Albany Marriott (May 19th, 2009)

On May 19Th we went back to the Marriott for our second week in a row. This day was all about learning how to do the banquet event orders and setting up for a banquet without any help. It was also about cleaning a room in the housekeeping department, by ourselves. Today i was chosen for the housekeeping department. I was with Shante on the 4Th floor with Deseem as our mentor. I was in room number 416. It wasn't too messy, but i had the whole room to clean by myself. Deseem gave me the stuff to clean the bathroom with and gave me new bed linen. She also gave me the vacuum cleaner to do the carpets, and rags to wipe down everything. She walked out of the room and i got started. The first step i had to do was dusted everything in the room like the mirrors, pictures, and the furniture. The next step was i removed the dirty linen from the bed. Step 3, i had to get all the new linen to make the bed with. After doing that i completed the bed the correct way, by asking Deseem that way she likes her beds made. Then for step 5 i cleaned the tub, toilet, sink, around the sink, and the bathroom floor. For dusting all these and wiping down the walls, you have to use a different couple cleaners. Also, the most important thing is do have a different rag for every type of cleaner that you are using. After all that i emptied the garbage and took the dirty linen out of the room. I then vacuumed the floor starting from that far side of the room. As i was doing that i turned the lights off and double checked everything. For this procedure of cleaning the room i had to use different equipment. I used pledge for the wood furniture and industrial strength glass cleaner for the mirror. I needed to use the duster for the walls and mirrors. I had a vacuum for the floors and a floor rag for the bathroom floor. Most importantly, all new linens. After i got done with this, i went down to the Empire room and helped out the other classmates with setting up for a meeting. They had already had the table cloths on the tables, so i helped with setting up the pads and pens, also the glasses for water. We all worked together as a team, and everything got done much easier.

Albany Marriott (May 12th, 2009)

Finally back at the Marriott after a couple months. This was different we got to be introduced to "Spirit Week" for the employees. Debra was our mentor, and this Tuesday was her day to contribute to spirit week. She is the director of food and beverage. What she did with her employees was have an educational day. The day before the employees got to play tug-a-war and have relay races. They have spirit week just to show the employees that they are appreciated. The basic for today was, I use telephone etiquette. They follow this daily basics by the day of the month. Its there for the employees to make the service better for the guests. The role all the different departments of the Albany Marriott are too, make a difference and make sure guests enjoy their stay. CARE on the spirit basic cards means, commitment, act in the moment, personal touch, and extra mile. The reason we learned about the basic cards meaning today was that we could be apart of spirit week and the Marriott's mission. There mission is to win in service by proactively offering the most valuable assistance, information and support in a uniquely warm and caring manner. Today by having this experience i discovered that the department managers go above and beyond for their associates. I learned that what you do for someone always has an impact on the guest. I really liked knowing about the different activities that the associates of the hotel are doing this week, and i also enjoyed the pickle movie, it had humor. For the rest of the week, the hotel is having a bake sale, traditional meals where the employees bring in a special recipe that is apart of there family, and also a barbecue which goes with the guest satisfaction awards.

FAM TOUR (May 4th, 2009)

This Tuesday we went to five different hotels. The hotels were, The Hilton Garden Inn, Hotel Indigo, Cocca's Hotel, The Desmond, and The Econo Lodge. The point of this day was to go around and see the difference and similarities between all the hotels. Hilton Garden Inn was the first hotel we went too. We only stayed there about 8minutes, but from standing in the lobby, it looked like a nice place to stay. The presenter was Mark Fleischer and on this day he was very busy, so he didn't really have much time for us. He told us a little bit about what he does and answered any questions we had for him. He was very polite. The market that this hotel attracts, i learned is business, conference, and the location. The rates for this hotel isn't a bad price, they range from $101 to $150 a night. The management company of this hotel is the Hilton Family. and there service philosophy is, "Sleep deep, work smart, eat well, and stay fit." The next hotel was, Hotel Indigo. This hotel was very interesting. It was my favorite. There were so many colors and different pictures on the wall, and to me i think that made the hotel stand out. It feels like it makes the guests stay more comfortable. At this hotel we got a tour and learned a few things. Our presenter for this half hour was Thomas Olsen. The market for this hotel is airport travelers because of its location. This hotel cost over $150 a night. The mission for this hotel is "be yourself and explore." The hotels philosophy statement is "Refresh your idea of travel." The Cocca's Hotel and the Econo Lodge are now owned by the same person. His name is Rocky Cocca. These two types of hotels are lower class. For people just looking to crash a night or two and not want any amenities. It is a independent and a union hotel. Its company is the Desmond. There mission for both hotels is "to be one of a kind and help the guest. The service philosophy is "what is important to you trust us." We got to take a tour of the Cocca's hotel, it was alright. The staff was nice, and the rooms weren't to bad. The Econo Lodge, i didn't really care for, but everyone has there own opinion. The Desmond was the third hotel that we went too. We were only there for about 15minutes. We got a tour of High Street, which was all about meetings and conferences. Today was fun and interesting, and i hope we can do something like this again. I learned a lot about all the hotels and what they offer. The people were nice and all enjoyed our company.

