When Len Czarnecki, the new general manager of the Hamilton Princess, says he knows the business from the ground up, he really means it.He started in the hotel business working as a bellboy in the summers when he was a college student studying physics and math.And he liked the business so much, he dropped out of college to do it full time, much to his mother’s disappointment.“I grew up in Pennsylvania,” said Mr Czarnecki. “My first job was working at a little hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I did everything from airport runs to cleaning rooms to working the front desk.”He worked his way up through that hotel for a few years before deciding to go back to college. At Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, he was a hotel and restaurant major.“My mother was disappointed initially, but she saw my passion for it,” he said. “She encouraged me to pursue that and has encouraged me ever since then, and here we are today. I enjoyed working in a space that was meant to cater and make people feel comfortable. As I have progressed through the industry I have enjoyed the challenges that have come along with that.“Being hands-on in this industry is critical, I believe. Having that hands-on exposure gave me a great appreciation for the hard work that our colleagues do every day. It is a special breed of people that do this every day, and are able to keep a smile on and mean it sincerely. It is not easy, but that is the piece I like.”Mr Czarnecki transferred to Bermuda in August from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he opened the Fairmont Pittsburgh, billed as Pittsburgh’s “first luxury hotel”. As general manager, he oversaw its construction, and also its first year of operation.“Pittsburgh is an amazing city,” said Mr Czarnecki. “The reputation it garnered in the 1970s and 1980s as a steel town driven by steel and coal has changed. Today it has more of a reputation in the fields of biomedicine, robotics, and sciences. It is also a great movie city. The Fairmont Pittsburgh is doing remarkably well there. It is a four star, four diamond hotel.”He said Bermuda is different from any city he has ever worked in, and he has so far loved every minute of being here.“What a remarkable place to live and work,” he said. “It has been fantastic. I had come here before as a leisure traveller, as we would say in the business. So I knew a little bit about Bermuda. We stayed at the Fairmont Hamilton. I enjoyed it as a visitor.“Now I have been here and immersed myself in it over the last two months, I have been remarkably pleased that the staff we work with and the population of the Island are genuine hospitality people. That has been the thing that has made my transition the most enjoyable. The destination itself is amazing. I enjoy the sunsets and fluffy clouds and the sandy beaches.”Mr Czarnecki said he is looking forward to steering the hotel through the current challenging economic times. He said there is no escaping the fact that the hotel industry has been impacted by the poor economy.“I think Bermuda has definitely felt that impact,” he said. “On the radio, there are discussions every day about the economy. It is a hot topic. But Bermuda has so many strengths going for it.“There are some good signs, like information released this week that suggests that air arrivals are up, and that Bermuda is doing better in the second quarter of this year than it did last year.”Some Bermudians have lamented the fact that local hotels do not feature local musicians the way they did in the past. Mr Czarnecki said he is a big fan of live music.“In the last year or so, the Fairmont Hamilton has featured several music acts throughout the course of the week. For example we have a piano player on the weekends outside the Heritage Court restaurant. We have happy hour on Fridays, and jazz under the stars. These all feature local Bermudian bands. I am very encouraged by that. Anything we can do to help is a great thing. Having said that, the heyday of the big lounge and entertainment acts that used to play in hotels (around the world) for four or five nights a week for weeks in a row, sadly, have gone.”He said that is the influence of the easy availability of music through the digital media, virtually for free, that is partly to blame for this.“Walking around Hamilton as a resident now, I see music,” he said. “You have musical events that are going on in Barr’s Bay Park and things happening at Harbour Nights. You hear live music in some of the bars and restaurants in town.”When Mr Czarnecki is not working, he is an avid road cyclist. Unfortunately, his pedal bike is still in transition, and has not yet arrived on the island.“I am anxious to hit the road,” he said. “There seems to be an avid cycling community here. I ride a BMC road bike, and I have been road riding for over ten years now. It is a form of relaxation and physical activity.”He said he has never before had the opportunity to take part in races, but he would like to begin training to do so with aim of maybe taking part in local biking competitive events.Mr Czarnecki and his wife Tracy and three children, two daughters and a son, and black labrador dog, are currently living in the hotel. He said this has given him a special insight into what goes on at the Hamilton Princess.“Often, when I am off duty, and not wearing a suit, I’ll chat with guests, maybe in the elevator or the lobby. I’ll ask them how they are enjoying their stay. They look at me as a guest and it opens up a whole conversation.“You can see them enjoying Bermuda as a destination, many of our travellers are first time visitors. You will also see them say they love the property. As the anonymous person it gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. Sometimes I get negative feedback, but I enjoy trying to fix any problems that the guest is having. They really appreciate that.”