Introducing the Hotel Tourism Students' Association!!

A Busy Monday

November 9, 2009 was a big day for us, we, Alice Zheng and Candy Miao, went to Radisson resort to take Manager for a Day programme. It was a rainy day, however, we were very pleased to follow Jenny Mulholland who is the HR manager in Radisson to act as a “real manager”.


We arrived there at 8:20a.m, and after introduced by Jenny to other departments, we started by checking emails with her. Firstly, she told us checking email is crucial to her and other top management because it reflects the procedure and customer feedback. For a hotel, customer feedback is a key issue help them not only to be aware of existing problems, but forecast contingencies. Secondly, email is one of the best costly ways for recruitment, HR manager can use Internet recruitment instead of agency, and the information on the Internet can be updated in time.

Last but not least, we want to talk about the special software system which is used throughout whole Carlson named Medallia. It is an evaluation tool for each hotel under Carlson to check their ranking and customer feedback every time. The guests will receive the email sent by Medallia after they leave the hotel 24 hours. It is remarkable advantage of Carlson on its hospitality management.

At 9:30 a.m, the management had a meeting as usual and the meeting is held every day in order share information among all the departments. In that meeting, we learnt a lot, for instance, how to arrange the shifts in front desk, how to make sure the transportation and concierge for banquets and how to make an appropriate approach to adjust staff performance.

It was a lucky day for both of us because the admin office held a small celebration for Jenny’s birthday. We both not only shared the harmonious environment in the office, but also the delicious birthday cake. Despite of high pressure working condition, we still could feel the enjoyable and positive working atmosphere. It is a kind of incentive way to encourage and retain staff in the hotel.

We had lunch with Jenny and Sarah who is the coordinator of HR at 12:00p.m. It was a nice and neat lunch we had in that hotel. On the table, we talked about our education and future planning, and Jenny gave us some suggestion on how to study better in hospitality. Moreover, we talked something about cultural difference between western and eastern countries. It was a interesting conversation and all of us had a good time.

We finished at 3:30 p.m, and we were satisfied with most of the trip. However, we still desire to know something about organisation structure and problems solving methods in hotel industry. It is because we had a very short time and it was busy Monday. So we hope we could have another time to experience more in that hotel.

A Vivid Impression

This Monday I went to Radisson Resort for the “Manager for a Day” event, and I was really excited about it. When I tried to apply for it, I was worried about being rejected because I do not have little experience in hotel industry and my oral English is far away qualified for this position. To my surprise, they offered me this wonderful opportunity to have an insight look towards this fantastic industry which I will work into.

I had been in a fuss before this Monday for my casino report, which made me busy, no time to check my bond email for two days. As a result, I made it to Radisson at 8.00 am as planned. However, my friend told me I was supposed to be there at 6.00 am when the morning shift got started!

Anyway, Paul, my tutor for a day, the front desk manager, is a very nice man. He showed my friend and I around the resort, explaining all the specific functions of those blocks. To lead us to think about all the details noticeable like why the tennis courts are closed until 10 am, he asked questions first and explained the reason thoroughly after our responses. After his explanation, I had a basic understanding of the whole resort, and also were aware of the reason why getting familiar with all the stuff around us was important-cause guests would fire questions really unexpected and weird which we have to respond, and we have to help customers to find their way quickly at any time especially as a front desk manager. This would be quite tough for me at first, for I am such a person who always gets lost in the street! If I am planning to take this job, I really have to improve my sense of direction.

After getting a rough understanding of the whole resort, Paul took us to his office to prepare his everyday meeting report, which is a routine for him. He told us how to deal with a program called Opera to check all the trivial like wages paid yesterday, and to decided how many people he needed for next day’s operating in an economic way.

At 10 o’clock, we went to the meeting with all things to report done. Persons of every department in charge reported last day’s operating details in front of the general manager and managers from other departments. After the meeting, Paul had to make some adjustments according to the report from another manager to minimize the lost revenue.

