Personale

Folding towels, straightening out sheets, taking bathrobes out of the dryer, stripping beds, cleaning up vomit. Fluffing pillows—making a dent for elegantly turned-up corners—and endless scrubbing, cleaning and clearing up messes. Behind the scenes of a hotel in the Italian Dolomites, the staff do everything they can to serve the guests and prevent complaints. The hotel has four stars, and a fifth is in sight.

We don’t see the tourists, nor the beauty of the surroundings, but only what goes on behind the scenes. Along with the rhythm of their actions and the endless repetition, we see how the people who do the dirty work try to take pride in it. In the meantime, the staff, many of whom come from other countries, practice their new language.

In the corridors and the basement laundry together they keep their spirits up, despite fatigue and chronic understaffing. And when everything is finally spick-and-span, it starts all over again: picking up towels, polishing banisters.