Thursday, September 17, 2009

Delphi and Room Viewer

Last week I was able to really learn more about the hotel and how it operates internally. They use a program called “Delphi” to plan and block out events. This program is accessible by everyone in sales and in catering and they are able to do everything from putting a hold on event space to making the BEO’s (Banquet Event Orders) and contracts. The program can help you evaluate the client’s budget, your predicted revenue and the total revenue once the event is over. You can also track your activity in Delphi, making customer relations much easier and this way you can include small details that are easily accessible. Delphi also has a To Do list which helps you keep things in order so that you are not late doing certain tasks that are imperative to making your event a success.  

 

I was able to do a tutorial and learn everything there is to know about this program. I think this is a very valuable tool to have in this industry and I am very glad that I was able to learn it. Because I love organizing, this was something that I was excited to learn even though it took me an entire day and a half to complete it! J

 

The hotel also uses “Room Viewer” which is a program that has the hotel’s meeting and event space already laid out and you are able to create a picture of what the room is going to look like. You can add tables with chairs, a stage for the band, Audio Visual equipment, a dance floor and much more. This program is a very useful tool when you are planning a unique event and want to show the banquet staff exactly how it should be or even just to show the client how their event is going to look. There is also a tutorial for this program that I would like to take sometime while I am interning here.

 

Learning these programs helps me to further demonstrate my general skills in computer literacy and allows me to learn more about the hospitality industry.


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Team Work

Last week was a very exciting time to start working at the hotel. We had many events going on and it really required all of the staff"s help in different parts of the hotel. 

While helping in catering I assisted another coworker in setting up signs around the hotel directing guests to their destination. I loved that everyone stayed late in order to help with the event. It is very nice to know that you are working in a team and everyone's efforts are appreciated. I know in college they always told us that working in groups helped develop one's sense of "team work" and getting a project done together was everyone's job even if you had to help someone else with their part in the project. This is a good example of how it relates to the real world. Even though helping catering with an event might not be your "part of the project" but running a flawless hotel needs everyone's 110% participation. 

I was also able to attend my first meeting. The General Manager goes over a few things with members of each department every-morning. They go over things like events that are happening in the hotel, some problems the day before and how they were handled, they recognize employees for their hard work by giving out prizes and my favorite part: reading customer letters to the hotel. This really gets us excited to start work seeing how we make a difference in peoples lives by creating such a wonderful hotel. By talking about what is going on during the day we can all be on the same page. This goes right along with my "team work" entry. If everyone is on the same page, we can all help each other however possible and continue to make the hotel such a wonderful place for its guests and employees. 

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Orientation:

Today was my first day of work at the hotel. While I was not able to work on any projects, I meet many welcoming staff members in various departments of the hotel. I found out that I will be working in catering, sales as well as human relations departments while doing my internship at the hotel.

Everyone was extremely friendly and I learned that they have had several interns in the past who have done exceptional jobs, I have some big shoes to fill! 

Most of my day was spent doing an orientation with the learning and development manager. He went over a power point with me that featured: a welcome note from the Managing Director, a safety and security checklist, general facts about the hotel, a brief history of the hotel and its owner (the Irvine company). I learned about the company's mission statement, vision, and values as well as the hotels "service standards."

Being a 5 diamond hotel (for the past 18 years actually!) they have a level of standards that surpass most luxurious hotels. This is something that I had learned about in my hospitality class that I was able to relate to what he told me. The hotel cares about its guests and wants them to come back over and over again while creating unforgettable memories. They do this by making sure everything is perfect and going above and beyond to provide an exceptional service to every guest that stays at the Island Hotel. One way they do this is by keeping a quest log with information about loyal customers about their needs and preferences. By doing this, the hotel is able to anticipate what they will want when they want it before they are even able to ask for this. 

I am so excited to learn more and be of some assistance to as many people as possible while I am there! 

-Lauren 

Disclaimer

The purpose of this blog is to document a college internship experience. Content published on this blog represents the author's ideas, opinions and experience. This does not necessarily represent the views of the internship organization.