After that, Paul showed us all the five different rooms available one by one and then had lunch together.

At that time, I was really tired for listening to English all the morning –I am not comfortable with English till now for I need to concentrate hard so that I will not get confused with what people are talking about.

On that day, we attended another meeting called yielding meeting, which was also the first time for Paul because he was not here before April. The yielding meeting has a lot with finance control and forecast, and they even discussed about the problem accrued when Chinese New year comes. Because they had a clash between their group customers and potential Chinese visitors which was quite implicit for me and I was not able to tell this clash from the materials provided.

As a manager, you have to forecast your profit and loss and then to make decisions according to that as well as doing all the routines, which needs intelligence and experience-big challenge!

When the meeting was over, Paul showed us how to do the check-in procedure in a quick and efficient way. Paul said that it took him almost three months to be that quick so I guessed I needed more than three months!

Getting comfortable using all the software in computer to control the daily operating within the hotel is the key point so far as I know.

This is the first time I have such a vivid impression towards this industry, which is not quite the same as what I thought before. It’s really tiring but joyful to work in the hotel environment. After this event, I realize I have to get rid of some unrealistic fantasy towards my future job and get started to learn more and gain more experience.

How time flies...

"Manager for a day” in Radisson Gold Coast is a wonderful program. I leant a lot of knowledge and at least got familiar with front desk even though it was only one day.

Before I received an email from Sara that is about whether I could get Radisson at 6:30am. I understood that I would follow the morning shift at front office. So I got up early at 5:30am. At that time, I was so sleepy…

Radisson GC has a relationship with a Golf Club. And they have huge area for customer playing golf there. It has beautiful scenery. For hotel, it’s not a big one with only about 300 total room numbers. I feel relaxed there because no one rush there, no one yell there, no one push things there. Everything and everyone are just at the right place.

I followed the front office manager for a whole day. His name is Paul who is a lovely and patient guy. He just came here at Feb this year and had a period of honey moon before. He came back to work at Sep. So actually, he is also a fresh man. But he seems like very knowledgeable and confident. We went through the daily routine in the early morning, like checking morning report and making sure the figures correct, doing roster and cash security, filling some figures and preparing stuffs for daily meeting. Everyday, each head of department will get together and have a morning meeting. GM goes through everything of every department. Paul talked about some customers’ complaints and other relevant things. It lasted half an hour. After meeting, Paul taught us some jobs he got do. We used Opera to check the customers billing and balance some revenues.

Before the lunch, Paul showed rooms for us. There are over 10 room types in Radisson GC. Some rooms have golf court views with higher rates. This hotel is planning to update some facilities like TV and room type to cater new demands. One interesting thing is there is a pink parrot standing beside the door just like a doorman to welcome the customers.

We had a relaxed lunch with Paul and Jenny who is the manager of HR. We chatted about our education, plan and thoughts of hotel. I think it lets us know each other better.

There was another meeting afternoon. It’s kind of the revenue forecast meeting which they do once a week. GM, conference manager, sales manager, revenue controller, front office manager and two of us trainee were attend the meeting. It’s about the forecast of occupancy and rate in six months and some proposed groups. They discussed how to maximize the revenue and push which part of sales to get more business. Later, Paul taught us more about Opera. He operated this system very fast and proficient.

How time flies. I finished my “manager for a day” but Paul needed continuous to work. It seems like working in hotel equals to working overtime. In additional, I asked Paul some questions about working in hotel. He suggested that first of all, we need to have higher English level to make sure we can handle some unexpected requests. And then, be enthusiastic and follow the brand standard. Last thing is always smile. One day is not enough to learn and to see. But this is awesome program for students to know better about hotel industry and have the main idea about hotel.

Whale Watching: Sailing the high seas

Congratulations to our HRTM award winners!

Greetings from a Manager for a Day

Couran Cove from the air
Photo: www.couran.com

Greetings! My name is Majella Coco and I am currently studying a Bachelor of International Hotel and Resort Management at Bond University. My colleague, Tatiana, and I were recently given the amazing opportunity to shadow The Couran Cove Island Resort Managers for a day.

