host/hostess

shuttle driver

accounting manager

server

line cook

21c Museum Hotels

21c will work you into the ground and then easily replace you when your body can no longer operate at maximum capacity. I was at the 21c Museum Hotel in Durham as the Event Manager. I wasn't given the proper training or resources to be successful at my job. I had two supervisors in my tenure at 21c. Since 21c Durham has been in existence, there have been 4 F&B Directors, 5 Event Managers, 4 GMs, 4 DOSMs, and so forth. 21c has a toxic company culture. Hence, they cannot seem to hold on to anyone.  Also, they hide behind the idea that they're liberal and progressive. There's nothing progressive about firing mostly people of color and having only white people in senior level management. If you go to their company website, you'll see a sea of white. Yet, their property are only reflective of POCs at entry level positions. There was one instance at 21c where the DOSM grabbed my cell phone from my hand and yelled at a bride.  She should have been terminated for that one action alone, but 21c did nothing but give her a slap on the wrist. Why is it that they hold their Caucasian employees to different standards than they do their minority employees? Food for thought. This is the culture that 21c fosters - not one of love and acceptance but one of malice and toxicity. I have a wedding that I was supposed to work approximately two weeks from now, the bride just found out I no longer work for the company. She, as well as countless other brides, are besides themselves. Having to work with someone brand new less than two weeks before your wedding is unprofessional and warrants a deeper conversation. 21c needs to take a deep hard look at themselves and contemplate why they foster such an environment where people constantly leave undervalued, overworked, and unappreciated. I would say, "I hope 21c does better in the future." But the fact of the matter is, if they haven't changed by now - they never will. Godspeed as you contemplate a career at 21c. If you have a pulse, go somewhere else.

The cost of the job turning into your life is doesn't feel worth $11.50 an hour at the front desk. You will stand for your shift and for an 8-hour shift you may be able to get two ten-minute breaks. The scheduling changes each week and often not given out in a timely manner, because the staffing constantly feels like it is a skeleton crew. You won't have a manager for long as they can't keep even upper or middle management happy. The company and look of the hotel set high expectations for guests which is hard to keep up with little and rotating staff. While they do have paid time off you will have to request extra time off if working full time. You cannot add your paid time off to your paycheck on already scheduled off days if you end up working overtime. The paid time off accumulates to approximately 4 paid days off per 3 months. The sound of it is really great, but when there are barely enough workers to take care of the 2 days off per person a week requesting another day off per person to use the PTO causes tension. When working 5 days a week full time you will go over time as the shifts are 8 hours long and shift change is at the minute 8 hours has passed. At the front desk, you can't just bail as you need to pass along whatever happened during your shift and keep track of who is coming in and out of the hotel to make sure no one is slipping into areas they don't belong. There is security, but there is a less than 50% chance the ones that are there all night are actually helpful in a pinch. You will experience working a 16 hour day when one of your coworkers gets sick. If you do advance in the workplace you will work 12-14 hour days frequently, probably 8+ days a month. Keeping an hourly pay will benefit you more than a salaried position. -April 4th, 2020- working during Covid 19

I was frequently scheduled anywhere from 6-9 days in a row. In my two years working there, I have had to do this multiple times and have witnessed the same with other employees. These long stretches were not healthy or sustainable. 

From my experience, management plays a very small role in adequately training new employees. Much of the responsibility will fall onto seasoned employees who do not get any extra benefits for training. 

There is very little support from management. In my experience, mistakes will be met with some form of condescending criticism, while quality, hard work is dismissed, overlooked and ignored. There are no rewards, encouragement, or acknowledgement for exceeding expectations and doing a great job. 

The manager consistently relied on email for communication instead of having direct, face-to-face conversations, even though his office was located right behind the front desk. This approach felt impersonal and unnecessarily indirect, especially when quick, clear discussions could have easily resolved issues in the moment. Instead, staff were often left interpreting emails that came across as passive-aggressive in tone, which created confusion rather than clarity. Important tasks and expectations were frequently misunderstood as a result, leading to inefficiencies and frustration that could have been avoided with more open and straightforward communication.

Overall, in my time there, I was overwhelmed and overworked having to work long stretches and train new employees. Although my annual reviews were exceptionally high, none of my work was appreciated or acknowledged. Communication from manager lacked significantly which created confusion and was frustrating for employees. 

