Link Project Proposal Josh Giersch
My LINK internship will be at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Durango. The Doubletree Hotel is the largest hotel in Durango and close to downtown Durango. With the train and other popular tourist attractions near the hotel, many tourists choose to stay at the Doubletree. The philosophy of the hotel is: "From your arrival to your departure, and everything in between we’ll go above and beyond to make you feel cared for." With the hotel being in downtown Durango, many tourists shop at local small businesses. My mentor is Breanna McClure. She works in the Human resources department and is helping plan out my schedule. I got this internship because of a suggestion from Animas High School, and I then contacted the hotel where I had an interview a week later where I was offered the internship. My career goal is to become a business owner. This internship can help me add onto skills I already have which can help me serve customers well and learn to help overcome challenges in a business. My LINK internship is going to be three weeks in March. This internship is a graduation requirement at Animas High School and allows me to gain experience and helps me to decide on what I may want to do for a future career. This internship will help me a lot because I will learn a lot of new skills that I can apply to a future job and the rest of my academic career. In order to do my internship, I had to read up on the hotel and become familiar with how the hotel runs. For the first week of my internship, I will be working with other employees behind the front desk where I will learn how to check in customers and answer phones. In my second week, I will get computer training which I can use when I work in the finance department where I will help with managing the hotel’s finances. In my third and final week, I will be working in the hotel restaurant where I will be working with other employees on running and managing truck orders and doing other orders for supplying the restaurant when resources get low. I may also be doing other tasks in the restaurant. I handled issues during the internship process by checking in with my LINK adviser and making sure my resume was completely updated. My LINK internship will benefit me in many ways and I hope I can build onto old skills and even learn some new ones which I can apply to a future career.
Here is a link to the hotel: http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/colorado/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-durango-RLDU-DT/index.html
Link Daily Updates
Day 1 March 4, 2013
I worked with Breanna who works in Human Resources for almost the entire day. I started my day out with a tour of the hotel, I got a cool name tag and went over expectations and policies that the hotel has for all employees. I had lunch in the break room where I enjoyed talking with other employees before my break was over. I finished my day off by going over the jobs posting process, the positions they hire for, the application process, how a potential applicant is screened by a drug test, 2 interviews and a background check. I learned some of the questions Breanna asks to potential new hires to learn a persons personality and see if they would seem like a right fit as I can relate it to POL interview like questions. I was most fascinated to learn the Double Tree uses affirmative action in their hiring because we just finished affirmative action in humanities. Overall, I was a bit nervous at first, but after meeting everyone and having lunch, I almost feel like I am an employee there.
Day 2 March 5, 2013
I worked again today with Breanna for the entire day. I learned about the different policies of the hotel when it has to do with unions (the hotel is not part of any union) and about state vs. federal limits on the minimum wage and when someone would or wouldn't be paid for a work break or when working on call. I also looked at different reviews people wrote of the hotel and saw things the hotel is doing to serve customers better based on the reviews. I also learned the employees take an anonymous survey every year where the hotel makes sure employees are happy and have all of their needs to make sure their happy and so that the hotel can keep running well as it does today.
Day 3 March 6, 2013
I worked with Peter the main manager where I learned about the duties of the managers duties and learned about the hotel forecasting for how many rooms the hotel will plan to be rented out. I learned the hotel planned on renting 105 out but actually had 110. I finished my day by going to a meeting with Peter at the Economic Alliance where we focused on attracting businesses to the Durango area.
Day 4 March 7, 2013
I worked with Breanna and was given ipad training on how to work the front desk. I also learned about the values of the hotel and the motto and HEART which is how you deal with an upset customer. Heart stands for Hear the guest out, Empathy for the customer, Apologize for the situation, Resolve the situation and apologize and this leaves the customer ensured their issue will be fixed with the solution you come up with. I also went to the 4 corners nursing home where we did community service by doing arts and crafts with the elderly. The hotel does this once a month to support the community and to do good.
Day 5 March 8, 2013
I worked my final day with Breanna and I did online training the entire day. I learned about how to deal with angry customers, I learned the importance of rewarding employees so they are motivated to work and I learned about the importance of communication between a business and the customer because when the customer is happy, they tell their friends which in turn increases profit and growth with new customers and loyal customers. I will start work in inventory of the restaurant and of the alcohol on Monday.
Day 6 March 11, 2013
Today I worked all day with Dave in food processing of all of the boxes. I marked the boxes that were dropped off to make sure items were there, then I put the items where they needed to be and learned you put newest items closest to the back.
Day 7 March 12, 2013
Today I worked with Dave again and we worked on invoices for different orders of the hotel such as placing package orders for customers who left items or for more food for the restaurant. I also worked with Raun, the head chef of the hotel and learned how to hotel works to remain competitive and how they save money by using their resources well serving high quality items while remaining within budget with a nice surplus of money they can use to keep the food levels up to date. I also gave Steve my teacher a tour of the hotel and I wrote up my interview that can be viewed on the link interview page on my dp!