Albany International Airport (April 28th, 2009)

On Tuesday April 28Th the class went to the Albany International Airport. I didn't have the chance to go because i was home sick. By doing the looking up things on the Internet and knowing what i already knew about the airport, i was able to fill out the sheet. What i did find out and thought was very interesting was how the just finished a multi-million dollar re-development project of over 230,000 square feet. I found out that this was their biggest mission and they completed it. The international airport wants to make your air travel the best it can possibly be. The questions i would have asked if i went would have been to an employee asking them what would be the hardest thing about working here. From hearing what my classmates had to tell me and what i learned from the Internet, the hardest thing would be keeping the customer happy and safe, but obviously every employee would have different opinions. Another question i would have asked would have been, how many planes come in and out on a regular day? I learned that usually 75 planes go in and out in a day. Overall i learned that to keep this airport up and running smoothly it takes 1200 employees.

Crowne Plaza (April 21st)

My impression of the Crowne Plaza was that it was very nice, and seemed like it was for upper class guests. When we first got there we went into a meeting room. During this time we got to meet Todd, the General Manager, Kristen from reservations, Paul Thomas, the Director of Guest Services, Trudy Hinkle, the Director of HR and Security and Garry from engineering. Before we sat down and got to talking about the hotel, they had provided cookies, brownies, and sodas for us, so we each got a little something to snack on. While in the conference room Todd started off with telling us about his job title and the hotel. He told us that he started off in the kitchen because he had never went to college. He became General Manager in 1968 because of his hard work and dedication to the hotel. He has traveled all around the world with many different hotel businesses and he loves the industry. Kristen then talked a little about her self and what she does at work. She takes reservations the way that they have always been taking "the old fashion way." Depending on the season is what depends on how many phone calls she gets per day. Seeing how they are in there peak season, just yesterday during the mid afternoon, Kristen had already had 21 phone calls. It can get pretty busy but she loves her job. During our tour, we got shown the security room, the boiler room, the pool and hot tub, the garbage room and the banquet rooms. I didn't really care to much about seeing all that, i would have preferred to see guest rooms, and the hotel in general. I did like that the staff was much nicer and excepting of us wanting to learn the business. The advice that Trudy gave our group was to always work your hardest and never give up. The Crowne Plaza is the only hotel she has ever worked at and she loves it. The Crowne Plaza has 390 rooms all together, six of them are suites. They also have five vans for travel access to the airport and train stations, and sometimes around town. I learned a lot from today, and would like to go back again to see many other departments of the hotel.

Albany Mansion Hill Inn & restaurant (March 17th)

March 17Th was St. Patricks days. Cohoes schools were closed but i looked up information about the Mansion Hill Inn on the website. I found a little bit out about it. The thing i already knew is that it is owned by my lmp teacher Mr. Stoffelano. I also know that it is a bed and breakfast and is privately owned. It is different from the Marriott because of that reason, because the Marriott is a chain hotel and is much larger. The Albany Marriott and the Mansion Hill Inn are similar in a way that they both serve food to guests and the both serve the guests. To have a successful business you want to keep your guests coming back. You want to do well with customers and always be friendly and respectful. The location can be important to because you want things to do. In downtown Albany where the Mansion Hill Inn & Restaurant is located there is many attractions. You can take tours and have picnics, you can work or take walks. Also, there is sports that go on, and museums to go to. Weddings are a big thing, and art is too. Shopping is every ones favorite and fire works go on during special occasions. You can take vacations here and have a lot of entertainment. To own a bed and breakfast you are responsible for a lot of things. You are responsible for owning a successful business, for cleaning, cooking, greeting, busing, checking in guests, and having all the amenities.

