“FINAL REPORT IN

PRACT02: THE
EXTERNSHIP
EXPERIENCE”

Submitted by: Winea Shaun P. Tamondong

ID Number: 11411451
Track: Hospitality Management
Section: HH4

Submitted to: Mr. Jack Garcia

I. Evaluation of Hotel’s Practicum Program

My second practicum training took place in Hotel Jen Manila which is a 4-Star Hotel
under the management of Shangri-La, located on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City,
Manila. I chose this hotel to be one of the hotels in my list to apply in, because it is
near to where I am staying at. Also, I find the hotel’s history to be very interesting
because of the reason that it is an old hotel and in fact have changed its name a few
times but still was able to manage to adapt to the current trends or modernization. The
idea of their rebrand name “Jen” being a persona, who is a lover of life, fun and
adventure that wants to share its passion to other people seemed very fascinating to
me. From the moment that I was called for an interview and was accepted on the spot,
I knew that I would not regret choosing to have my training in this property and that I
would enjoy my stay in there until the very end. And I am glad I was right about all of
that.

To start my evaluation of the hotel’s practicum program, I would just probably state
some of its strength and weaknesses. With no doubt, I am very impressed of how they
handle on-the-job trainees. They prioritize us a lot. I have seen it from the moment
that we had our very first orientation. The program was well-organized. Free food and
drinks for us, well-presented information, rules and regulations of the hotel etc.

They also have this so-called “OJT Gathering” which I think is held every month,
where all of the trainees would have a talk with the hotel’s general manager. There,
the general manager would tell us his story of how he became successful in life or
how he got to where he is now which is very helpful. Through that simple scheduling
of such gatherings, I knew that they wanted to make sure that all of their trainees
would come out of the hotel to be very successful as well. In which why I am pretty
certain that they do care a lot about their trainees. And that I think is one of the
biggest strengths of Hotel Jen Manila’s practicum program.

Everything has its own weakness as well of course, but I just cannot think much about
their practicum program’s weakness. I could say that this is a good thing for maybe
because there were a lot of good things they have shown to us which represent their
strengths that it is hard to look through their weakness. Though there is one thing I
have noticed that I think some people would see as a weakness. My first month of
training in the hotel were spent in the Food & Beverage department, and they were
very strict with the attendance. They treat their trainees like they treat their regular
employees, which I know is a good thing because that way, it is an assurance of us to
be well-trained and well-experienced practicumers. Though the reason why I thought
of it as a possible weakness is because some trainees were even terminated because of
certain reasons regarding their attendance, be it absences or tardiness. For instance, I
have encountered one of my co-trainees being kicked out of our group chat in
Facebook just because her text message of sick leave was not received by our service
manager, for the probable reason that they lack servers so bad that it was a very big
deal to lose even just one trainee in just one shift. I even experienced having to serve
almost a hundred customers with only 4 of us on duty, and I was the only one who
 was not a regular employee. Which kind of lead me to the conclusion that this
department sort of had a weak manning at some point. But all in all, I would say that
the strengths still overlap this probable weakness that I have mentioned. In fact, I
even somehow see this weakness as one of their strengths because it was a very
challenging experience that it improved my readiness to enter the real world of the
industry I chose to be a part of.

II. Evaluation of School’s Practicum Program

I can barely remember the specific things that have happened during my first
practicum which took place in Vatel Restaurant Manila. But there is one thing I am
certain of. The school’s practicum program was a successful one. I know this for sure
because I have learned a lot from it. My first practicum have helped me prepare
myself to enter the real world of the hotel industry. I can say I was trained very well
and the school did not have lack of guidance and assistance to equip ourselves
towards our externship experience.
I believe that being a practicumer in Vatel Restaurant for three months has been
useful for me because it was able to develop my skills that are needed when one is in
the hospitality track. I believe that I am more thorough in my work than before
because I now became conscious of customer needs and satisfaction. All of this
happened after having my training in Vatel. I realized in a deeper way the importance
of customer care.

I can also say that my multitasking skills has improved and I can work on it even
under pressure. Before PRACTI01, all I care about is passing my subjects, but after
taking this course and going through the program, I felt more committed to my work.
I have developed my commitment skills in the sense that I now feel more obliged to
keep the customers happy, which is a must in the hospitality industry. I have
ameliorated my flexibility skill as well, this I can prove because we are required to
hold one position in one whole week, but I somehow managed to hold several
positions in one week, and I had no problem doing it.

Weaknesses of the program I think involves the weakness of each and every hatchery
where the program itself takes place. If I am going to talk about my hatchery which
was in Vatel Restaurant, the only weakness I could think of is its lack of marketing
and promotion. This is because I can observe that not many people know about this
restaurant yet, not the name nor the location.

Though as far as I can remember, the program of last term’s PRACTI01 went pretty
smooth. The distribution of us, practicumers, to the MWF shift and TTHS shift was
fair. The fact that all of us gets to experience every single position such as being a
bartender, server, receptionist, dispatcher, steward, cashier and even operations
 manager in just one term, showed the strength of the program to have all of the
PRACTI01 students undergo multiple jobs in just three months. It was an effective
idea. Moreover, the practicumers in just one hatchery this term have a higher capacity
than usual. We are almost 50 students in Vatel and our practicum supervisor was able
to do his duties to managing all of us.

