The Beehive wouldn’t be The Beehive without our beloved manager, Yuli Novita. She’s been with us almost since the very beginning and is an integral part of every aspect of our daily operations. No job is too big or small for Yuli and she is an incredibly hard worker. Like everyone at The Beehive, she doesn’t have a perfectly formulated job description, but just does what needs to get done in order for The Beehive to run smoothly and for our guests to be happy. Yuli often goes above and beyond the call of duty for our guests – the stories I could tell! Yuli has a wonderful smile and an easy going personality – she has a memory like a steel trap. Return guests will walk through the door who haven’t been back in years and she not only remembers them and often their names as well, but can also remember personal things about them. I truly envy and admire this about her as it’s a wonderful skill and gift that I sorely and embarrassingly lack. Without Yuli, things would not be the same at The Beehive, she is truly a treasure!
Yuli is the first interview in a series I’m doing about our staff so people can get to know them a bit better.
Where are you from? Indonesia
What brought you to Rome and how long have you been here? I married an Italian. I worked as a nanny for an Italian family who worked at the Italian embassy in Jakarta. They brought me to Rome to take care of their 8 year old son. It was May 1999, I still remember the smell of spring and wondering why Italians had such small cars (in Indonesia it’s all about the big family car).
How long have you worked at The Beehive? 16 years, since the end of 2000
Do you remember how you heard about The Beehive and how you got your job? I heard about The Beehive from a former employer who was also friends with Linda & Steve. Linda & Steve were looking for a housekeeper after just having had their first child and so first I worked as a housekeeper for them at home and then Steve offered me a housekeeping position at The Beehive.
Tell us about your most memorable experience/guest at The Beehive. I have had so many good experiences working at The Beehive! Recently one of our guests asked for directions to Stadio Olimpico where Real Madrid & AS Roma football teams were playing the champions league. I gave her directions and afterward she mentioned that she had three free tickets and if anyone wanted to go with her. Steve and Linda couldn’t come so my daughter & my partner and I ended up going with her. It was like a dream! We were welcomed by a symphony orchestra into a big ballroom full of food and lots of wine (even though I don’t drink), beautiful, fashionably dressed women in high heels showed us where our seats were. It was more like going to a fashion show instead of a football match. I had made a mental note to get us a slice of pizza after we watched the match, but what I found instead was a huge buffet with all kinds of food and drink and we found ourselves with all these famous and beautiful people while I came in just my gym clothes. We had so much fun with Cristiano Ronaldo & Francesco Totti just a few steps away from us. We had no idea that we were going to be in the VIP area! It turns out our Beehive guest works for the owner of AS Roma! My daughter was just in awe of the experience – she’s quiet, but I could tell how was she was feeling from her twinkling eyes.
What is your favorite thing to do in Rome? Rome is so beautiful, it’s almost a sin if you don’t enjoy it! One of my favorite things to do is biking along the Tiber river with my family.
