Front Desk

Today at the Marriott we spoke with Micheal the Front office manager. He gave us a tour of the departments in that are Incorporated with the front (Front Desk, Bell men, Concierge, and AYS). Micheal explained to us that the front desk needs to have good communication or else no one will know whats going on in the different departments. They also need to have communication with the housekeeping staff to know which rooms are clean, which rooms need to be cleaned, and if there are any late arrivals or early check-outs. After we were done with our tour we were divided into each sub-department. I was at the front desk. At the front desk you need to be smiling at ALL times. Its very important to make a good impression because other than the bellmen, you are the first person that a guest sees in the hotel. I don't really enjoy working in the front of the house, but it was to to get an idea of the responsibilities a front desk clerk has.

2-3-09 The Desmond

Instead of going to the Marriott this week, a select few of us wrote essays and were invited to do an internship at the Desmond Hotel. I was chosen to work with the GM John D'Adamo. When I work up that morning I wasn't feeling well and was very nervous about working with the General Manager. Some how I managed to encourage myself to get out of bed, get a little dressed up and get out there. When we arrived at the hotel with Mrs. Menzis and ex. chef Haas, we we given bagels and fruit as a breakfast treat. We then met up with our mentors for the day, except me because the GM was in a meeting so I learned about marketing with Dianna. Then later I worked with John on budgeting, forecasting, and learning the basic lay-out of the hotel. The hotel was beautiful, and had a breath taking atrium.

Room Service 1-20-09

Today I was in Room Service again with Joel. There was a really big order going up to a suite so we had to get the cart cleaned. We also had to set up two baskets with 6 rolls each in them but we couldn't find any... So we ventured into the freezer and found some. We put them on a tray and popped them in an oven for 5 minutes. While they were warming up, we filled a couple cups with salad dressing and set up the cart with some ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. We also gave them some salt and pepper shakers and a pretty white flower. Joel said that its a good idea to give them a card with his name, what time he set up the order, and if they enjoyed the service because it was such a large order. We pulled the rolls out of the oven and put them and some butter in a basket. We picked up 2 salads, 2 sandwiches, and 3 cups of soup. We brought it to the 5th floor to a well dressed man who seemed pretty excited about the inauguration.

1-13-09 Room Service

Today I was in the Room Service department. When we arrived, my mentor Joel wasn't in his office. Instead of sitting in his office, I looked for something I could do while he was gone. Near the dishwashing station, I noticed Joel's carts were covered with dishes and garbage, and were kind of in the way. So I took it apon myself to stack up the dishes, throw out the garbage, put the dirty napkins in the wash bin, and wiped the carts down. I then brought them (and the salt/pepper shakers because they dont get thrown away) back into his office. When he came into his office he was very thankful that i helped.

12-16-08 At Home In the Kitchen

Yesterday at the Marriott I was back in the kitchen. When I arrived, Misty was preparing plates of toppings to be wrapped in plastic and placed in the freezer for a dessert being served tomorrow. There were 3 plates of M&Ms, 3 plates of Oreo bits, 5 plates of cherries, 3 plates of strawberries, 3 plates of rainbow sprinkles, and 5 heaping plates of whipped cream. It was difficult to make the whipped cream look presentable because it was still pretty frozen, and wasn't coming out of the bag with ease. After I finished the whipped cream, two of the other girls in my class wrapped them up. While this was going on, Matt was chopping up cantaloupes, pineapples, mangoes, and honeydew melon. We also got to organize cookies and pastries for the concierge department. Moral of the Marriott today: Whipped Cream is best Served at Room Temperature.

Marriott 12-2-08

Today I worked with Joel in Room Service. When I first met up with Joel he was setting up a rather large cart with Lemons, limes, bottled water, glasses(with lids), Mini bottles of ketchup and mustard, ice, rolls, silverware, sodas, straws, and plates. He had a huge order that he needed to bring to a conference in the Board room. Before heading out, we stopped in the kitchen to pick up the actual meals which consisted of Cesar salads, chicken, and wraps. Dan, the restaurant manager carried the meals while Joel pushed the cart, and I opened and closed the doors. After that Joel explained how room service gets the orders. Guests can either write out a door hanging menu, or call down and place the order verbally. After the order is placed, Joel sets up the cart and brings the guest their meal. When the guests are done, he goes back up to the room and gathers up their trays. Joel buses his own carts and makes sure that he has a fully stocked office so the guests can get their orders on time. I think this was my favorite day at the Marriott because I finally got to see the hotel. I got to see what the rooms looked like, and even got to see the bar. I like room service, and Joel had some crazy stories of people he's met, rooms that had been trashed, and even mistakes he's made on the job. At the very end when we were bringing a cart down with dirty dishes Joel dropped an Ashley Glass and had to clean it up quick that was someone didn't step on it an get hurt.

Marriott 11-25-08

Today I worked in the kitchen with Misty on prep. Learned the "proper" way to cut pineapples and melons. You cut off each butt-end, peel the skin (or eyes if your working with a pineapple) off, cut the whole fruit in half, then carve out either the hard center piece of the pineapple or the seeds of the melon. Cut the fruit in half again, and then cut into small cubes. After we were done cutting fruit, Misty and I talked about how empty the kitchen was. She was the only one in there. I was so shocked. I'm so used to there being about 50 people running around plates in hand, but not today. Misty explained that because it was so close to thanksgiving that most people don't stay at a hotel they stay with their family. So there were little to no customers. We then organized some dessert trays and scrubbed down the table. All in all it was a slow, but fun day.