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Internship Report Advisor: Ms.

NguyễnThịVân

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

INTERNSHIP REPORT:
SHERATON SAIGON HOTEL AND
TOWERS

Conducted by: VũTrầnAnhNguyên


Student ID: BABAIU 12215
Supervised by: ĐinhTrungKiên
Advised by: NguyễnThịVân

Ho Chi Minh City


30th, September, 2015

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

ADVISOR’S EVALUATION
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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Table Content
1 Overview of Local Tourism and Hospitality Industry................................................6
2 Overview of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers.........................................................6
2.1 Development History of the Hotel............................................................................. 6
2.2 Product and services:..................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Organization chart and brief description of departments..............................8
3 Internship Activities:............................................................................................................ 10
3.1 Description of interned department...................................................................... 10
3.2 Specific Internship Activities.................................................................................... 11
3.3 Evaluation of the Department Performance......................................................14
4 Assessment of Internship................................................................................................... 16
4.1 Skill and knowledge..................................................................................................... 16
4.2 Responsibilities and Personal Disciplines:.........................................................17
4.3 Future career plan........................................................................................................ 17
4.4 Contributive suggestion for interned departments or hospitality
department of IU:....................................................................................................................... 17
5 Conclusion:............................................................................................................................... 17
6 Appendix:.................................................................................................................................. 18
6.1 Images................................................................................................................................ 18
6.2 Word Index:..................................................................................................................... 24
7 References:............................................................................................................................... 26

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Figure’s Index
Figure 1Sheraton Service Model................................................................................................. 7
Figure 2: Sheraton Organization Chart..................................................................................... 8
Figure 3: Personal Career Path.................................................................................................. 18
Figure 4: History Of Sheraton Saigon...................................................................................... 19
Figure 5: Starwood Hotel Chains.............................................................................................. 19
Figure 6: History Of Sheraton Saigon...................................................................................... 19
Figure 7: Core Values Of Sheraton........................................................................................... 19
Figure 9: Club Lounge (21st Floor)........................................................................................... 20
Figure 8: Breakfast Setup............................................................................................................ 20
Figure 10: Club Lounge's Small Meeting Room..................................................................20
Figure 11: Daily Forecasting Board......................................................................................... 20
Figure 12: Club Lounge's 8-Seat Meeting Room.................................................................20
Figure 13: Club Lounge’s Buffet Counter..............................................................................21
Figure 14: Club Lounge’s Smoking Room.............................................................................. 21
Figure 16: Club Studio (1)........................................................................................................... 21
Figure 15: Club Studio (2)........................................................................................................... 21
Figure 17: Grand Tower Entrance (Lv 5th)............................................................................ 22
Figure 18: Grand Tower Lounge (2)....................................................................................... 22
Figure 19: Grand Tower Lounge............................................................................................... 22
Figure 20: Grand Tower's Cold Food Counter.....................................................................23
Figure 21: Grand Tower's Drink Counter.............................................................................. 23
Figure 22: Grand Tower's Cooking Station........................................................................... 23
Figure 23: Grand Tower's Buffet Counter............................................................................. 23
Figure 24: Grand Tower Junior Suite...................................................................................... 25

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

PREFACE
For the time being, I have just finished my third year at International University
and my major at school is about Hospitality Management. Following the syllabus
of school, all the Hospitality students are required to do the internship at hotels
around the city. Both domestic and international hotels are accepted.
Additionally, students have the right to experience themselves in rural
workplaces or even peninsula and insular resorts such as Intercontinental
Danang Sun Peninsula Resorts in or Six Senses Con Dao. After searching on the
Internet, asking the experience from the former employees as well as joining in
the hotel tours which were hosted by Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, my lecturer, and
authorized by Mr. Mai Ngoc Khuong, dean of BA school, I ultimately decided to be
an intern of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers, an international five-star hotel
which located on 88 Dong Khoi Street. There are two main reasons for my
decision of working as Sheraton. First one is that I would prefer to gain practical
experience at a very professional workplace and extend my knowledge about
hospitality industry rather than salary. Next one, I really desire to enrich my
English via approaching and communicating with the guests.

My responsibility during the period was to manage the Grand Tower Lounge on
the fifth floor and Club Lounge on the 21 st floor as a butler. I was in charge of F&B
tasks by serving the guests food and drinks. On the other hands, I have to make
some beverages such as tea and coffee, cappuccino, latte, or espresso, and some
common cocktails like Margarita, Saigon SunSet, and so on as an barista. Setting
the Welcome Card for VIP guests and checking the room to guarantee that
everything is on the best condition are my regular jobs as well.

