Education
Consortia Focus
Nearly 70 Hospitality students from the Open Opportunity Consortium in Norwich, including Diploma in Hospitality learners, have taken over the Holiday Inn Norwich North hotel for two days. The hotel has been running as normal with paying guests and excellent customer service expected at all levels.
The students have been doing all of the tasks associated with running a major city hotel including reception, housekeeping, food preparation and service, with the hotel staff on hand to step in and assist only if required.
Students have been working in shifts with different teams covering services from 6am till 11pm to ensure the hotel continues to run smoothly. As the first point of contact with the customer, students on the Hotel Reception Programme have been running the front desk, answering all incoming calls, checking in guests, cutting their key cards, taking payment and directing them to their rooms.
Students on the Hospitality Higher Diploma have been in charge of housekeeping and have used this chance to complete an assignment which involves demonstrating how to service a hotel bedroom. They have also been working in food service along with students on the Advanced Diploma who have worked in the hotel’s Concorde restaurant.
Natalie Gleave, front office manager, Holiday Inn Norwich North said: “The Hotel Takeover has been a great success. The students have really enjoyed it and so too have Holiday Inn staff. It’s been a great experience for everyone concerned. The hotel’s guests during these two days have been really complimentary about the students, with many of them not being able to tell the difference between permanent staff and the students who have taken over their roles.”
Head of the City College Norwich Hotel School, Steve Thorpe said: “Real life experiences like this are invaluable to help create a well trained workforce for the future with up to the minute skills. Holiday Inn Norwich North has a long-standing relationship with the Hotel School and they have shown great confidence in our students to take on elements of their business and act as ambassadors for the hotel. This is about giving our students real experiences to prepare them for real jobs.”
To find out more and read more news from this consortia, visit their news webpage at: http://www.ccn.ac.uk/news/students-take-over-norwich-hotel
Industry Focus
In response to requests from readers and through our advisory groups, each month the Diploma in Hospitality newsletter will highlight a particular area of the hospitality industry for the benefit of teachers and lecturers.
Membership clubs
There are two types of members clubs. Non profit members clubs which are owned and run by the members and private members clubs run for a profit which require membership to enter.
Non profit members clubs include working mens clubs, Masonic lodges, political party clubs, British Legion clubs and many sports clubs (for example golf clubs, football clubs, rugby clubs, cricket clubs, snooker halls and gyms). Most are licensed premises. Bars within these clubs are either staffed by paid employees of the club, by staff who work for a contracted agency or voluntarily by club members.
Private members clubs are clubs which require membership generally at a fee. Private members clubs are often seen as being exclusive and tend to open late into the night. Examples of private members clubs include the RAC Club, the AA Club, the Groucho Club, Soho House and Chinawhites.
For more information on particular roles in the events industry, or to explore other hospitality sub-sectors, please visit www.uksp.co.uk.
23.02.2010