Working as bell captain at Elbow Beach for over 50 years, Shirley Delbert Hunt has probably opened hundreds of doors in his career.

"Car doors, guest doors, front doors, there's no doubt I've opened a lot of doors in my time," Mr. Hunt recently told The Royal Gazette.

The 71-year-old was recently recognised by Elbow Beach Hotel for 50 years of service. From the hotel he received a personalised gift of his choice, a Movado watch and a seven night cruise to the Caribbean from Elbow Beach Hotel owner, His Royal Highness, Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz.

Mr. Hunt was born at Kings Point in Somerset, which is near Cambridge Beaches, but has spent most of his life in Paget. He was just 21 years old when he started at the hotel.

"I have done pretty good here," said Mr. Hunt. "The hotel has taken care of me and my family. I would advise young people today to go into the hotel industry. Locals seem to be getting pushed out of the business, and the hotel has to bring in people for certain jobs.

"When I first came down there were locals in the dining rooms and everywhere in the hotel, now that seems to be a thing of the past. Everyone has a good education now. I guess education has allowed a lot of people who would normally be in the hotel business to move on to the insurance business."

Before Mr. Hunt started at Elbow Beach he was working at the Harmony Club.

"I knew one of the bell captains here at Elbow Beach," he said. "He offered me a job to work as a night man and relief switchboard operator. I took the job and here I am, still."

He said when he first started at Elbow Beach in the late 1950s, the hotel was much smaller, but had more rooms. Technology, also, was quite different. In those days there were plug-in switchboards to contend with, and telegrams to be sent and received.

Mr. Hunt said the working culture in the hotel is also quite different today than it was in the 1950s.

"I do think young people coming into the industry today are different, because of the times," he said. "When I started in 1956, there were certain things we didn't do. Now, everything is open. People's rights are different. Before, if a company told you to do something and you didn't do it, they could get rid of you. Now, the union comes in and fights for you. So people are more confident now. You can't just fire someone for something that seems simple. The employee has other recourses. They can go to the union, or whoever represents them. Now you have to have a good reason to let someone go."

He said young people have a different outlook on life, whereas people from his generation are set in their ways.

"We are used to getting up at a certain time, going to work, doing what you have to do and knocking off," he said.

Mr. Hunt said he enjoys working with hotel guests, and has made a few friendships over the years.

"My advice for working in the hotel industry is, you've got to be patient," said Mr. Hunt. "It's all about how you treat the guests. Some people want things done right away. You have to take things in your stride, rather than arguing with them. Sometimes you just have to ignore their behaviour. They usually make a fuss if things are not what they expect. You can't get tied up in that because you don't know what their reservations were or what they were told."

He said that although he is probably the longest serving employee at Elbow Beach Hotel, there are a few people at the hotel who have worked just a few months less than him, and many others who have worked there for several decades.

"In my department, I have hired most of the people in the bellman staff, and they have been here for 30 or 40 years," he said.

"I have been bell captain since 1968, and I was the head bellman until the early 1990s when I gave it up to the next guy. I was getting much older. The computer age was piquing, and I didn't want to get much into computers, although I can use them a bit."

Hurricane Emily in September, 1987 stands out for Mr. Hunt as a landmark event at the hotel.

"When Hurricane Emily struck, it struck around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. and a lot of staff had already come to work," Mr. Hunt said.

"It was windy, but they came to work because the roads were clear. They had to be housed in the hotel because they couldn't go home. The hotel was full at the time. At that time we had dining room service, rather than all the restaurants that we have now.

"We bought all the guests that were roomed in the grounds, up here and housed them in the main building. We had everyone together, rather than scattered about. If anything happened down there it would be hard to get to."

In the end, he said the hotel coped pretty well with the crisis.

Mr. Hunt said that if he hadn't been a bellman, he would have been a stone mason.

"I used to cut stone," he said. "I cut it all over the Island. Sometimes I wish I would have become a stone mason. It keeps you in shape. I have cut slate for roof tops and stuff like that. I could probably go back and do it now, but I'd have to take my time because I am not as strong and mobile as I was. That is what my younger brother does. I come from a family of seven brothers. Four of my brothers work in the hotel industry."

He said that when he retires he'll probably do a little travelling, although he has already done quite a lot.

"I like to go down to the islands to see the cricket," he said.

"I used to play cricket. They used to call me 'Champ' after my uncle."

He has three grown children, and in retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with his wife, Aloma, of 36 years.