This report will figure out clearly the organization chart, service model together
with main functions of departments in Sheraton Hotel. Performance of the
business is also included. Besides that, the report will describe in vivid detail
daily main tasks which I took responsibility, some problems which occurred
during my work and my self-assessment as well.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

1 Overview of Local Tourism and Hospitality Industry


Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is the most dizzying city in Viet Nam where most
commercial and cultural activities happening that has driven the whole country
forward with its unlimited energy. HCMC is a hustle and bustle city which never
stops breathing. Because of being a tropical city, there are two seasons including
sunny and rainy seasons, but the weather is also warm and comfortable therefore it
attracts many tourists choose it as their favorite destination.
The total number of international tourists to the city in the first 7 months of 2014 was
estimated at 2,392,648 arrivals, up 9.1% and 54.3% of the plan compared to the same
period of time in 2014 (4.4 million visits). Total tourism revenue (travel, hotel,
restaurant) is estimated at 51,965 billion, increases 8.5%.
During the period from 1990 to 2014, the number of five-star hotels in the city has
increased gradually and up to 16 the finest facilities, offering 5,146 rooms. The
majority of luxurious hotels in HCMC are almost located District 1, with the total of
3,921 rooms. The capacity of hotel rooms grew up from May to August 7/2014 as:
Caravelle from 46.9% to 59.8%, from 64.3% the Sheraton Hotel on 72, 1%, the
Windsor Plaza Hotel from 45.9% to 61.2%, from 55% Rex up 58%.
2 Overview of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers
2.1Development History of the Hotel
Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers originates from Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
which was firstly launched by Ernest Henderson and Robert Moore in
Springfield, Massachusetts in 1930s. It passed over a very prosperous period
with remarkable milestones such as a 100 th hotel Sheraton Boston was opened
and welcomed more than 12 million guests in 1960s or an event of being the first
international chain which operated in China in 1980s. In 1990s, a new epoch
began when Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. acquired ITT Sheraton
as one of ten famous hotel’s brand of Starwood in the world included St. Regis,
the Luxury Collection, the W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Tribute
Portfolio, Four Points, Aloft, Element. St. Regis is considered as the most
luxurious brand, which is for aristocratic families as well as high-income social
classes.

About itself, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers was opened at Ocean Place
building in April, 2003 with the name of Sheraton Saigon to meet the growing
demand of luxurious hotels in HCMC. At that time, Ocean Place is a 24-storey
building located on the corner of Dong Khoi - Dong Du. This is a joint-venture
project with a total investment of over $ 100 million among the companies Keck
Seng, Resco, Invesco and Saigontourist which are the main shareholders of
Sheraton until now. In 2008, Sheraton Saigon launched a new Tower called
Grand Tower which is in combination with the Main Tower to be a spectacular

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

architecture in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Due to that reason, its name was
changed to Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers.

From the time of being launched until now, Sheraton Saigon has been achieving
so many glorious triumphs in hospitality industry. Specifically, Sheraton Saigon
was voted ' The Golden List 2007' as one of the world's best 700 hotels and
resorts by American prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast. In Vietnam, there
are two hotels on the list of honor, which are the Sheraton Saigon Hotel and the
Sofitel Metropole Hanoi. Furthermore, Sheraton Saigon held successful APEC
meeting in May 2006 and has been visited by many senior officials and famous
celebrities such as the King and Queen of Sweden, President of South Korea,
WTO General Director Pascal Lamy and the most recently Singapore minister
mentor, Lee Kuan Yew. Interestingly, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers was
honored for being the best hotel in Asia-Pacific of Starwood in 2005 byMr. Neil
Palmer, who is a Vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc.

2.2Product and services:


Sheraton Saigon has been assessed to be one of the leading five-star hotels in
hospitality industry in Ho Chi Minh City so far. Its missions are to provide
customers with unforgettable experience about a convenient and luxurious
accommodation. Besides that, food and beverage as well as other healthcare
services such as Massage and Spa, Swimming Pool, Gym Club are also prior to
come into focus. The main customer’s target of the hotel is business men,
travelers or guests from travel agents and MICE’s groups which are stand for
Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibits. The main operations of Sheraton
Saigon is basically depended on following service model which is hanged along
the staff’s entrance, so that, all of employees are able to perceive blindingly
obvious about the hotel’s criteria in serving guests.

