Jan. 22–ALBANY — Claude Long of the Hilton Albany downtown has pulled off a major upset by winning the 2014 outstanding bellman of the year award sponsored by the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association.
Beating out bellmen at New York City’s world-class hotels and bringing the honor to Albany for the first time in a decade is a little like the Tri-City ValleyCats defeating the New York Yankees.
“Claude exudes hospitality,” said human resources coordinator Pam Mislak, who nominated Long. “He makes an amazing first impression.”
For Hilton guests arriving from out of town, Long, 55, who is in his 15th year as a bellman, is the face of the capital city. He starts work at 4:30 a.m. and is the first person who greets early morning arrivals with a smile and warm hello as they glide through the hotel’s revolving door.
He is the last person they see at the airport, as he holds open the door of the shuttle van and unloads their suitcases at the departure gate.
His first airport run at 4:45 a.m. is filled with airline flight crews and pilots who stay regularly at the Hilton. He makes four or five trips to the airport by the time his shift ends at 10:30 a.m., as well as drop-offs at the train station and state offices.
He can maneuver a brass bell cart piled high with suitcases through a crowded baggage storage room as if he were threading a needle. He has a knack for summoning an elevator.
“Claude is friendly, nice and very accommodating,” said Winifred Schiff, a lobbyist with the Inter-Agency Council of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Agencies, who takes the train from New York City each week during the legislative session. “He has a way of putting people in a good mood.”
Long is soft-spoken and low-key, a stocky 5-foot-3-inch man dressed in a head-to-toe black Hilton bellman uniform. He speaks with a gentle Brooklyn accent that manages to round vowels. He is unfailingly polite.
“Did you ladies enjoy your stay?” he asked two women on a late-morning van run to the Amtrak train station in Rensselaer. He made small talk about predictions for a heavy snowfall downstate. He congratulated the woman’s daughter on passing the bar exam and on her upcoming swearing-in ceremony for new lawyers.
He keeps the van radio tuned to 98.3 FM, an inoffensive playlist of ’60s and ’70s hits. “I like that it’s neutral,” he said.
He is comfortable around celebrity guests. He chatted up B.B. King and carried the blues great’s bags to his room. “But nobody touches Lucille,” he said of the guitar that King guards like an overly possessive parent. He posed for a picture with rapper 50 Cent after a workout at the hotel.
Long’s honor is all the more noteworthy considering his past. He grew up in Brooklyn, became addicted to crack cocaine and spent five years in state prison after being convicted of a robbery to support his drug habit. He was paroled in 1997 to the Rev. Peter Young’s recovery program in Albany, where he was trained in the hospitality industry at the Schuyler Inn in Menands. He has been clean and sober for 19 years.
“This could be a whole different story,” he said.
He credited his sobriety to a 12-step program, Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Albany and the faith his employers placed in him.
“A lot of people believe in me,” he said.
He is grateful for the support of Tori Bellamy, a longtime cook at the Hilton who is like a sister to him.
“This is his moment to shine,” Bellamy said. “Claude goes above and beyond all the time.”
A frequent guest wrote a thank-you letter to hotel management after Long, unbeknownst to them, bought a new garment bag to replace her torn one.
“We were going through renovations and I was worried her clothes were going to get all dusty in the baggage room,” Long said.
“We often hear what a wonderful employee Claude is,” said John D’Adamo, general manager of the hotel. “He epitomizes the service and professionalism of a full-service Hilton hotel.”
The hospitality association has 1,200 member hotels and more than 200 hospitality workers were nominated in 10 categories.
Winners were chosen by three out-of-state judges.
Long works two jobs. After he finishes at the hotel, he drives to his apartment in Pine Hills, grabs a few hours of sleep and awakes in time to start a 3-to-11 p.m. shift as a housekeeping supervisor at St. Peter’s Hospital, where he has worked for 12 years.
He and partner Constance Brown, a pharmacy technician at the Stratton VA Medical Center, have an 8-year-old daughter, Liyana Long. He is a doting father who plays dolls with her.
Long will receive a trophy and will be the subject of a video montage at a Stars of the Industry gala dinner on March 3 at the Marriott Hotel in Colonie. Winners will receive an overnight stay package at the Marriott.
A vacation to Wolf Road might not be as glamorous as, say, a stay at the Plaza overlooking Central Park, but at least Long won’t have to carry luggage.
pgrondahl@timesunion.com, 518-454-5623, @PaulGrondahl