Day 8 March 13, 2013
Today I worked with Dave and did all of the inventory on the food for the day and unloaded packages that we gave to customers. I also learned about the policies with food inspectors coming.
Day 9 March 14, 2013
I worked with Dave for the final day and got to the hotel at 5 in the morning to unload the truck with Cisco food for the rest of the week.
Day 10 March 15, 2013
I worked with Dave this morning and helped move all of the pallets for the ice company because they have been sitting in the garage for 4 months. We also brought food up to the kitchen. After lunch, I worked with Sean who told me to make 72 Enchiladas for the employees for tomorrows lunch and I cleaned up the employee cafeteria from today's lunch. I finished the day off by putting all of the cookie dough onto pans so they can just be thrown into the oven. I also got to take my own chef hat home.
Day 11 March 18 ,2013
I worked in the finance department today with Lanelle the finance manager. We went over different things. I learned about the process a department manager has to go through in order to get money for something over 50$. I also learned about the cancellation fee for a customer for example if the hotel is sold out, and the customer doesn't show, they have to pay a fee because the hotel couldve rented the room, yet they didn't show up. I will be working tomorrow with Kevin in income audit.
Day 12 March 19, 2013
I worked with Kevin. I learned about how he does all of the bills for the hotel. I paid the rest of the bills for the month. I put all of the information into the computer and then the corporate headquarters in Memphis sends the bills to the hotel which the hotel then gives to whoever needs to be paid. I did all 46 bills.
Day 13 March 20, 2013
I worked with Barbi and did a bunch of invoices and records for credit accounts for different companies that have stayed at the hotel. I checked to see what companies had credit that had expired etc.
Day 14 March 21, 2013
I worked with Karen and we counted all of the money that the front desk received in transactions from customers. We counted the entire vault to make sure it was up to date and we put the money from the night and day before into a security bag for it to be taken to the bank. We counted out over 100$ in extra change that the bank gave us and I also did data entry for the tips people in the restaurant and room service got.
My LINK internship will be at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Durango. The Doubletree Hotel is the largest hotel in Durango and close to downtown Durango. With the train and other popular tourist attractions near the hotel, many tourists choose to stay at the Doubletree. The philosophy of the hotel is: "From your arrival to your departure, and everything in between we’ll go above and beyond to make you feel cared for." With the hotel being in downtown Durango, many tourists shop at local small businesses. My mentor is Breanna McClure. She works in the Human resources department and is helping plan out my schedule. I got this internship because of a suggestion from Animas High School, and I then contacted the hotel where I had an interview a week later where I was offered the internship. My career goal is to become a business owner. This internship can help me add onto skills I already have which can help me serve customers well and learn to help overcome challenges in a business. My LINK internship is going to be three weeks in March. This internship is a graduation requirement at Animas High School and allows me to gain experience and helps me to decide on what I may want to do for a future career. This internship will help me a lot because I will learn a lot of new skills that I can apply to a future job and the rest of my academic career. In order to do my internship, I had to read up on the hotel and become familiar with how the hotel runs. For the first week of my internship, I will be working with other employees behind the front desk where I will learn how to check in customers and answer phones. In my second week, I will get computer training which I can use when I work in the finance department where I will help with managing the hotel’s finances. In my third and final week, I will be working in the hotel restaurant where I will be working with other employees on running and managing truck orders and doing other orders for supplying the restaurant when resources get low. I may also be doing other tasks in the restaurant. I handled issues during the internship process by checking in with my LINK adviser and making sure my resume was completely updated. My LINK internship will benefit me in many ways and I hope I can build onto old skills and even learn some new ones which I can apply to a future career.
Here is a link to the hotel: http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/colorado/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-durango-RLDU-DT/index.html
Link Daily Updates
Day 1 March 4, 2013
I worked with Breanna who works in Human Resources for almost the entire day. I started my day out with a tour of the hotel, I got a cool name tag and went over expectations and policies that the hotel has for all employees. I had lunch in the break room where I enjoyed talking with other employees before my break was over. I finished my day off by going over the jobs posting process, the positions they hire for, the application process, how a potential applicant is screened by a drug test, 2 interviews and a background check. I learned some of the questions Breanna asks to potential new hires to learn a persons personality and see if they would seem like a right fit as I can relate it to POL interview like questions. I was most fascinated to learn the Double Tree uses affirmative action in their hiring because we just finished affirmative action in humanities. Overall, I was a bit nervous at first, but after meeting everyone and having lunch, I almost feel like I am an employee there.
