Philadelphia Marriott Downtown general manager Robert Allen

International Housekeepers Week, celebrated worldwide in the hotel industry last week, resonates personally with Robert Allen, general manager of the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

"My dad passed away when we were young," Allen said. "My mom needed to get a job, and she was a housekeeper in a hotel. You look and you see her come home after taking a bus, getting home at 7 p.m., and having to help me with homework. Cook a meal. Clean.

"We can never do enough for these people," he said.

During Housekeepers Week, Marriott International Inc. rolled out out a program to encourage tips for housekeepers by placing tip envelopes in guests' rooms. Critics said the move was to make up for the workers' relatively low compensation.

Question: What's your opinion?

Answer: I love the envelope. You'll have people that try to spin it. But that's not the intent. We pay a very fair wage for the position. It's a tough job. We are [not only] well above the minimum wage, but above that living wage that people mark down.

Q: How did your housekeepers respond?

A: When we rolled it out, there wasn't just one, but many, who said, "I don't know about that. I don't want it to look as if we're asking for money."

Q: What's the right tip?

A: It's totally voluntary. But most people leave between $1 and $5 each night. I leave a bit more because I'm closer to it.

Q: Your hotel backs up on the Convention Center. Notice any changes now that it's under new management?

A: Absolutely. I've sat in a lot of [customer advisory board meetings] in D.C., in Baltimore, in Boston, and [lately in Philadelphia]. I had never heard - I want to keep this positive . . . well, there was work to be done. It was apparent, listening to the customers, that there was work to be done.

Q: What are you hearing now?

A: People seem to be very open. We hear a lot that it's [still] wait-and-see. They've heard this before, to be honest. But it is very, very positive. They feel that we've turned a corner.

Q: Working room service, have you ever entered a guest room and encountered a naked lady?

A: Yes. That happens more frequently than you can imagine.

Q: What do you do?

A: You very quietly try to ignore the situation.

Q: Is there training on that?

A: Yes. "Never put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. Latch the door so the door is never shut." In that situation, you aren't going to enter. You just leave your item [for example, the table set for room-service coffee] inside the door. You cut service right there. Then you'd want to notify someone, as well.

Q: You've been working for Marriott for 37 years, including some time in Washington.

A: I was there for 9/11. I had two hotels next to the Pentagon.

Q: What was that like?

A: It was very scary. I remember standing on the roof of the hotel and watching the Pentagon burn. And we didn't leave the hotel for about five days. We locked down the hotel. Most of our guests in the hotel were there to do business with the Pentagon, so it really hit home. And, we were also a victim. We lost a hotel that day [in New York].

Title: General manager, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

Home: Northern Liberties.

 Family: Married, two adult children.

Education: Studied architecture, hospitality at college.

First Marriott job: Oyster shucker in Boston. Opened two bushels of oysters, two bushels of clams daily.

Resume: Rose through kitchen and catering ranks before entering general management.

On the side: Dedicated foodie - loves to cook and find the right wines.

Favorite hotel menu item: Aged ribeye steak.

Wheels: Harley, 2014 Ultra Limited. EndText

Rooms: 1,408.

Employees: 637 (592 full-time). 

Status: Largest hotel in Pennsylvania, fifth-largest in Marriott brand.

Guests per year: 625,000.

Parent company: Marriott International Inc., Bethesda, Md.

Best perk: After 25 years of service, Marriott employees can stay free in any Marriott hotel, subject to availability.

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Marriott's Robert M. Allen on blow-torching the pizza. www.inquirer.com/jobbingEndText

jvonbergen@phillynews.com

215-854-2769

@JaneVonBergen