The reputation of any hotel could rest at the front door, as it usually sets the scene for both the first and last impressions of guests. Finding motivated and friendly people to fill these posts is, therefore, much more important than it may seem on the surface. Training the front door staff in the fine art of hospitality is even more important, yet sometimes overlooked.

Fortunately for The James Chicago, Lobby Coordinator Scott Copeland has everything under control. Still a youthful 22 years old, Copeland already has had several mentors to guide him, starting with his father and his great work ethic, and ending with The James’ late lead doorman Ronnie Cartlidge, who Copeland says had an incredible smile, an easy way about him that simply made guests happy and a special working relationship with him. So, it was a shock to everyone, especially Copeland, when Cartlidge died suddenly in May 2006. The hotel was lacking leadership at this key front-of-the-house position and Copeland had lost his latest inspiration.

It was at this point, however, that Copeland stepped up—albeit a bit trepidatiously—to guide the lobby team forward. The youngest member of the hotel’s team, who started his career at age 14 doing odd jobs around a Holiday Inn in suburban Chicago, had developed his own style and decided he was ready to start teaching The James’ principles of “classic hospitality.” Long story short, by the end of last year, Copeland was named The James Chicago employee of the year. “Scott stepped forward, took everything Ronnie did and took it to a new level,” says James Hotel CEO Brad Wilson. “We now have a fun lobby team that gets great feedback.”

Wilson says Copeland took a lot of Ronnie’s character and translated it into The James’ philosophy for “classic hospitality,” which he says means “warm welcomes, a lot of personal attention, going out of your way to converse with arriving guests to make more of an emotional connection, and making it fun.”

For a young Copeland, becoming lobby coordinator in charge of scheduling and maintaining service levels, he first had to win the respect of his team, most of whom had more years of life experience than he did.

“It was a tough transition. They got to know who I was, saw that I did not change the way I handled guests, and that I expected the same level of performance from them. They just needed guidance and wanted it to reach the next level of service excellence.”

Copeland gave his team guidance first by establishing open and comfortable lines of communication, making sure there were no barriers. Then he gained a lot of credibility by creating a training manual for lobby assistants and doormen on how to handle guests in the lobby, how to best walk them to their rooms and explain about the amenities available in the hotel.

Scott Copeland became lobby coordinator at The James Chicago at age 22 and immediately gained the respect of his team by leading by example.

“A lot of the staff didn’t know how to start a conversation with arriving guests,” Copeland says. “I try to teach them how to interact with guests and what type of information you should get from them to anticipate their needs during the stay. You only have between 30 seconds to two minutes to get to know the guests and must start the interaction right away. Once you have information to build upon, it is a lot easier to help them and that is key to building a successful relationship for the hotel. Classic hospitality is really about the relationship you establish with the guest—making them feel they are not just another guest.”

Because The James has a hip look, Wilson has gone out of his way to avoid “clubby service with an attitude.” He has set a standard that puts service first. “The customer is always right. That’s classic hospitality,” he says.

And just how does The James say yes to guests? Late (2 p.m.) checkout, free Internet, no wireless surcharges and a business lounge where equipment is free to use. “The front desk will make copies for free,” Wilson says. “You don’t have to swipe your credit card to check e-mail for 10 minutes. We got all the annoying things out of the way.”