Ganchimeg Gantulga

HTM 399R Report

12/Sep/21

TownePlace Suites by Marriot,

Montana USA
Summer Internship from July to August 2021
 As a part of my Bachelor of Professional Studies in hospitality and tourism
management, I had the chance to work at TownePlace Suites by Marriot from 1st
July to 29th August 2021. It was an amazing opportunity for me to practice my
academic learnings in the hospitality and tourism field during the busiest time of
the traveling season. During my internship, I was able to work at three departments
of TownePlace Suites which were Housekeeping, Breakfast, and the Front desk.
The experiences I gained in these departments helped me to identify my strengths
and weaknesses.

learning objectives

1. Learn Marriott’s culture and system to develop customer

service
2. Apply knowledge gained from classroom lessons of
hospitality and tourism
3. Learn how to work in a team and develop good attributes of
a team player

1. Learn Marriott’s culture and system to develop customer service

a. Learn Front Office Systems and Procedures

I learned how to work on the
Fosse system which is a very
useful software program for
hotel management. While at
the front desk, I mostly
learned the major duties such
as provide adequate
information regarding guests’
questions, requests, and
reservations. Also, I learned
how to do advanced deposits
and handling customer calls
concerning an advertisement,
reservation, cancelation, and
making appointments. All the things I did goes hand to hand with the Fosse
program besides communicating with guests. When I’m alone at the front desk, I
can manage to do mostly everything regarding guests. Yet, if I get questions, I run
to the back office to get help. I’m happy that I was able to learn the Fosse program
to help out my co-workers to stay alerted regarding our customers.

b. Learn best practices for recognizing and serving guests

There are 6 different
member awards at Marriot to
award guests such as a
member, Silver Elite,
Gold Elite, Platinum Elite,
Titanium Elite, and
Ambassador Elite. I found it
a very smart and excellent
marketing idea to run the
hotel to the next level.
Upon arrival, I like to
thank guests by
mentioning their ranks
with us to make them feel
special. There are few
examples that gave us a
good review on
TripAdvisor. An
experience I had when a
newly wedding couple checked in, I thanked them for being a Platinum member
and offered them a free beverage. Also, I upgraded their room to a suite room since
they need a bigger and the best room to stay comfortable. Also, I always mention
our “barrow item” program so that guests can access all services we offer for them.
All those little efforts helped me to develop best practices to serve guests.

c. Observe managers and learn to emulate

I was able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses while working in each
department. One person I learned from the most is the general manager Lisa. It
amazes me how she is familiar with every detail part of the hotel. I tried to observe
her knowledge, positive attitude, and energy throughout my internship to provide
effective work. When guests ask about Glacier national park map, I mostly ask
Lisa to help me out. Since it was one of my weaknesses, I decided to take a round
trip around Glacier. When it finally happened, I took the map with me and made
marks on it while driving around. I tried my best to observe surrounding areas,
hiking paths, bike paths, lakes, restaurants, camping areas, and almost everything
that could be helpful for guests. Soon after, I got comfortable answering guests’
questions regarding Glacier. The manager wanted me to share my little trip with
employees during the morning meeting. Through observing managers, I was able
to identify one of my strengths which were quick to learn through observation.

2. Apply the knowledge gained from classroom lessons of hospitality and

tourism

a. Learn proper food and beverage handling

Proper food handling is all about being safe or delivering safe food. I start work at
5 am to set up the tables and buffet line before 6 am. During my training at
breakfast, the first
thing I did was to
write down the
freezer and
refrigerator
temperature to
make sure food
safety. I prefer to
fully dress up
before preparing
food. If I need to
use the bathroom,
I always take off
the apron. During
breakfast, it’s
important to make
sure everything
looks full and
fresh. Therefore, I tried to fill up food when it's halfway done. Also, preparing for
the next day, restocking foods, and writing down food list orders is an important
part of the proper food handling process. One thing I noticed that other employees
don’t do is cleaning up the pullout pantry for trash bins. When I take the trash bin
out of the counter, the walls look super greasy oily, dirty, and smelly. I cleaned
them up every time I took the trash out. After breakfast, cleaning up the kitchen,
lobby and putting everything in its right place helped me to stay organized. All of
those little details make the proper food handling.
b. Learn managing supply chain issues in the ordering and purchase of food and
supplies
I had an opportunity to order food supplies every Monday and Friday based on the
weekly food order list. The very first thing I learned is to order the priorities such
as cereals, milk, yogurt, etc because they run out very fast. Also, I learned that
some food orders took few weeks to get due to increased demand for food and
beverage supply. At one point we run out of almost all food, so we had to go to
Walmart to replace them until we got the next food delivery. Also, I learned that
poor communication between partners causes a great issue. For example, breakfast
lead wrote down 6 raising instead of 6 packages of raising. On Friday, we received
6 big boxes of raising and it has 6 bags of them inside. Since it's too much raising,
we wanted to return it. However, we kept them for about a half month to return it
since it was our mistake. The manager said that partners might add an extra
delivery charge fee due to confusion. Therefore, I learned to check the food order
list before the request to avoid possible confusion. Also, it’s necessary to order the
priority supplies couple of weeks before to avoid stock out.