As can be seen from the picture, Sheraton hotel put a focus on building a
memorable and foundational service which may help to create customer’s loyalty
and it includes four main elements such as personalized, differentitated,
Operational, Service Basics.

Personalized service is defined as little details will


enhance the relationship with customers.
Differentiated is the unique features of the brand
against other which will create unforgettable
experience to guests. Operational skills are
defined as the congruence in our operating skill
which will help us to gain the customer’s
satisfaction and build the loyalty from guests.

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Figure 1 Sheraton service model


Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Finally, service basic includes very first action such as acknowledging, be


present, sympathizing and respecting to wow guests.

Besides that, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers also clearly identifies its own
core value as a tool to assert itself in the very competitive industry. Firstly, it is
stated that their service culture was warm. They care for not only the guest’s
experience but also the associate’s satisfaction because they believed human
being plays a critical role to the success of any kind of enterprises. Once
associate’s fundamental needs are fulfilled, they will dedicate themselves to
develop their business in which they are. Absolutely, the spreading of hospitality
spirit from associates to guests will affect the customer’s decision-making. Next,
they believe that their product and service were connected. Social spaces,
amenities and services are all designed to help keep in touch what matters most.
Finally, they care for society because they think that life will be better when
shared. Fund is raised by the contribution from each member working in the
hotel and charitable trips are held every year to support unfortunate conditions.

2.3 Organization chart and brief description of departments

Figure 2: Sheraton Organization chart

The operating system of Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers is illustrated in the
diagram with the General Manager, Mr. Scott, who is the top-leader of the hotel
takes responsibility formanaging not only the revenue, cost but also loss and
debt of a company. The following position is executive assistant manager, Mr.
Duong Minh Duc, who will play a role as a supporter of the GM and other high-
ranking company official which will allow his boss to do other business needs.
Firstly, Human Resource Department can be briefly defined as a vital part in
any organizations which mainly taking on managing staffs such as recruiting,

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

firing, payroll, training as well as performance appraising and rewarding.


Secondly, Accounting Department undertakes accounting services and
financing support to the hotel. In addition, accountants are in charge of managing
account payable and receivable as well as inventory of all outlets operating in the
hotel. Next is Sales and Marketing Department. People working in this
function should have a profound knowledge about all the striking features of the
company such as rooms and room’s rates,facilities and equipment, restaurants
and other services also to be an intermediary between the enterprise and
customers. As others Department, Engineering plays a vital role in Sheraton’s
daily operations and includes Carpenter’s sub-department. They take on
maintaining and repairing all the facilities and equipment of the hotel from a
very small chair or air-conditioner to sophisticated problems with electricity
system. The following departments which are regarded as a key to smooth the
path for all activities in the hotel are purchasing and receiving stores. All food
and beverage or even flowers are ordered by different outlets via purchasing
store and then these orders will be sent to the suppliers. After one till two days,
products are delivered, collected and distributed to all F&B outlets. Fifthly,
Banquet and Convention Departments are responsible for setting up ball-
rooms and meeting rooms, organizing or creating the concepts and themes for
conventional programs, providing food beverages for all the conventions
occurring during a day in the hotel. In Sheraton Saigon, This Department has its
own kitchen called Banquet kitchen, which only serves for catering needs. The
Sixth department in the hierarchy is Steward. Individual working in this
department take on the hygiene of each F&B outlets such as washing dishes and
cutleries or cleaning the floor. Seventhly, Room Divisions are the combination
of two crucial sub-departments which are Front Office and Housekeeping. In
the Following day, I was trained at the Guests Service Center. This is an
operator of the entire hotel, hence any calls or information are transmitted
should be accessed to this department.

If Front Office was considered as an intrepid warrior who is always in the


vanguard to many battlefields, House Keeping should be a sacrificed wife who
gives support to her husband and two of them are unable to be separated. The
vast majority of daily activities which involve in hotel’s guests will be undertaken
by the Front Office like welcoming guests to the hotel, implementing check
in/out’s procedures, dealing with customer’s complaints and so on. It consists of
Concierge, Sheraton Business Center and Guest Service Center. Concierge is
opened to help guests with their luggage by managing a group of bellmen (*) as
well as implement all the requirements from them such as pick-up (*) and drop-
off (*) service. Moreover, Concierge staffs should have profound information
about not only in the hotel, but also from the outside such as types of services,
Medical Center, Shopping Mall and so on. Sheraton Business Center is a place
where customers can freely use stationary service such as photocopying,

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

printing, binding and scanning. However, it is noticed that just 5 pages of A4 are
complimentary. In the Following day, I was trained at the Guests Service
Center. This is considered to be the operator of the entire hotel, hence any calls
or information are transmitted should be accessed to this department. Guests are
advised to contact via Guest Service Center for any questions as well as
requirements.

