Thursday, February 26, 2009

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.

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