Homewood Suites (March 30th)

Being at Homewood Suites, i learned a lot about the different aspects of the hotel, and seen the differences from the other hotels that our class has been too. The first thing we did was go into one of there meeting rooms. Our class got to meet Erin Davenport, the sales coordinator and Chip, the guest service manager. The Homewood Suites is a chain hotel, there brand being the Hilton. Its a hotel that is "designed to make the guests feel home away from home." This is a hotel for people that usually stay a month or longer. It consists of 133 suites, three larger suites, and four two bedroom suites. For example, like families that lose their home to a fire, or peoples homes that were destroyed in the ice storm, or for any other reason. Its in the three diamond range and that's because they don't have all the amenities that a hotel would usually offer. They don't have room service or bell men. They don't really have housekeeping either, except for when the guest wants it. They get a breakfast and a dinner everyday, included in the stay price. The hotel is nice and the rooms are comfortable. Erin and Chip treated us with respect and were friendly, that's two things that I noticed were different between the Marriott staff and this Homewood suites staff. The main thing that our class learned was the the Homewood Suites uses OPOG which is outrageously pleasing our guests. That was important because that's home they keep there guests coming back. Mostly how they get there guests is word of mouth because the guests always enjoy there stay and tell people about it. Lewis The Duck is there symbol because he fly's away and always comes back. Lewis The Duck is books that are written about the Homewood Suites that is here in NY and how he goes to the Homewood Suites in Canada with his family.

Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau (March 24th)

On March 24Th we went to the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Visitor Center instead of the Albany Marriott. Its getting towards the end of the year so we are trying to get around to new places. At the Visitor Center we walked around and got to learn about the history of Albany and the attractions of Albany. Some of the attractions are the Aqcuaducks, the palace theater, sport teams, trolleys, and restaurants. All these attractions are good for the lodging business because it brings people from all around the world to learn about there history and know exactly everything that went on. So for people coming from different countries or states, they stay in the hotels. Therefore, it keeps the lodging business busy. In the Albany County there are 61 hotels, that means that there are 7,041 rooms all together. So this means that people are coming and spending money on the hotel and then when they get here they are spending about $100 to $300 on shopping, or just overall entertainment. This is the 4th largest population and that is why Schenectady and Saratoga are talked about in the Visitors guide, because they have attractions too. There are so many jobs in this indutsry, you just have to know the area and study the script. You have to know that when you get visitors, that they want to be educated and have fun. The advice the mentors gave our class is to understand that 99.0% of the people you deal with are going to be great and that you are always going to get that one percent that is going to give you problem, but they are always right. The thing i liked the most was the stars that we got to see on the wall. I learned a little bit that i didnt know before.

Treasure Hunt (March 3rd)

Today the lmp class went on a treasure hunt at the Albany Marriott. Our mentor for the day was Joan from the concierge's department. We got to take a tour of the hotel. Joan introduced us to her floor and talked a little bit about what she does. For our treasure hunt we had to locate a Columbia Sussex or Marriott mission statement and we found out that it is a goal to make sure that their environment is friendly and happy from meeting the bellman when they check out. We learned that there are gold keys throughout the hotel. One gold key is located in the banquet department for doing an outstanding job and going above and beyond. There are two gold keys located in the Sales Office. We got to see all the different rooms in the hotel and everybody just enjoyed doing something different for the day.

Front Office (February 24th)

On February 24Th, the whole class was in the front office of the hotel. Our mentor for the day was Michael. He told us a little bit about the front office departments. For example, behind the counter, AYS, and just overall in general what he does as a manager. I learned that Michael wished that he had been trained better with using the computer system. His biggest challenge is trying to accommodate what every guest wants. Mike taught our class about L.E.A.R.N and G.U.E.S.T because it is about the front offices' everyday routine. Learn stands for listen, empathize, apologize, react/respond, and notify. Guest stands for greet each guest, use each guest's name, establish guest needs, show sincere interest, and thank each guest. The most important thing of this department and throughout the whole hotel is that everyone communicates. Communicating comes in handy when there is a problem in the department. You want to make sure that you notify the manager. Michael's main job is to coordinate who solves problems, works with the housekeeping, works with sales, and the bellman to operate the hotel.

