Garen Gouveia, co-owner of Corporate Kids Events in Monterey, Calif., which provides child-care services for events as well as individual families visiting the Monterey Peninsula, said some hotels that referred guests to his service did thorough research on the company, while others simply added it to their list.
Betty Reichard, front desk manager for the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville, N.C., said she referred guests to baby sitters who are certified in first aid and C.P.R. "We don't just let anybody walk in off the street and ask to be on our sitters list," she said.
I love receiving emails from around the world and being referred guests from distant parts of the country, but I think everyone here is keen to make sure that we're welcoming first and foremost those who come from within a few miles of here.
"There's no need to try and entice them," Peter Shaindlin, managing director, said in late December, referring to guests turned away after the storm.
Another, referring to guests in Oslo, pledged: "Denzil Washington and Anne Hathaway, from now on I am going to watch every movie you are in!" Speaking in Washington, Obama said: "The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible".
Sometimes when someone comes in, Beverly just says, 'She's perfect for so and so.' " Most of Ms. Harris's time is spent interviewing and referring potential guests and maintaining her roster of 900 hosts, more than half of them in Westchester, the rest in Putnam County and Fairfield, Conn.
The energetic staff, which includes many long-timers who form lasting friendships with guests, refer to one another as "counselors".
Ricky Gervais refers to Guest as "the biggest single influence on my work", which he says is fine; Gervais is a friend.
He did not refer to his guest, the accused terrorist Osama bin Laden, whose whereabouts remain unclear.