Day 2 March 5, 2013
I worked again today with Breanna for the entire day. I learned about the different policies of the hotel when it has to do with unions (the hotel is not part of any union) and about state vs. federal limits on the minimum wage and when someone would or wouldn't be paid for a work break or when working on call. I also looked at different reviews people wrote of the hotel and saw things the hotel is doing to serve customers better based on the reviews. I also learned the employees take an anonymous survey every year where the hotel makes sure employees are happy and have all of their needs to make sure their happy and so that the hotel can keep running well as it does today.
Day 3 March 6, 2013
I worked with Peter the main manager where I learned about the duties of the managers duties and learned about the hotel forecasting for how many rooms the hotel will plan to be rented out. I learned the hotel planned on renting 105 out but actually had 110. I finished my day by going to a meeting with Peter at the Economic Alliance where we focused on attracting businesses to the Durango area.
Day 4 March 7, 2013
I worked with Breanna and was given ipad training on how to work the front desk. I also learned about the values of the hotel and the motto and HEART which is how you deal with an upset customer. Heart stands for Hear the guest out, Empathy for the customer, Apologize for the situation, Resolve the situation and apologize and this leaves the customer ensured their issue will be fixed with the solution you come up with. I also went to the 4 corners nursing home where we did community service by doing arts and crafts with the elderly. The hotel does this once a month to support the community and to do good.
Day 5 March 8, 2013
I worked my final day with Breanna and I did online training the entire day. I learned about how to deal with angry customers, I learned the importance of rewarding employees so they are motivated to work and I learned about the importance of communication between a business and the customer because when the customer is happy, they tell their friends which in turn increases profit and growth with new customers and loyal customers. I will start work in inventory of the restaurant and of the alcohol on Monday.
Day 6 March 11, 2013
Today I worked all day with Dave in food processing of all of the boxes. I marked the boxes that were dropped off to make sure items were there, then I put the items where they needed to be and learned you put newest items closest to the back.
Day 7 March 12, 2013
Today I worked with Dave again and we worked on invoices for different orders of the hotel such as placing package orders for customers who left items or for more food for the restaurant. I also worked with Raun, the head chef of the hotel and learned how to hotel works to remain competitive and how they save money by using their resources well serving high quality items while remaining within budget with a nice surplus of money they can use to keep the food levels up to date. I also gave Steve my teacher a tour of the hotel and I wrote up my interview that can be viewed on the link interview page on my dp!
Day 8 March 13, 2013
Today I worked with Dave and did all of the inventory on the food for the day and unloaded packages that we gave to customers. I also learned about the policies with food inspectors coming.
Day 9 March 14, 2013
I worked with Dave for the final day and got to the hotel at 5 in the morning to unload the truck with Cisco food for the rest of the week.
Day 10 March 15, 2013
I worked with Dave this morning and helped move all of the pallets for the ice company because they have been sitting in the garage for 4 months. We also brought food up to the kitchen. After lunch, I worked with Sean who told me to make 72 Enchiladas for the employees for tomorrows lunch and I cleaned up the employee cafeteria from today's lunch. I finished the day off by putting all of the cookie dough onto pans so they can just be thrown into the oven. I also got to take my own chef hat home.
Day 11 March 18 ,2013
I worked in the finance department today with Lanelle the finance manager. We went over different things. I learned about the process a department manager has to go through in order to get money for something over 50$. I also learned about the cancellation fee for a customer for example if the hotel is sold out, and the customer doesn't show, they have to pay a fee because the hotel couldve rented the room, yet they didn't show up. I will be working tomorrow with Kevin in income audit.
Day 12 March 19, 2013
I worked with Kevin. I learned about how he does all of the bills for the hotel. I paid the rest of the bills for the month. I put all of the information into the computer and then the corporate headquarters in Memphis sends the bills to the hotel which the hotel then gives to whoever needs to be paid. I did all 46 bills.
Day 13 March 20, 2013
I worked with Barbi and did a bunch of invoices and records for credit accounts for different companies that have stayed at the hotel. I checked to see what companies had credit that had expired etc.
Day 14 March 21, 2013
I worked with Karen and we counted all of the money that the front desk received in transactions from customers. We counted the entire vault to make sure it was up to date and we put the money from the night and day before into a security bag for it to be taken to the bank. We counted out over 100$ in extra change that the bank gave us and I also did data entry for the tips people in the restaurant and room service got.
You did a fantastic job your first week with us Josh and I am so proud of the knowledge you are retaining. You will enjoy your time with Dave and Raun this coming week and I know you will do amazing your last week in our accounting department since you have a strong interest in economics. Keep up with the great questions!
ReplyDelete-Breeanna
Really enjoyed having you in the Finance Department this week. You did a great job! It was refreshing to have someone with a true interest in the business operations. Keep up the good work and good luck with your future goals.
ReplyDelete-Lynel