Meanwhile, Housekeeping is seen as an efficient supporter of the Front Office in


back of the house that helps it to cope with problems about rooms as well as
hygiene of the hotel. In Sheraton Saigon, Housekeeping Department is divided
into 5 main components which are PA, room service, Florist, Uniformed service,
and Laundry service. PAs, abbreviation for Public Area staffs, are persons taking
on the cleanliness in public. Room service is responsible for guaranteeing for all
room to be in well-prepared condition before guest’s coming. In addition, it also
provided in-house guests with the turndown service, which is an activity of
making up room at night when guests are not available in rooms. Florist
involves in hotel decorative activities by arranging flowers, replacing withered
flowers by the new ones or repairing Welcome Flower for Housekeeping’s staffs
to set up in room for very VIP guests. Uniformed service provides associates
with types of uniforms fitting with the necessity of outlets as well as services
relating to sewing and mending torn clothes. Besides that, it also has the
responsibility for replacing dirty napkins, rags, glass rags which are received
from other departments at lunch time. In all guestrooms, laundry bills provided
by laundry service are always put in the wardrobe.

Together with Front Office and Housekeeping, F&B department contribute to


the success of gaining guest’s satisfaction. It includes 5 mains sub-departments
which are Kitchen, Restaurant, Bars, Banquet and Catering and In-room dining.
Firstly, Kitchen is a place where food are made and distributed to all outlets. In
Sheraton Saigon, there are 4 main kitchens such as Cold, Pastry, Saigon Café, and
Banquet Kitchen and each restaurant has its old kitchen. Restaurant is a place
where food is cooked and served on the premises. Saigon Café is regarded as the
biggest restaurant which is for all of in-house customers to have their meals.
Besides that, there are some different F&B outlets such as Signature which is a
fine dining restaurant located on level 23 rd, Li Bai which is a Chinese restaurant
located on the 3rd floor. Mojo Café which is a restaurant following Korean cuisine
located on the ground floor. Next, there are Night Spot and Wine bar located on
the 23rd floor where guests are able to enjoy many special cocktails or expensive
alcohol with listening to music. Those two outlets all receive last order at 1am.
Furthermore, Banquet and Caterings Department mainly focuses on
celebrating and operating events, parties and conventions which gained a large
number of revenues for the hotel every year. In Sheraton,there are 10 meeting
rooms such as Saigon, Da Lat, Da Nang, Hue, Ha Long, Hoi An, Ha Noi, Sa Pa,
Mekong and NhaTrang, 5 VIP rooms, 3 Ballrooms and 1 Grand Ballroom. The

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

main target of Banquet and Caterings department is MICE, which stands for
Meeting, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions, are large collection of people
with the same purpose. Finally, an obscure sub-department contributes greatly
on customer’s satisfaction is In-room Dining. Its major tasks are to set up
Welcome Fruits for the upcoming guests and fulfill customer’s special culinary
requirements in guestrooms. An in-room menu with various kinds of food is
always put on the desk inside all guestrooms.

2.4 Company Current Performance and Developing Trends:

The table above depicts a breakdown about Departmental Revenue as well as the
Developing pace in Sheraton form 2012 to 2014 in terms of Million USD. Overall, Room
Divisions generated the highest annual income compared to F&B department and other
services which tended to decrease in three years.

As can be seen clearly from the table, the amount of money which Room Division gained in
2012 reached a peak of 50.1%, which approximately double that of other services. That
amount was also the highest figure compared ones 2013 and 2014. F&B Department had
been ranked below the Room Division with the revenue of 5.17 million USD In 2012, which
was roughly twice as much other service.

According to the development trends of departmental revenue in Sheraton, It can be seen


clearly that the Room’s Division income was prone to slightly decrease from 50.1% to
49.48%. F&B’s revenue was increased slightly from over 5 million USD to about 5.78 million

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

USD in the first two year and then fell to just under 5 million USD. Other Service had the
similar movements compared to F&B.

In Conclusion, the total revenue of all three Sheraton Saigon’s Departments are hit a peak of
15.57 million USD.

