International hotel management students internship experience
Let’s start with a proper introduction of myself, my name is Bougueu Tchuentse Christelle, I am a student in Zhejiang Gongshang University of Tourism and Management, I would like to share my 9 months experiences that I had while working at “Three on the Bund Shanghai”, one of the top class restaurants in shanghai, presently the #8 of more than 12000 restaurants in Shanghai, it might sound like nothing for you but for me, a black African girl is a kind of miracle, as we know Shanghai is the hub of the Chinese economy, for a black African person working in shanghai is not a problem you can easily get a job if you have the aptitude and qualification required but to be working in one of the most popular and international companies it is a great chance, so I did, in 9 months I experienced so much things that someone ‘else would have experienced in a very long period of time, but here I will just mention those which are really worthy and maybe can help you guys to decide where you would like to go for your internship and which position you can choose or avoid “haha”.
As a trainee before starting performing your tasks you should undergo a serie of trainings for a maximum period of 6 weeks whereby you get to learn about your job description, how to provide service to your customers in a professional way, how to present yourself, you learn about the foods and all the recipes that the restaurants offers to its guests, the wines and wine service sequences, the bar, cocktails (beverage) and so on,
I first worked as a Waitress, and that is something that I personally did enjoy because you have the opportunity to exchange with your guests, during all my internship I have met so wonderful people who were so opened to me and willing even to share their personal life with me, I had an amazing time with each of my guests ; I also got a chance to serve some few celebrities, Kate Hudson and Black Jack, 2 famous American Actors worldwide, they really like to speak French with me even though the only words they both knew were “merci beaucoup” literally “ thank you very much” , I was impressed, they were Sooo Great; I must say working as a waitress at the Bund- Mercato ( Italian Restaurant ) is the most painful and tiresome job I have ever done in my whole life but it is also the most interesting and exciting job I have ever experienced.
Almost one month before my internship gets to the end I requested to work as a Receptionist, it wasn’t easy to convince my Boss but finally I got the position. you know what you have to do and you focus on it, and that’s what I did. The only way to overcome the pressure and any other negative aspects that can badly influence your internship is by loving what you do that is the secret.
Internship Report by SHINGI MATUNGA (王强)
CHEFLE CANAL HOTEL HANGZHOU
I had an amazing experience working at the CHEFLE for almost ten months the summer after my second year. Despite my initial nervousness about working at a Chinese Hotel for an entire summer, I was warmly welcomed and generously supported from Day 1. My internship began with a two-day orientation process, in which the Human Resources Department introduced me to the hotel industry in general, CHEFLE Hotel specifically. I visited each of the different divisions of the hotel, practiced some formal Chinese words, and learned hotel etiquette (bowing, greetings, etc.). My goals for working in a Chinese Hotel were to improve my speaking ability, interact smoothly with customers and co-workers in Chinese, learn formal corporate etiquette, and learn a little guest service on the side. While I was allowed to give input as to which divisions I could cross train, I spent most of my time in the F&B after I left the FO as it is one of the main department of the hotel. The F&B oversees the Room service and restaurants, and is responsible for customer service, eating breakfast, etc. Thus, the western restaurant gave me the most opportunities for interacting with guests and practicing Chinese. I really noticed an improvement in my language skills and general ability to think on my feet through the course of my time in the restaurant. My first day, all I could do was to smile and greet guests entering the building, but by the end of my internship, I could answer guest’s questions. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to go from redirecting all questions to the permanent staff, to answering any question asked of me and proactively dealing with any problems that a guest might have. I also felt like I was a full contributing member of the staff. Rather than working a desk job, waiting for a supervisor to find something for me to do, I was able to lighten the workloads of my co-workers and help with translating and interpreting for foreign guests. I spent almost 5 months in the Front Office Department. I also sat in on employee English lessons, even teaching a little English to my co-workers in the Restaurant Division by translating menus and teaching conversation and English names of the utensils. The best part of working at CHEFLE was developing relationships with my co-workers. Everyone was friendly, helpful, protective, and inquisitive,had great conversations about everything from college life in Africa and here in Hangzhou as well to Chinese history, and always had a fallback if I couldn’t understand a guest or had to deal with a difficult situation. My co-workers had so much to teach me about the hotel, about guest service, Chinese, and life working in the “real world.” To make me feel a part of the team and let me experience another unique aspect of Chinese corporate culture, they took me out after work to see places and karaoke. I had so much fun spending time with and getting to know my co-workers that I could not believe how much I was going to miss them after the end of the internship. In addition to my regular seven to three thirty pm workdays, I also had the opportunity to see a conference for three days and took part in special events. For instance, I was invited to participate in the hotel’s wine tastings, birthday parties, and employee appreciation party. While I initially had misgivings about spending a summer holiday in China, I quickly discovered that although I had spent so much time experiencing the city and the region during my first two year semesters, there was still so much to see and experience. My co-workers organized sightseeing trips of Westlake and Hangzhou Airport to help me give better tourism advice to guests, tailoring our itineraries to include new sites and experiences. As an important business in Hangzhou, the hotel has close ties with corporate companies. I had an unforgettable experience at CHEFLE Hotel thanks to my co-workers, the Management and F&B Department. The internship offers an enriching experience, even if you aren’t interested in the service industry as a post-graduation career. While my professional goals relate to the hotel industry, I gained valuable working experience and improved my Chinese as I communicated with guests and my coworkers. I will still remain in contact with a number of my co-workers through WeChat and QQ and I hope to receive so much support for my future endeavors when we part ways.
