During the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016, the Athletes’ Village in the Croatian capital had a few very busy days, with guests coming and going. When arriving in the place that will be their temporary home, the participants first come in contact with the reception, and to ensure they all get their keys and get into their rooms faster, the reception team is at hand day and night.
With two day shifts (each with three people) and a night shift (with two people), the team make sure that everything runs smoothly when the guests arrive, and head of the reception Miro Mikulić, who is there when most needed, described their job.
‘The reception of the guests has been going perfectly, even we were surprised by it,’ said Mikulić, adding that Andrej Krbec, the representative of the organization of the Games, had a vital role in it. More than 4000 people arrived in Zagreb, and it was necessary to take care of everyone’s requests as much as possible during their stay.
‘There was a lot to do with arranging the schedule, separating the female and male athletes, and even countries that would be better off separated,’ Mikulić said of the assignments before the arrival of the guests.
There were three rush-hours in Zagreb during the Games, with guests arriving to and departing from the village on the river Sava, and after the biggest one on 19 July, 3100 people resided there. There is a lot of work, but everybody does it with a smile on their face and they are ready to help anyone who comes to the reception desk.
‘If the guests want to know something, it’s not unusual for them to ask the person who gave them their key. People come to the reception to ask about lunch packets, how the internet functions, instructions how to get to the bus stops, and if we don’t know the answer immediately, we help them find it,’ said the head of the reception team, adding that he was happy that all the guests were behaving well and that there hadn’t been almost any damage in the rooms so far.