I must admit that until my Professor spoke about Couran Cove Island Resort, I was incredibly unaware of its presence and the sheer delight of which I was oblivious. For those also unaware of this leading industry eco-tourism resort, it is located on South Stradbroke Island, forty minutes from the Gold Coast.

On the 17th of September 2009, Tatiana and I arrived at the Hope Island Ferry Terminal, were warmly greeted by the Couran Cove Island Resort Human Resources Manager and informed of our schedule of events for the day. Once more we were very fortunate it was such a beautiful day and as the boat set sail, we were able to admire the crystal clear waters and luxurious mansions privileged enough to call the Coomera River their backyard.

Forty minutes later, we arrived at an inlet of which sailors-by would be blissfully unaware. Once off the boat we were introduced to the Human Resources Manager’s assistant and then whisked away for a grand tour of the Resort from the luxury of our golf buggy. A number of the tour highlights included: the wildlife; Water Sports beach and the plethora of activities on offer; Mango Chapel- the Resort’s natural amphitheatre and popular wedding location; the Resort’s “train”; the Day Spa and General Store; the Gwondabah Environment and Aboriginal heritage centre; the island’s power station; in addition to the 100m running track opened by Olympian, Carl Lewis. After the tour we were introduced to the managers we would be shadowing and then given the opportunity to sit in on the daily management briefing, where problematic issues from the day before were discussed. For the first part of the day, I was assigned to the Rooms Division Manager, who possessed a wealth of knowledge.

Anthony Hills, Director of Rooms leading the grand tour

Photo: Tatiana Contegni

Our first item of business for the day was the Banquets and Events meeting. Tatiana and I learned the ins and outs of coordinating and planning a conference together with meeting demanding client requests, particularly in an economic crisis. The most important issue I took from the meeting is that more often than not small details are of critical importance and need to be planned for, such as the possible return of the dust storm and its significant impact on the Resort’s operations. After the meeting, the Rooms Division Manager kindly showed me the four styles of accommodation the Resort offers: the marine deluxe; the marine suite; the 2 bedroom lodge and the 4 bedroom villa. I noted that each style was unique in its own way and felt as if this is one’s own tropical paradise. I can also say, that without doubt, this 4-star luxury tropical island paradise will be added to my family’s top holiday locations!

At lunchtime we were treated to a delicious lunch at the Poolside Cafe, on Spa Island. While feasting on wood fired pizzas, steak burgers and salads, we discussed the dying art of customer service and other hospitality industry issues. For the remainder of the afternoon I had the pleasure of being shown around the island’s food and beverage outlets by the Food and Beverage Director. After a tour of the resort’s award winning signature restaurant appropriately named “The Restaurant”, offering dining overlooking the picturesque marina one felt as if he/she were worlds away on a luxury island resort. During the remaining time I gained a plethora of information from the Food and Beverage Director’s career and industry experience advice. I sincerely believe that participation in this program has assisted me, in becoming one step closer to reaching my goal of one day becoming a General Manager.

The Restaurant

Photo: www.couran.com

To my colleagues and future university students reading this blog, I encourage you to participate in ‘The Manager for a Day Program’ as it is a truly unique and invaluable opportunity to gain a wealth of knowledge and important industry connections. Listen to the managers and the advice they offer you, as they are the top of their field. In conclusion, my favourite part of the day was sitting in on the Banquets and Events meeting and gaining first-hand managerial experience. I hope you enjoyed reading this recount as much I enjoyed experiencing and writing about it.

7.55am couldn't come soon enough...

 Majella Coco, Tatiana Contegni and Anthony Hills,

Director of Rooms, Couran Cove Resort
Photo: Tatiana Contegni

It was an early start to what was going to be a new adventurous day. I was participating in the Manager for a Day Program at Couran Cove Island Resort. The first half of the day I was scheduled to spend with the F&B Director and the remainder of the day with the Rooms Division Manager…..here we go!

