My father-in-law always jokes with me about being a AAA inspector, asking what I would ever do if I had to work for a living and saying that when he grows up he wants my job.  I have also noticed that whenever I find myself in a group of people, conversations somehow seem to migrate to asking me questions about places I’ve been and things I’ve seen. 

I must admit that when I tell people what I do for a living, the first question they ask me is “How do I get your job?”  I tell them all the same story: my line of work is not for everyone.   You have to love to travel, you have to love to eat out in restaurants and you have to love seeing attractions….  Okay, maybe it does sound like a job everyone would like but as much fun as it is, there are a few challenges to keep you grounded.  All-in-all though, I can never see myself doing anything else, I absolutely wake up every morning excited to be doing what I do.
There are around 50 of us AAA inspectors that cover the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.  We come from all over the country, with diverse backgrounds and numerous qualifications.  The average tenure is 20-some years.  Myself – I am a hotel guy.  I graduated from college with a degree in economics and I have over a dozen years of working experience collectively with major hotel chains.  I held numerous positions in sales and management and have had formalized corporate training.  I have had the pleasure of opening a new hotel, being in on the operations from the ground up and have been involved with local Chambers of Commerce and visitors bureaus.  I usually tell managers who ask me what my background is: “hospitality – you name it and I’ve done it”.

I have tons of respect for all hotel managers and employees, I have been in their shoes and hospitality is not an easy thing to do well.  I remember when I would train new employees, I would always emphasize that the things guests take from their stay are long-lasting impressions and the first one starts when they drive into the parking lot.  I can also honestly say that throughout all my days in the hotel industry, the only outside organization (aside from corporate and state/local inspections) I ever saw come inspect my hotel once a year was AAA.

A few things I always like to point out to AAA members and hotel managers when the opportunity arises is that we personally inspect all of the properties we list.  We show up unannounced, we never make appointments and we allocate only a short amount of time from the point of introduction to the point we are in the first room conducting our inspection.  If AAA receives a member complaint about a property, it is also forwarded straight to the inspector assigned to that territory.  Also, the AAA Diamond Rating for a property is completely separate from the housekeeping and maintenance inspection.  If a property does not pass our cleanliness and condition inspections, the property's listing is disapproved regardless of the Diamond Rating.  Lastly, our inspectors and sales managers are two separate entities, allowing for complete non-biased inspections.  Advertising money is a wonderful thing in a publishing business, but not at the expense of our integrity.

I once asked a hotel manager how he perceived his AAA listing. His reply?  Quality… he said the AAA approval was like a gigantic stamp of quality.  I agree with him and I use that concept when I inspect my properties…  Like there is a big sign at the front desk saying “Inspected and Approved by Inspector 80."

All I will say about my training with AAA is that it was very professional, lasted about 8 weeks and took place in a few different parts of the country.  I have my base territory like every other inspector and it is up to me as to how I get it all done by “deadline” – one of the few “work” sounding words in our vocabulary.  One of the 'perks,' as I see it, is OOT work or Out Of Territory work.  Usually this is an assignment where we go help another inspector meet a deadline, cover a vacation, that kind of thing.  Most of the time, in my experience, it is anywhere from 2 – 3 weeks in duration.

Recently I was the 'lotto winner' and got the opportunity to do four weeks worth of work in Hawaii - an experience I will detail in future blogs so bookmark this site.