There are events and then there are events and there are hotels and then there are hotels, as was again shown by the Adria Hotel when it organised an original and humorous event for its business partners on the occasion of celebrating the Three Kings. And as it has become a tradition, accepting an invitation for a do in Adria is a guarantee of an evening with an original idea and an unusual performance. This time D-day – a non-traditional Three Kings’ celebration took place on January 7, 2010 and from the responses of the guests we believe we have not disappointed anyone.
And what was the topic of this year’s gathering? Ing. Karel Doubek, the Adria Hotel Director, explains: “We don’t need to kid ourselves, the last year was difficult and each of us – more or less – felt the consequences of the current economic recession. For this reason we decided to take a look and assess in a light hearted way what the recession has brought about. With the evening programme we wished to show our guests that if we look at things with humour and a great deal of optimism everything can be managed much better even though the situation is difficult.”
On their arrival guests were welcomed at the hotel entrance by a group of homeless people. Their surprise was immense when they discovered that the people with unshaven faces and wearing ragged clothes standing near a fire in a dustbin were none other than members of the sales team of the Adria Hotel and the hotel Managing Director Ing. Karel Doubek. The Accommodation Section Manager played the guitar and sang the carol “We Three Kings of Orient are …”. The hotel cloakroom changed into a pawn shop, where each guest “pawned” his coat for one gold coin and received an unemployment card, which immediately made everyone unemployed. And in the spirit of the Czech saying “no work – no cakes” each guest was employed in building the “Adria Food for Work Wall”. Everyone who lent his hand to the construction had it confirmed in his unemployment card that he had done some work and was able to collect his reward at the “social benefit distribution point” in the form of excellent gastronomy prepared by talented chef Michal Novák. The building materials used were not the eggs and stone of the original wall, but folded down cardboard boxes of various sizes and shapes, which the Adria staff had being saving. Guests had to construct the box or stick it with tape and place it on the fast-growing wall. Creative individuals had a chance to add some paintings or New Year’s wishes, which they could also draw. The work progressed quickly and it was clear that all the participants were eager to find out what delicacies had been prepared for them by the master chef. But not everybody wanted to work, so as is usual in the atmosphere of recession, corruption and bribery started running wild. The homeless had false stamps and were keen on bribes. Unfortunately, one gold coin was not enough, so guests had to multiply it at first. For example by gambling.
Throughout the whole evening various other games were prepared for guests. The evening culminated in a public auction and its takings were donated to the charitable event, Three Kings' Money Collection, which helps the sick, handicapped, seniors, mothers with children in need and other groups of people in different social need. The object of the auction was truly unprecedented. The auctioned lot was 1 night in the ADRIA Hotel for 2 people in a hotel suite with the possibility of making use of all the services provided by the hotel. The cherry on the cake was that all the hotel services were to be rendered personally by the Managing Director Ing. Karel Doubek for the entire period of the stay from the check-in to the check-out. The auction met with immense interest and finished with great success. The final bid was CZK 7,200, with the opening bid starting at CZK 500. Ing. Karel Doubek adds: “I wish to thank all the bidders in this way. The takings are going to support a good cause!”
And that was not all. When departing, each guest received a present. And it was not just any present, but one that could have radically changed anyone’s life!!
Three Kings Celebration Photo Gallery