A typical day as a host included setting up the dining room, organizing the reservations to maximize table space, bussing tables, taking coats in the winter, taking phone calls and reservations, and being a liaison for various other co-workers when they needed something. I enjoyed the artwork and ambiance, but often times when drunk customers became too forward and I approached a typically hard-to-find manager about it, they'd say to deal with it because they were paying customers. I mostly enjoyed the logistics of seating people and the app they use for the iPad at the hostess stand is very helpful. For the most part, customers are nice, but if it's busy then a few of the servers and especially the managers can get pretty snarky. The pay was the worst part, and the management was about as bad. There's minimal communication outside of the family dinners and those mainly pertain to the servers. I would work my own shifts, often 1-2 hours after they ended because I was asked to help out, but then I would never get paid for those hours. Even worse, when I would take other hosts' shifts, I would never get paid for those either. There was no outlined policy for promotions/raises and when I asked about those I was told that I don't need a raise or promotion because I would get tipped for taking people's coats and for "being helpful." After I put in my notice to leave, management became extremely rude, brash, and sometimes even aggressive. I found out later that management had made false statements to a federal agency conducting a background check on me for a high-clearance job, and despite correcting this issue, it delayed the processing for four months. Beware of 21c and Lockbox, it looks like a great place to work, but its got far too many downsides to ever be worth it.

At this company, you begin being fed an idea for a culture that includes all people and creates a sense of family, taking care of one another, and making dreams come true by learning the art of saying Yes! You watch videos, get a little brainwashed and.... then the reality sets in. Working at this company was the exact opposite of what I was taught during orientation. The art is wonderful, contemporary, thought-provoking, and exciting! In over 3 years of employment I witnessed an almost non-existent senior leadership team run anyone worth value at all into the ground by not caring about their work/life balance, not giving performance reviews on time (usually given over 6 months late), and never being available to help. They rarely take responsibility for their managers’ (who THEY manage) mistakes, coach or counsel their managers to improve their skill set and solve problems, or show face to the hourly team. They expanded their brand faster than they could properly staff or manage it and most properties are left to rot from the inside with no oversight. You’ll notice that certain key positions are always coming available for most properties including F&B Director, Sales Manager, Event Manager, Restaurant Manager, Executive Chef, Housekeeping Manager, and Front Office Manager. The HR department is so small that many things are missed or overlooked, especially when it comes to complaints of upper-management members. If you are reading this and thinking of applying for a job at 21c, I would stay far away from Durham and Oklahoma City.

21c is a great company with above-average benefits.  However, the management team is one of the worst in the business at the Bentonville location.  They are biased, practice favoritism as they target certain employees to weed out that they (as long time personal friends) don't particularly like.  It's a shame that one property in the company can give the company as a whole such a negative reputation.  They seem to thrive on drama at the Bentonville location, and the guests even make comments that the tension at the front desk is very obvious.  The owners of the company should pay more attention to the below average management team at the Bentonville location.  It's a very uncomfortable environment due to the lack of good management.

I am satisfied with my experience working at 21c, the benefits are niche. Although, I quickly learned about the toxic work dynamics of the back office; Favorites and scapegoats. 
Those who’ve been there for a while would always go above and beyond for guests and the overall company. Unfortunately, they were hardly seen or appreciated. Only those who kissed up to management made a promotion.
The General Manager likes to portray a facade of concern & empathy for the staff but when an issue arises to be discussed, she will disregard you with a very fake smile and ignore. Very rude and unconcerned with issues within the company.
Beware! : It is a unique workplace with fun perks, but the toxic work environment & lack of promotion or wage progression was enough for I along with others to leave.
I appreciate the growth it taught me; never put up with toxic work dynamics.

This has tge potential of being an excellent place to work but poor management and  lack of supplies and equipment to do the job have  put it in a very bad place. I truly enjoyed my employment at 21C until the management started slacking off.  Lack of equipment and supplies has only increased during my employment here when I should’ve been able to see a decrease of that    The staff is consistently overworked because there’s a severe lack of retention of employees, which I feel is related to the fact that we’re not training them anymore like we should be so they become overwhelmed and unhappy with her job and leave and that puts the burden back on the housekeepers.

Hotel senior management seemed distant and out of touch, stating interest in employee morale but often unwilling to assist team on floor when needed, preferring to act as point-and-direct directors. Certain departments were made to operate without appropriate equipment while entire spending budget devoted to "pet" departments. Favorites and scapegoats of directors were apparent and known. Lots of quality staff lost due to unprofessional and inconsistent senior leadership. Too much focus spent correcting certain associates email signature, pronouns and ensuring correct titles used in addressing others rather than quality leadership, training and employee investment. Expectations of management not fully communicated nor training provided.

I absolutely loved everything this company fed us. I originally helped open this space. My hiring manager was amazing. Very quickly, things took a turn. A lot of seasoned professionals were forced out or let go after we made them look good and they were done using us. I wanted to honestly retire from this place but they treated me horribly after health issues arose that had nothing to do with them. They denied me benefits for things outside of my control and intentionally giving me just under full time hours. The original F&B director also took their leave. I do not wish them well and I “HR” does not operate for the community they claim to support. I’m hoping for a suit. If you accept a position here, good luck. I’m picking up the pieces months and months later.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Host/hostess 2 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour
Shuttle driver 2 salaries reported	$12.00 per hour
Accounting manager 2 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
Server 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Line cook 3 salaries reported	$16.33 per hour

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