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.