III. Evaluation of the School’s Program

I could say that the school has equipped me well because I had no problem during the
whole duration of my second practicum in Hotel Jen Manila. Although the difficulties
will always be unavoidable. But I would like to see these difficulties not as problems,
but as challenges.

Just like during my first days of training. Of course those will always be one of the
hardest times. It was for me because I was ignorant about a lot of things. I had to ask
a lot of questions and master things I have never done before in my life. Like that one
time when I was put in the Audit department for one whole day. I never thought how
hard it could be to examine the financial records of the whole hotel, especially
because of the fact that it is not what I’m majoring at. But at the same time, I am
eager to learn and be trained in different departments, even the ones that are a bit
irrelevant to my course. Because just like what they all say, life begins at the end of
your comfort zone.

And because of what DLS-CSB made me to be, I was able to adapt to their
environment and learn their ways easily. I was well-trained in school, especially
during my immersions while I was taking some of my major subjects related to hotels
such as Front Office Operations, Food and Beverage, Housekeeping Operations etc.
For example, most of my training days in Hotel Jen Manila were spent in the Food
and Beverage department. So of course I would say that my FBTECH or Food And
Beverage subject that I took when I was on my 2nd year was the most useful in this
department. I was really able to effectively apply the things I learned from school.

Actually, all of my subjects during my whole stay in DLS-CSB has also helped me in
so many ways, not only the major ones. My school has indeed a big and significant
contribution to my present knowledge and as to why I have reached where I am now
and who I am now. Moreover, the orientation provided for us students who were
about to take the second practicum has been very useful. This is one of the school’s
program that have helped to equip us well. The speaker during that time, Ms. Chuchi
was able to have us mentally prepared to work as a trainee outside of the school
premises for the first time. Though the one that has most especially helped me to be
mentally and physically ready was my first practicum in Vatel Restaurant Manila.
Because this has been one of my major steps toward this externship, which I now
have successfully finished.
IV. Career Plan

Before entering college, I honestly did not know why I chose this course. I just knew
that I loved the ambiance of hotels. The smell, appearance and simply the feeling it
gives me. And I firmly believe that if an employee finds his work environment
desirable, it will be easier for him to do his job and love his work. So I did. I decided
to take BS-Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management, and I knew that DLS-CSB
is known to having one of the best schools to have this course. And I am glad to say
that I did not regret choosing this path at all.

But throughout my college life, I have been questioning myself if this is really the
right track for me. So recently I have learned something very important. There is no
better way to figure out what you want to be in life, or your career plan, than going
outside of the box. Just like what they all say, life begins at the end of your comfort
zone. Let me explain what I am trying to get at…

Before all this, even during the time I took my HMSALES and EVENTMGT, I have
never thought I would be interested in pursuing Sales and Events Management. But
because the HR manager of Hotel Jen Manila, who is the one in-charge of us, on-the-
job trainees, gave us a chance to experience other departments other than the usual
ones that we have gone through during our past practicum and immersions. My first
days in their property were spent being in the Food and Beverage department, and
then after that, I was transferred to a department that was quite new to me, Sales and
Marketing-Events Management.

I have never had any interest in this area of the industry before, but now that I have
experience being in this department, I am already willing to give it a try. Though I
would say that Sales and Marketing was not as simple as what was taught to us in
class. It is understandable considering that it is not what I am majoring at anyway. In
school, the subject is basically all about having the knowledge of what you are selling
to the client, and how you advertise it, which is a very important thing in Sales. But
all I am saying is, it is not just all about that. Sales & Marketing – Events
Management was not all simple as I thought it would be. I have seen and learned a lot
while working in this area of the industry and I am happy to say that I enjoyed it.

So this is what I meant by getting out of the box or getting out of your comfort zone.
We should try experimenting on different things other than the usual. We just might
find our real interest while doing it. I think it’s normal to be confused about our future
career plans at some point. Lately, I have been thinking of going to Law School after
my internship abroad. And several people were surprised of how far the thought of
going to Law School is from being a Hospitality Management student. I guess one of
the reasons I am considering this is because some of the members of my family are
already lawyers. In fact, we already have a law office in our house. I have seen the
success of people who pursued Law, in which why I am considering to be one of
them as well. I think the only downside of this would be the time it will take before I
actually become one (if ever I can pass the bar examination, of course). Because if
ever, that would be another 4-5 years of studying, and I can do so much in that span
of time, considering I have already graduated by that time.

Last October, I was accepted to train in the Food & Beverage department at Four
Seasons, Vail, Colorado by the International Trainee Network. I am honestly both
nervous and excited. It will be the first time ever that I will be away from home. That
means being away from the people I love, from the things I have been used to doing,
seeing, eating etc. But I know that this is a good start for me. Because this will be my
first ever work experience after my graduation. And while working there, I can
probably figure out my real career plan or what I really want to be.

Way back, I have been scared of what might happen to me in the future. Questioning
myself things like “Is this what I really want?” or “If I choose this specific path,
would it do me any good?”. But after my externship experience in Hotel Jen Manila, I
have come to realize that I am young and it is not too late to figure everything out. I
just have to go with the flow and accept wherever life takes me.