7:55am couldn’t come soon enough. My fellow student and I were told to meet with Glenise and take the ferry over from Hope Harbour to the island. As we stepped on board we were surrounded by a good portion of the employees heading to work for the day. The half an hour ferry ride was relaxing. It reminded me of commuting into New York City, just on a smaller level. The ferry was approaching the dock and we departed with the employees onto this island which I later discovered to be one of the most enchanting vacation spots around. We quickly exited the ferry and I watched as the employees grabbed bicycles and rode off to start their work day laughing and joking around. I was reminded of my first job in the restaurant industry; Passion Fish. We were like a family and I think that is a big part of why I fell in love with hospitality and I was witnessing just that from the employees here at the Island.

Arriving at Couran Cove Resort
Photo: Tatiana Contegni

After a quick tour of the island to see where everything was we headed off to our first management experience of the day: a daily briefing from each of the managers. Not everyone had new information to pass along and it was in fact brief, but that was just the beginning. Once meeting the F&B Director, we were off to another meeting. A massive event was taking place that weekend and everyone was trying to get on the same page.

The majority of this meeting was reported by the Event Planner with major issues including not having enough restroom facilities available for where the guest wanted one event for the weekend to take place, not having enough seating for all of guests to eat at once, and of course discussing all possibilities of quick changes that would need to take place if another Dust Storm settled in. Being back in a meeting was exciting, I could feel my adrenaline begin to rise as the anxiety became more intense with the ‘what if’ questions the Couran Cove Team was beginning to face. I remember the meetings I use to have similar to this one and I instantly was yearning to be back in the work force.

Some of the issues being raised I had discussed in my Operations Management for Hospitality class at Bond University and was able to contribute some ideas that were very politely taken into consideration.

Once the meeting finished I continued off with the F&B Director to Spa Island where one of their restaurants was located with the buffet for breakfast and dinner. As we approached the buffet area out came the words that forced me to quickly think on my feet:

“Remember I said I wanted you to do something for me?” the F&B Director spoke, “Look at this design. What would you change to make it flow better for the staff and the customers?”

...And my thinking cap was put to work as I began to envision how I would move the salad stations closer to the front, move the hot kitchen to the very back, and reverse the pizza oven.

I felt respected and I was only being asked my opinion. This was a place I could work, these managers cared what their employees thought and wanted feedback. I have worked for many different managers and have found that the best managers are the ones who truly work as a team with their staff and treat them as equals. It was exciting to have to think on my feet, to put my past experiences and education to use! When I first came back to school for my Masters degree, I never thought I’d get back into the work force and it felt amazing to have just a small taste of what is still going on at these resorts! I experienced an interview process and was asked what I thought of the applicants, and being as honest as possible, I think my observations were valued.

A view to remember
Photo: Tatiana Contegni

Lunch time. The food was absolutely delectable accompanied with great conversation. My fellow student and the Rooms’ Division manager joined us for lunch and it was interesting to see the other side of the resort. After lunch I switched over to the Rooms Division manager and had the chance to see how the rooms were set up and which types of customers generally rent them out.

Afterwards we took a ferry back to Hope Harbour so I could see the computer system they use and the process that takes place before and after a customer’s time at Couran Cove Island Resort. During our time in the office I showed the Rooms Division Manager all the different marketing tactics a business could use on Facebook including posting events, photos, specials, and other forms of advertisement, all for free. I felt extremely lucky to even have this opportunity to explain my thoughts and ideas to the two top managers of this resort and I believe it was just as rewarding an experience for us as students as it was for them as managers.

As 5:30pm came, the ferry was arriving with a good portion of the employees that we traveled with just about 8 hours prior and our day was coming to a close. With a massive amount of gratitude, we all thanked each other for the wonderful experience and looked forward to seeing each other again. The sun was setting and our day came to a close and with no question in my mind, this day made me realise more than ever that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I wouldn’t have my life any other way.