National Groundhog Job Shadow Day (February 3rd)

On February 3rd i was chosen to go to the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY for National Groundhog Job Shadow Day. When i walked into the hotel i was amazed. It was a lot different scenery than from the Albany Marriott. It was a colonial scenery which i thought was awesome. Today i was in the housekeeping department. I was with Daniel, the head of the department. She was really sweet and nice. She let me watch what she does in her office and outside of her office. She filled me on her schooling and hotel experiences. After that she let me go into the room with one of her housekeepers. I was amazed to see that the house keeper actually cleaned the room in about 15minutes. I got to ask the housekeeper how long a room usually takes her. I learned that it takes her usually about 15 to 20 minutes if the room isn't messy. If the room is messy on the other hand, it will take her anywheres from 30minutes to and hour. Daniel set me up with this housekeeper because it was her best one, and she has been there for about 15 years and loves and enjoys what she does. The housekeeper told me that she puts her heart into cleaning, and loves when the guests enjoy there stay. I learned that she cleans the room from top to bottom, and works her way from the far side of the room to the door. When i went back with Daniel, she sent me on room inspections with one of her managers. I got to learn and see how and what the managers inspect for. They look for little things like the lamp shade if it is sideways to looking for big things like a hole in the wall or a burn on the chair. The check the mirrors to make sure that the housekeeper was dusting, and they check the whole entire room to make sure it is neat and done correctly. Daniel then walked me around the whole hotel, and showed me a bunch of different rooms, which were gorgeous. I learned that Daniel was doing payroll, running the housekeeping department and whole bunch of other jobs in one, because she had fired the one person and took over everything to make it easier. She has been at the Desmond and loves it. She told to follow my heart and work my hardest because the real world is hard. She told me that the Desmond expects a lot, but it gets people prepared if they ever work anywheres else. I was glad that i went today, i had a good time and i learned a lot. The staff was nice and respectful. They wanted us there and were exciting to get to teach us. The staff was also open to any question and wants us to come back. I found the Desmond Hotel better then the Marriott Hotel, and i wish we did our internship there.

Room Service (February 10th)

February 10Th, i continued my internship at the Albany Marriott. Today i was in room service with my mentor Joel. When i was first got there, i went with him up to rooms on all the floors to pick up the trays from the morning, because that's when he was busy. When we went back downstairs we cleaned up the trays. Seeing how the hotel or the food and beverage departments weren't that busy, i got to ask Joel a few questions. Today i learned that Dan was the department manager in this department and that the division manager is Debby. I also learned that Joel feels comfortable doing his job and that most of the time he gets treated with respect. His biggest thing to do is always treating the guests with respect, having a smile on his face and interacting with the staff and guests. He feels that his manager is reliable and hopes to someday get that far. He says for him to get that far he has to keep doing what he is doing. By doing what he is doing, that would be to continue working hard, doing extra work for his job, going out of his way if he has to, doing whatever it takes, being respectful, and learning from his mistakes. As in any job you have to be reliable and know that any guests is always right and Joel also feels that he does that too. Today was an easy day, and i was glad to get to learn a few different things about Joel and his department.

Market Server (January 20th)

On January 20Th i went back to the Marriott. Today i was in Market Server. I was glad to be in something else other then food prep. The last time i was in this department it was too busy and the servers were running around like crazy and didn't have time for us in the department at the time. I was with Mary Anne. She let me read the some of the important things in the book that i would need to know. Then she got a few customers so she let me shadow her. After a couple minutes i was bringing the customers water to them and food. I went out every couple minutes with Marry Anne to ask how there food was. I learned that they have a two minute rule, where when they serve the food it is two bites, two minutes. I got to help her on the computer with writing up the orders. I learned that that goes right back to the kitchen so she doesn't personally have to tell someone what to cook. I also learned how to print the receipts, and i got to give the checks to the customers. Marry Anne taught me that when they are using a credit card that they should explain to the customers what receipt to sign. Also, offer them the opportunity to take the receipt if they need it. When one table was done, we would go and pick up what was left and bring it back to the kitchen to get cleaned. I liked doing this with Marry Anne because she was able to walk me through each step, and show me how to serve the customers the correct way and her way. What i thought was the hardest part, was keeping the customers satisfied and always trying to have a smile on your face while talking to them at the same time. She has been there for many years and enjoys it. If i were to advance in this department or take on more responsibilities i would know how to find everything and be prepared for customers.

