INTERNSHIP REPORT
Ever since I visited New York at the age of 14, living in this state has always been a dream of mine. I always thought of it when making plans for my future. I would revolve my decisions on the idea of living in New York. In fact, this dream of mine was one of the reasons why I went to Enderun. I heard so many good testimonies regarding the internship program of the college, so I figured that studying in a school that requires their students to intern would be one step closer to achieving my dream. And boy, I was right. Here I am, writing this blog in a café, drinking warm hazelnut macchiato, while overlooking 5th Avenue.
Accepting the offer to intern at the Melville Marriott has changed my life completely. It has made me more independent and confident in making decisions for my personal self and future. It all started when I outsourced this property. Instead of choosing the properties offered by the Office of Career Services, I went above and beyond to make sure I land an internship in New York. It was very difficult to find a property that would accept interns, especially because the country became very strict with their immigrations due to the new administration. Fast forward, I was able to land one at the Melville Marriott. Despite it being an hour away by train from Manhattan, I still decided to go on with it.
Melville Marriott is a 4-star property located in Long Island, New York. Corporate offices, such as Canon, Nikon, Bank of America, and Estee Lauder, surround the property. As such, the hotel is popular among business travellers. Only on weekends do we get transient leisure travellers. Before I started, I did not have any expectations. Although I was hired to work the same job as a Front Office Associate as my first internship in a resort in the Philippines, I was still completely clueless on how it is like to work in a different country.
On the first day of my internship, I was told what the major tasks of being a FOA would be. These tasks include check-ins, checkouts, guest encounters, resolving guest problems, hotel reports, and a lot more. My first week was obviously difficult, especially when it came to familiarizing myself with the system. The PMS of the hotel is the standard Marriott PMS. As such, only those who have actually worked at a Marriott would know how it works. Day by day, I made it a point to learn something new and ask questions about the hotel operations and system. By the first quarter of my internship, I was already recognized as an outstanding employee by the hotel by being nominated as Employee of the Month for February. I already considered this as my greatest achievement. Little did I know, actually winning ended up being my greatest achievement. I was so proud of myself especially because I was informed that I was the first intern to be acknowledged as such. Moreover, it was such an achievement for me because I earned that title through perseverance.
The hospitality industry, specifically at the front office department, is not as easy as it sounds. It is not just about check-ins, checkouts, communicating with guests and giving these guests a good first impression. The front desk is the most important department, in my opinion, since it is the department that sets the experience for guests. The FOA’s give off both the first impression and last impression. All the complaints, including housekeeping and engineering complaints, are all addressed to the front desk. Having said that, these past months were not easy. The entire hotel was ongoing room renovations for five months. You can only imagine how many complaints regarding noise and cleanliness we received at the desk. Every day was a new day, which means a new and unheard complaint. Some had normal complaints, while some had the most outrageous complaints. I remember one guest complained about the television and demanded some sort of compensation. I was already planning to call an engineer to assist the guest until I heard what the problem was. The guest said that he is unable to see the television when he is lying down since his feet are blocking the way. He said it would be a problem for the hotel because it means the renovations were not done right. We had extra pillows brought up instead so he can fix his positioning. It goes without saying that we did not compensate him. Guests like these made it such a challenge for me to come to work. I would feel so discouraged because of how they would make me feel. However, I was able to convince myself each time to come to work with a positive attitude by reminding myself that this is the industry I want to be in and that this is the industry I chose to do.
Moreover, my bosses and colleagues made each day bearable. They all understood the importance of teamwork, which is necessary in the industry. Without them, I would not have been able to get this far. My bosses would always remind me of how great of a worker I am. They would assign me tasks that are out of my scope to allow me to think outside the box and gain more experience. They always knew I would be able to handle it. Although there were times wherein it would get a little overboard, I still appreciate them doing so because it helped me become better and more experienced. They also guided me closely throughout the duration of my internship. My colleagues, on the other hand, would back me up if guests were being too rude. They help me when I have difficulty in completing tasks, especially on busy days.
Comparing how it was during my first few months to my last few months, I could say I improved by a whole lot. I have grown to become independent inside and outside of work. I feel more confident working alone during shifts, just as how confident the hotel managers are in leaving me to run a shift alone. I am also a Senior Front Office Associate, which means I have authority to make calls on decisions concerning the department. I am also left to train the new employees, which means the hotel trusts me and knows that I have the proper knowledge to teach them what I know.
Working at the Melville Marriott these past months has shown me that you can really go far in the industry. In fact, my bosses were so impressed at how skillful I have become, to the point that they want to stay and hire me as an official employee. I only have Enderun to thank for that. I received the proper training from the school during my past four years of studying Hotel Administration. Most, if not all, my classes contributed to the knowledge I brought with me on my internship. Classes such as Front Office Procedures, F&B Service, Rooms Division, and a lot more, trained me and gave me the proper mindset one should have when working in the industry. In all honesty, I can still see myself working in the industry. In fact, I plan on being a working student as soon as I graduate, if time permits. I have already sent out applications to the Marriott property and the upcoming SPG hotel in Manila. That way, I can still practice hospitality while studying. In the long run, I still want to fulfill my dream of opening and running my own hotel. Moreover, I have added another dream of making it a chain of hotels. But for the meantime, I just want to continue my studies, and hopefully, have the right schedule to allow me to continue working in the industry. Fortunately, the hotel industry runs 24/7, which gives me more options to work. To sum it all up, the internship has truly made my love for the industry stronger. Needless to say, my second internship has made me a stronger competitor in the industry.
