 5 homestay housekeepers in Gu Liping's homestay have resigned, and Gu Liping feels that "high morale and can't let go of their body" is the main reason for their resignation.
High mobility has become one of the characteristics of the current homestay housekeeper industry. The psychological gap between academic qualifications and job content, and the inability to get the expected salary, all make them lack a sense of self-worth. "There is no perfect job with 100 points, the key is mentality." Gu Liping feels that no matter what work you do, you need a positive attitude.
Gu Liping said frankly that being a homestay housekeeper did not have the luxury of "poetry and distance", and just wanted to learn more, support herself, not be out of touch with society, enjoy life and see more of the world in the process, "The age of 20 is the age when you should see the world."
However, Gu Liping also wants to return to a familiar environment, with familiar family, friends, food and climate, "when I feel tired, only 'familiarity' can make me relax." In October, Gu Liping set her future direction: to take the public examination and return to her hometown. Gu Liping decided to give herself at least a year or two to prepare for the exam, and also hoped to find a suitable other half, she found that "it is difficult to find a suitable partner all the time as a homestay housekeeper".
Accumulating experience in the homestay industry and broadening the range of career options is the purpose of many young people to devote themselves to the career of homestay housekeepers, and it is also the way out for many homestay housekeepers. There are not a few young people who use homestay housekeepers as a "professional transit station". Among the housekeepers who left Gu Liping's homestay, most of them still started related projects, some went back to their hometown to open a hotel, some rented a two-bedroom apartment in the city to make a simple version of the city homestay, and some went to other homestays to do new media operations..."They are very purposeful, just to learn experience, and if they come with a purpose, they will gain a lot." ”
Gu Liping said frankly, "B&Bs are generally small in size, and B&B housekeepers have almost no opportunities for promotion." She expects the B&B housekeeper profession to be more professional and standardized, and to receive more targeted professional training, so as to clarify the corresponding salary and treatment, so that practitioners can see a clear and followable promotion path.
(At the request of the interviewee, the blue and white sound is a pseudonym)
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network Intern Reporter Tan Yali Reporter Wang Congcong Source: China Youth Daily