Csar Ritz Colleges

Internship report
Elaine Oellers
Thurgauerstrasse 101- Zurich- Glattpark, 8152 Switzerland
F&B trainee
26th of March to the 15th of September

Submitted on
31st of August

By
Mihaela Gheorghe
199544
Word count
2520

Submitted to:
Eric Blanger
INT1100
1. Introduction

When I first arrived at the hotel with my mother, the weekend before my job
started, I received a warm welcome from the FO team. They offered me a map,
which helped me to get to the staff house, a set of sheets for the bed and a letter.
After, I did my check in with the supervisor of the trainees, who is also living
with us. Finally, I unpacked and opened the letter, which was from the assistant
HR manager. Like the FO team, she offered me a warm welcome and the date
and time when I should present myself at the hotel for my first day.
Monday, when I arrived at the hotel at 9 oclock in the morning, I was
surprised to see that I wasnt the only new trainee here. There were 4 more
others with whom I quickly started to exchange information. Around 9:30, the
assistant HR manager met us and we went to a conference room where we
received our nametags, R pins and the trainee badge, which had a smiley face on
it. We went for a quick preview of what our internship is going to be like in this
hotel and we started with the tour of the establishment.
First of all, the departments of the hotel are expanded and well structured.
I realised that all of them are connected to each other and they most of the time
work like one whole. The service, which results from this action, is fantastic and
with a great variety for the guests to choose and explore because, for the
Renaissance hotels worldwide, the guest is seen as an explorer which has to
discover something wonderfully new.
My department, F&B, is the most developed one if we would compare it
with the other branches of the hotel. There are 3 main restaurants. One, which is
called Asian Place, offers specialties from Japan, China and Thailand. The
Next2- Bar & Lounge is focused on the Swiss art of food and beverages and
the last but not the least, the Brassiere where it is found the international
kitchen. Regarding F&B, there is also a terrace for when it is a pleasant and
warm weather where guests can enjoy meals from any of the restaurants. Room
service as well is connected with all the specialties in order to provide the client
a wider range of choice. The banqueting area, which occupies one floor, is most
of the time busy with conferences, birthday parties, weddings and meetings.
The guest rooms, 203, are sectioned in single deluxe rooms, double
deluxe rooms, junior suites and master suites. The room rates are quite
expensive but for a 5-star hotel these are convenient prices. The rates for
employees are very useful and can be used all around the world, for all the
Marriott associate hotels. The personal amenities are in most of the rooms the
same and very nicely arranged. I tried them once and seemed quite good. They
are renewed every day by the HK department so the guest never lacks the
materials for his/hers personal hygiene.
In this hotel, there are a large variety of guests: from business to leisure
and from local to groups of tourists. During my period as a trainee here, I
noticed that the groups of tourists are more or less all the time present in the
hotel and of course, in our restaurants.

2. Duties and tasks

Working as an F&B trainee for Renaissance Zurich Hotel, gave me the

opportunity of working in a wide range of places and encountering unique
situations.
My duties and tasks were from the beginning strictly and clearly
specified. For example, I worked as a waitress, in room service, as a bartender
and as well for the banqueting area.
I am going to break these main segments into detailed ones regarding each
of them.
First of all, as a waitress I was given a lot of empowerment in order to
develop my skills in communication, working in a team and speed. Most of the
days, the restaurant was busy and my team was obliged to act as one in order to
offer the service of a 5-star price. Sometimes, it happened that I was alone and I
was forced to act quickly, calmly and professional and this fact strengthened my
ability to cope under pressure.
Second, when I had room service shift, my duties were many and all of
them of the exact same importance because, I had to prepare all the stations in
the back office to make the service of my colleagues easier and faster. In the
same time, I had permanently the room service phone with me for answering
and taking the orders from the in room guests. More, I was given a Micros card
to book and close the bills, which means a big responsibility as well as the room
service key, which opened every guest room in the hotel. This shift helped me
most to develop my ability to cope under pressure because almost every shift I
was busy and had maybe 3 orders in the same time.
Third, as a bartender, I had few tasks but which had to be done in the
fastest way possible. For example, at 10 oclock in the morning the bar had to be
opened so, before I had to arrange everything in it. I was responsible of the bar
key which meant as well as in room service a great responsibility. My main task
working as a bartender was that at all times I had to be present for the guests. In
order to provide a perfect service I had a training where I learned how to prepare
cocktails, present wines and of course, the menu. Moreover, I used my
communication skills more than in any other shift that I worked in. Sometimes, I
experienced guests which loved to listen and sometimes I experienced guests
which wanted to be listened by me. The bartender was the most useful in
understanding guests than any other of the roles I had.
The last but not the least, banqueting area was a new field in which I had
to learn fast and to adapt. It had a different way to approach the situations than
the restaurant and the bar. I had certain tasks where I had to use my creative
skills for the setup of the tables and decorations. However, I was never alone
and the banqueting staff always helped me and showed me new ways to
complete my work in a faster and better way.
 Finally, my duties were mixed and different but this fact gave me the hints
necessarily to understand what means to work in the F&B department, which is
all the time unpredictable, changing and never boring.