Banquet Cook (January 13th)

Back at the Marriott again, as a banquet cook working with Matt and Misty for the day. It was January 13Th and it was pretty busy. Today i got to help out a lot. Shantee and Anthony were with me and we helped set up the vegetable platter. We always had to put muffins and pastries on plates. We had to have six of each kind a plate. Me and Shantee also got to break the sausage and bacon because it was frozen then put it on the pans for the guests in the morning. After that my hands were freezing. Today's spirit to serve basic was number 12 i use telephone etiquette. Matt had to leave early, but even though there wasn't any problems going on today, he stayed to help misty cut the fruit and plate it for her, so she wouldn't be worried about getting everything done and being rushed. They have to work had to get everything together and done on time. Preparing the food and plating so many things for so many people can make it overwhelming at times. Matt and Misty both said that the hotel can get crazy sometimes with the amount of food they have to prepare for. I like being in this department and if i was in it more, i would have more experience and could help out a lot more. There goal is to give the guests the best food they can make.

Food Prep (December 16th)

Back at the Marriott. Today I was in food prep, the same as last week. Seeing how it wasn't a busy week, there wasn't much going on. Today i got to help plate the fruit then wrap it with plastic film so that the food didn't go bad. My mentors for the day were Matt and Misty again and seeing how there wasn't really much to do they let us eat the left over food and we just got to talk. There was an issue that occurred. The hotel ordered yellow bananas and got delivered green bananas so the executive chef was pretty mad. Matt and Misty were too, because now they couldn't give the party that was coming in the next day the bananas because new ones wouldn't be delivered in time. When it was time to leave, i helped them clean up the little bit that was out on the tables.

Food Prep (December 9th)

Today i was in food prep with Misty and Matt as my mentors. Today we got to plate cakes for a party. They call that preset because that means setting up. I got to decorate or "paint" the plates with raspberry desert. I had found this time easy, except for there was a lot of plates to get ready. The party was for 320 guests. I learned today this department has to set up the plates, clean up there area when they are done and make the plates look presentable by doing a professional job. The challenge that this department usually has, is when they run out of food, trying to come up with the extra food in a certain amount of time. The issue was today, was that we ran out of cake to plate and they had to tell the executive chef and get more cake. I liked working with Matt and Misty because they show team work, and if one of them has to leave early the other always makes sure to get as much as possible done so the one is doing more then the other. They work together, and have fun. I enjoyed today, because i got to be a part of this.

Room Service (January 6th)

Today i was in the room service department. The hotel wasn't that busy, so therefore there wasn't much going on. Joel was my instructor for the afternoon. He walked me around and showed me where they store all the food and drinks, and what sections he is in charge of. I learned about the inventory of this department because this is the topic we are discussing in class this week. Joel helped me out with many questions. I learned that the inventory in that department is the food, beverages, napkins, silverware, and condemns. The inventory that gets recycled is the silverware, coffee, and condemns. The non-recyclable inventory is the food and beverages. I also learned that the par level for the room service department depends on the occupancy of the hotel that day. In other words if the hotel has a high occupancy then that means that the room service department is most likely to be busy. If it gets really busy, then the manager might put two people in that department so people don't have to wait longer then they should. It helps each other out and the guests. I got to go around the hotel on the 4th, 7th, and 8th floor to observe and help Joel pick up room trays. He knocks on the door and says room service. Then he opens up if no one answers then walks in to get what he has to get. If there is no tray in the room, then that most likely means that the house cleaning lady picked it up. I thought that his job was fun, and easy. But i did see that it could be a lot of work. Joel was responsible for that whole department until his shift was over. He was responsible for every call he got for room service, and keeping the food and beverages in stock. He also had to make sure he had enough silverwear and everything else that you would put on the tray to serve to the guests. He seemed like he enjoyed what he does and i had a good experience today.