Duckmaster

I just got back from a conference in Orlando. Anyone been to one of the three Peabody hotels in the U.S.? If you have, you know something special about them. Each employs a Duckmaster. That's right, a Duckmaster.

(Photo courtesy of Peabody Hotel)

So last night at 5 pm and again today at 11 am, I witnessed a very ducky spectacle that must be the greatest and most original PR feat of any accommodation in the business. Here's a description of the Peabody Duck March, taken right from the Peabody's website (just like the picture below...didn't bring my camera):

"Since opening its doors on November 1, 1986, The Peabody Orlando has continued, in unbroken sequence, the traditional March of The Peabody Ducks which began at its sister property, The Peabody Memphis, many, many years ago.

"Each morning, promptly at 11 a.m., the hotel's atrium lobby is the scene of a remarkable ritual. In a special elevator, the five North American mallard ducks, four hens and one drake, comprising The Peabody Ducks, descend from their $100,000 penthouse Royal Duck Palace.

"When the elevator doors open, The Peabody Ducks...take up their positions on a plush red carpet and begin ...[to] waddle their way in formation through the hotel's marble halls, and when they reach the magnificent, orchid-crowned fountain, which takes center stage in the Atrium Lobby, the ducks mount three red-carpeted steps and splash into the fountain's waters.

"At 5 p.m., the procession is reversed, The Peabody Orlando Ducks marching back to their special elevator, then to their Royal Duck Palace for dinner and a quiet evening together."

The tradition began in the 1930's when the manager of the Peabody Memphis returned from a weekend hunting trip drunk and, as a prank, released some of their live duck decoys into the hotel fountain of the Peabody hotel. 

Here's my short conversation with Duckmaster Brooke, an adorable young man with impeccable manners and affection for feathers like no caretaker I've ever seen:

• Gropius: "So ahh, who cleans up the um, the, you know, the mess?"
• Duckmaster: "We look after the ducks all day long to make sure it's not getting on the side of the fountain, and then each night, our housekeeping staff drains the fountain and cleans it."
• Gropius: "Have you been in this position for long?"
• Duckmaster: "1 year. There were 150 other people going for this position, so it was very competitive. I had to interview with all of the executive staff of the hotel."
• Gropius: "So what happens to these ducks when they're no longer working for the Peabody?"
• Duckmaster: "They work here for 6 months at a time, and then they go back to the farm. They may enter in up to 4 cycles of work here at the hotel, after which they retire."
• Gropius: "They do retire right? No duck stew or anything."
• Duckmaster:  [Of course outraged at the idea of it, but so nicely disguised!] "No. And we don't serve anything made with duck here. We raise the ducks ourselves from ducklings on a nearby farm. They return to this farm during breaks and upon retirement."

Duckmaster was much more charming in person. He was the ideal duck caretaker. So sweet.

Apparently, the ducks travel to schools and complete all sorts of little PR excursions--even help raise money for local charities. The Duckmaster is aptly named. He has a business card, and it remains handy in the pocket of his red jacket, perfectly matching the royal carpet and steps on which the duckies make their twice daily pilgrimage.