3. Organisational Aspects of the Hospitality Establishment

From a human resources perspective, the hotel is structured fairly well. This
means that there are still improvements to be done in all of the departments.
More, the focus should be placed on the managerial positions and finding out
better ways of solving problems rather than leaving the solutions up to only one
person.
Regarding the cash sales, the hotel is always having profit. The
fluctuations, which appear, are between the individual guests and the group
guests. This happens because of the different price which both of them are
paying. For example, the majority of the individual guests pay the normal rate
while for groups, there are special rates which do not bring that much of a profit
to the hotel as the individual. The stocks in my department are very well
controlled I could say because there is a small amount of product waste. The
security system is always taken seriously and if sometimes an alarm goes on, we
are immediately told and prepared for the specific procedure regarding
employees and guests.
The uniform policy is being applied in all departments without
exceptions. For the F&B the uniform consists into a beige blouse, dark pants,
dark vest and light beige apron. For FO, a dark suit is required with a purple
shirt. For HK, which employees are from an outside company have their own
uniforms. The managerial staffs of the hotel is required all the time to be dressed
in a business suit, with professional attitude and as well light jewellery.
A single grooming standard is the same for all staff and this is: wearing all
the time the nametag, R pin and if trainee, the trainee badge.
 The Renaissance is unique compared to other hotels because of the
product offered. First of all, for us, the hotel needs to explore so this is why, we
have all around in our hotel certain symbols as decorations. The Navigator,
which is a belief for this hotel, helps the guest to find out indigenous things
regarding the area in which the hotel is located.
We are all the time present for the guests and try to do our best to satisfy
their needs. The guests have to feel like home and they never have to get bored.
For my department, regarding breakfast, it is crucial that every guest receives a
warm welcome and a perfect service. In order for this to happen, we have the
standards, which guide and help the staff. The guest has to feel like in its own
house or if it is possible, better. The quality of the product, which is offered, is
of a high one and we cannot afford to ruin it with for example a perfect service.
Everything here is connected like a domino and that is why, we have to start
perfect in order to end perfect. Customers are very happy with the food and as
well with the service because we apply the domino.
Employees I wouldnt say that they are as happy as the customers. The
matter is that not everything can be perfect. For the hotel, the most important
person is the guest. The staff is a very hard- working one and with a good salary
but the motivation is sometimes missing. The thing that saves the falling of
service is that the employees are passionate and find the motivation by
themselves. Some of the complain for example, because of the working hours. It
is true that the plan is not very balanced but they are being paid for the hours
when are working extra.

4. Other Relevant Issues- Critical reflection

During my internship I encountered a lot of different situations. The variety of

them never let me to get bored with what am I doing and I was always on the
move. An example of a situation where I felt really good and as a person in
whom you can trust in, was when my assistant F&B manager offered me the
chance to play the role of his assistant in a bartender show which took place in
one of our biggest conference rooms. The guests of course were highly
important people from the city of Zurich. The event ran perfectly and at the end,
some of the guests gave about me some really good feedbacks. On the other
hand, I experienced also bad situations where I was forced to tell like the guest
even if it wasnt true. There was this one time, when I was working for
breakfast, for and Indian group, which had a separate buffet than the one which
we normally have. Since the beginning I had issues with them because they
didnt agree with the breakfast that they have. I calmed down some of the guests
but at the ending of the breakfast time, the tour leader, started to shout and to
ask me about what is going on. I tried to explain her that groups have a different
buffet than the individual guests but it was no use. She then went to my
supervisor and started to complain about me and about my attitude even though
I wasnt guilty of anything. The problem got bigger and she even ended up to
the GM talking about the bad service, bad employees and so on.
After my shift, my manager took me aside and explained me that even
though they are part of a group and they are not educated, we still have to treat
them with respect because they bring us money even if it is a small amount.
Then, I understood that in this industry, we have to always keep calm in front of
the guests and act as professional as we can.
The mix of culture, which I met during my period here, was very
interesting. I learnt a lot about every country, about what they like and dislike,
about with what they are used to and with what they are not. I experienced some
language problems with some of the Asian guests because they didnt know how
to speak neither English nor German. Somehow I managed to understand their
desires and I could serve them with what they wanted.
 I think that I would still need to improve my ability to cope under
pressure. Even after all the different situations I encountered I still think that I
have a lot to work until I will achieve a balance in this matter.
If I would evaluate my work behaviour, I would say that in my first 2
months, it was not appropriate at all and that I was totally unprofessional but,
after these 2 months, I improved a lot regarding first of all my attitude and my
implication in activities. I will need for my future career to eliminate some of
my bad points such as being nervous so easily, impatient, preferring to work
alone because of not trusting others and to develop some of my good ones such
as motivating people, being active all the time and helping others.
In conclusion, this experience as a trainee in a 5-star hotel helped me to
understand the real life, real job and the real situations, which we have to face
and solve. The knowledge which I gained during my time here consists of the
one regarding how to make the guests happy, how to work with real employees
and how to find out hidden wishes of the guests in order to WOW them. I
think that above all these there is one thing, which in my perspective is of most
utter significance. I am referring to the way of keeping your employees happy
and satisfied with the work they are doing so they can as well provide the guests
with happiness not just because they are motivated. As well because they are
working in a hotel where they are taken care of and listened whenever they have
a problem or request. Of course, here as well has to be found a balance in order
to keep your staff hard- working and happy in the same time.