The University of the Virgin Islands\u2019 Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) program received a $20,000 donation from the Marriott Frenchman\u2019s Reef Resort this fall at the \u201cGrowing a Dynamic Hospitality Career: What are the Key Ingredients?\u201d panel discussion, UVI announced today.<\/p>\n
Eight Marriott Frenchman\u2019s Reef executives from a wide range of departments mentored students at the Administration and Conference Center building on the St. Thomas Campus. Hospitality and Tourism students and other business majors attended the panel discussion, which was followed by a lively question and answer center with Reef executives. The evening was moderated by UVI faculty member Tamara Lang, director of the HTM program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud of this program,\u201d said Dr. Stephen Reames, dean of the School of Business. He thanked the panelists for their strong and continuing support of the program, whose success would not be possible were it not for the support of Marriott Frenchman\u2019s Reef.<\/p>\n
Throughout the discussion, panelists shared advice and anecdotes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final pinch of salt before the dish goes out is smiling and saying yes,\u201d said Chef Andrea Conte, director of Food and Beverage. He said that he had learned a lot by moving from a restaurant to a hotel. \u201cIt\u2019s totally different,\u201d said Conte. \u201cTo succeed in a hotel, you need to get out of the kitchen and see what everybody else is doing. You have to learn about all the areas of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aleshia Shorter, director of Finance and Accounting, offered helpful tips for potential job applicants: \u201cWhen we interview, we want you to give us concrete examples from your personal experience,\u201d said Shorter. \u201cWe\u2019re not interested in hypothetical \u2018I might do this\u2019 or \u2018I would try that.\u2019 You don\u2019t have to be experienced in hospitality; we just want to know that you can transfer the skills you have to any new situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing we want to see in a candidate is personality,\u201d added Kimberly Farr, director of Human Resources. \u201cYou have to want to work at it, and you have to want to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bobby Sandhu, director of Rooms Operations, shared a fun personal anecdote that brightened the evening. \u201cI didn\u2019t plan to work in hospitality\u2014I was an economics major,\u201d said Sandhu. \u201cBut one day I walked into a hotel in my home town, looked around at the staff, and thought, \u2018Why is everybody so happy?\u2019 A manager happened to walk by and asked if he could help me. I said \u2018I want to work here\u2019 and was hired on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the panelists all now work at The Reef, they originally hail from Italy, Ecuador, and several places on the U.S. mainland including California, Detroit and Washington, D.C. Other panelists included Chris Donohue, general manager; Andrea Lightfoot, director of Revenue Management; Catherine Totman, director of Services; and Anthony Armas, director of Sales and Marketing.<\/p>\n
Key ingredients for a successful hospitality career that were mentioned repeatedly throughout the evening were an openness and eagerness to learn, determination and focus on long-term goals, building relationships with both co-workers and guests who increasingly seek a personal touch, and a sense of urgency with regard to creating a caring and welcoming experience so customers will want to return again and again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk yourself,\u201d said Anthony Armas, director of Sales and Marketing, \u201cWould I want me to take care of me?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The University of the Virgin Islands\u2019 Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) program received a $20,000 donation from the Marriott Frenchman\u2019s Reef Resort this fall at the \u201cGrowing a Dynamic Hospitality Career: What are the Key Ingredients?\u201d panel discussion, UVI announced today. Eight Marriott Frenchman\u2019s Reef executives from a wide range of departments mentored students at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,1078,191,147],"tags":[6238,70,1014],"yoast_head":"\n