[04.27.18 - 05.03.18]
Activities, duties performed and accomplishments during the week
This weekend was by far the craziest one I have ever experienced. As such, surviving the weekend is my accomplishment for the week. So what actually happened this week? A dance competition happened. You can already imagine how many stage moms and dads did what they could to get what they want for their princes and princesses. For this entire dance competition, we already pre-charged and pre-assigned the rooms to ensure a smooth weekend. Without a doubt, most of these stage moms and dads were unhappy about that. My personal duties performed to prepare for the weekend include assigning rooms as best as we can based on their preference, sending emails and reminders about the do’s and don’ts for the reservations, overseeing the check-in process and a lot more. It was honestly a very crazy but fun (?) weekend.
Challenges or difficulties encountered and how you are dealing or have dealt with the situation
Needless to say, the difficulties I encountered this week were the screaming guests. Every single guest has a preference for their room and they always expect us to grant it. If it is not granted, they ask for compensation. It was very annoying because you know that most of them just complain about anything and everything just to get something. I was able to deal with most of the screaming guests by saying what is on the contract and telling them that a request is different from guarantee. If they persist, that is when I bring about the manager’s attention, who ends up backing me up as well. Another challenge I encountered this week was having to work a straight double shift in one day. The Sunday of that weekend, I was scheduled to work at the front desk from 7AM-3PM then work as a hostess at the restaurant from 3PM-11PM. It was honestly so exhausting, but I felt bad cause both departments just really needed all the help they could get due to the very high occupancy of that weekend.
Notes, observations or insights on things you have learned this week
I learned that proper planning prevents poor performance in situations like these. I would say that despite how crazy everything was, it actually turned out to be a smooth weekend. I would think that is due to the fact that we pre-charged the guests already, we pre-assigned them as well, and we set a lot of rules for both staff and guests.
List any pleasant or unpleasant experiences that occurred this week
A pleasant experience that occurred this week was getting acknowledged by the sales team, who are in charge of the dance competition room blocks. They said that this dance competition comes every year, however, it was never as successful and smooth as this years event. They mentioned I played a major role in the success due to my idea of pre-assigning rooms and making sure they are not moved around. That way, guests do not end up complaining and ask to be switched around every minute.
Other comments and observations or suggestions
One good observation I had was that the hotel really prepared well for this group. The front desk was full staffed for all three shifts, the restaurant had extra help, the sales and catering team were helping out, housekeeping would clean the rooms immediately, and a lot more. It was nice to see that since each department would complement each other.