Gotham Gigs: Master of hospitality

www.crainsnewyork.com
By Miriam Kreinin

It's not easy for a small, family-run hotel to compete in New York City these days. But the Washington Square Hotel in Greenwich Village has a distinct advantage: its longtime general manager, Sonny Christopher.

Mr. Christopher, 56, works tirelessly to attract customers from around the world and will do anything to help them once they're here. That includes buying special products that visitors request in advance of their stay, walking groups of fearful tourists to nightclubs to show them that New York is safe, even rushing guests to the hospital.

?I like to take care of people because they're away from home,? says the Nigerian-born Mr. Christopher, whose real last name is Ajuluchukwu. ?I feel responsible for them.?

Mr. Christopher was studying political science at the New York Institute of Technology when he got a job as a security guard at the hotel back in 1976. Little did he know that he would fall in love with the business, working his way up to general manager, a job he's held for 23 years.

The Jersey City resident is divorced and has no kids, but he was the best man at his boss's daughter's wedding.