c. Learn from observed best practices to maximize efficiency of labor usage

As I mentioned above, I
learned a lot from my co-
workers and the
management team. In one
of my HTM classes, I
learned that customer
satisfaction is measured by
how happy customers are
with company service,
product, and capability.
Therefore, I tried to inform
the guests fully regarding
their questions or requests
so that they wouldn’t come
back and ask the same thing
again. I observed one of my co-workers keep certain food labels especially burgers
in case guests might ask. I copied her way because it was a smart and effective
practice to maximize customer satisfaction. On weekends we serve three different
breakfast burgers. So, I stuck the label on the chafer to let guests see differences.
Through adopting her work method, I learned that smart practices maximize
efficiency and reduce labor usage.
3. Learn how to work in a team and develop good attributes of a team player

a. Observe management to increase employee satisfaction

I think the front desk was the best department to observe management because I
worked directly with the management team. I was able to ask a lot of questions and
was able to understand and work closely with the employees. At the first, it was
difficult for me as I was the only person asking questions but soon, I observed that
asking questions allowed me to communicate with the employees and better
understand how they work. I decided that I should update each employee about my
work so that we can all work together and be on the same page. I realized that I
became talkative by putting more effort to communicate with co-workers and
guests. I tried to respond fully when people ask me a question, so they don’t have
to come back and ask the same thing again from another employee. On the days I
felt less talkative, I tried my best to leave a note on each guest’s profile so that
everyone at the front desk can see it.

b. Learn to serve fellow employees to increased productivity and loyalty

I was able to develop an important new
skill in each department. When I was in
housekeeping, we all get equal rooms.
There was a pregnant girl who struggle
to finish her rooms on time. As an intern,
all I did was making beds and do

laundry. However, I helped her with cleaning

bathrooms and vacuuming so that she could
only work in the kitchen. Also, at breakfast, I
mostly stayed behind to clean the lobby and
kitchen (vacuum, mob) so that my co-worker
could go early to take care of her husband
who was in the hospital. At the front desk,
learning the Glacier national park map and surrounding areas was very helpful.
When someone on the phone or talking with guests, I was able to assist guests with
the map. We built a great friendship through understanding and helping each
other. Also, through serving my fellow employees, I developed loyalty
c. Participate in and conduct staff training as a part of routine employee meetings
We were supposed to go through Marriot training videos yet, we skipped it due to
a short internship period. We trained directly on the field which was a better way
to learn faster. When I moved to breakfast, one of the intern girls trained me. It was
a great opportunity to learn
how other interns’ doing in
their assigned areas. I tried to
listen to her and observe her
work ethic which helped me to
learn quickly in few days. After
I finish my work, I mostly go to
laundry. There was a new
employee who comes
afternoon. I had an opportunity
to show her how to run the
laundry, fold so many different
towels, beddings and stock
them. Even though manager
didn’t say you are going to train her, I took it as my responsibility. I tried my best
to show her the best practices that I gained from my co-workers so that she can be
as one of us.

Conclusion
TownePlace Suite was a remarkable work experience for my future career field. I learned
how to be responsible without waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Through
working at housekeeping, breakfast, and front desk, I developed how to take initiative
through observing my co-workers. I learned that tourism and hospitality are all about
communication. Communication isn’t only interacting with guests but with co-workers as
well to develop the practices to maximize our efficiency.

July 2021 Schedule

August 2021 Schedule

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

       1 2 3 4
9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-
     
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm off off 6am-
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
5am-1:00pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-5pm off off 6am-
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
5am-1pm 5am-1pm off off 5am-1pm 6am-2pm 6am-
26 27 28 29 30 31  
5am-1pm 5am-1pm off off 5am- 6am-2pm
1pm

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

            1
      6am-2pm

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
5am-1:30pm 5am-1:30pm off 5am-1:30pm 5am-1:30pm off off
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
off 6am-2pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm 6am-2pm
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
5am-1:30pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm off off 6am-2pm
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
5am-1:30pm off off 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm 3pm-11pm
30 31