3 Internship Activities:
3.1Description of interned department

During my internship, I had a chance to corporate with Grand Tower Lounge


located at 5th floor of Grand Tower (*) as a butler (*).The appearance of Grand
Tower lounge is supposed to keep up the demand about a peaceful and
contemporary space with spectacular views and savory cuisine. It is an
intersection between Grand Tower and Main Tower, hence in order to enter
those buildings, in-house guests must access via this storey. Overlooking the
swimming pool and Life Style bar belonged to Sheraton Fitness, Grand Tower
Lounge boasts a warm and moderns design in combination with a spacious and
private sector which is an ideal place for enjoying working peacefully, having a
private meeting with counterparts for new contracts or even a friend’s
reunions. However, before being able to access the Lounge, patrons have to
complete all the procedures which are relevant to check in at the front desk near
by the entrance. All the necessary information about hotel’s rooms and services
will be provided for them by friendly and graceful receptionists. Besides that, the
Lounge is also integrated with a small business center which is to fulfill essential
guest’s requirements about doing business such as printing, photocopying,
binding, scanning, looking up information, or even sending emails and faxes and
a largely full-equipped meeting room for 8 people. Moreover, wireless access is
also complimentary.

Providing that Grand Tower Lounge follows the inversed style which is
contemporarily youthful architecture with an open space that will give diners
special moments of relaxation as well as create a private ambiance for business
meetings or friend reunions, Club Lounge is according to vintage design with a

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

cozy space which creates the signature of a close and warm ambiance. It situated
in level 21st where clients are able to overlook the inviting and fascinating
spectacle of Saigon River View and the Ho Chi Minh City. Club Lounge consists of
one 4-seatmeeting room and one 8-seat meeting room and one smoking room on
the 22nd floor, a mini business center on the level 20 th. Any couples who are
deliberately finding a warm and romantic space should be choose Club Lounge as
a final destination. Those who intend to stay at Level 21 st will have the same
benefits with persons who are in Level 5th but with a lower price.

According to the service, Grand Tower Lounge will open from 6am to 11am
every day in a week. From Monday till Friday, breakfast buffet will be served
from 6am to 10: am and 6 am to 10:30 am in the weekend. In the afternoon,
Afternoon Tea will be available from 2:30 pm till 4:30 pm with some desserts
and mini burgers. Finally, Pre-Dinner drinks and Hors d’oeuvres are on offer
each evening from 5pm until 8pm with a copious menu which is altered every
single day. It is the same for Club Lounge; however, there is a slightly different in
the closing time of Pre-dinner from Grand Tower Lounge which is 10 pm instead
of 11 pm.

Fortunately, I seized an opportunity to see another use of the Grand Tower


Lounge as a showroom. That day was a welcoming day among members in hotel
executive committee and two VIP guests from very famous corporation in the
world. The purpose of the meeting was believed that board of directors desired
to introduce and show to those guests all the striking features about Sheraton
Saigon. However; Because of the high season in occupancy, all the showed rooms
were taken to guest’s accommodations. Hence, the half-storey of Grand Tower
Lounge are taken on greeting guests and showing hotel’s goodwill for a new
contract.

3.2Specific Internship Activities


Butler is a group of people who take responsibility for managing and serving in
the executive lounge which is designed for high-class persons who are generous
with money or preferred guests who have stayed at the hotel for many times or
at other branding hotels belonging to the same managing corporation. In
particular, the main tasks of a butler is to complete the checking in/ out to
guests, provide guests with essential hotel’s information, create a new booking
for one who has not have any reservation yet and play a role as a waiter to serve
at buffet time. During my internship, I had to take on all the above jobs except for
those which are relevant to what a cashier (*) must do because I was just a
trainee. However, I was still on the cashier’s training session which studied about
the Opera System (*) or how to create a new reservation and update a profile of
client on to the System.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

In particular, in the very first two weeks of working, most of my responsibility


was to listen and take note what I had just been trained. Some departments, sub-
departments or outlets which I visited were Aqua Day Spa (*) and Sheraton
Fitness (*), Concierge, Business Center, Security and Guest Service Center. After
being provided quite sufficient knowledge about functions of hotel’s
departments, in the next week, I joined in a practical training session called Hotel
Orientation. A Tour to all the F&B outlets as well as show rooms was held to
show me the way how those restaurants operate and what striking features of
hotel’s rooms obtained. That was a very helpful trip which provided me with lots
of interpretation about the products for which I were representing, so that I
could take pride in myself to talk about those products whenever guests have
questions about them. Besides that, I was also practiced very basic steps of using
stationary equipment such as photocopy machine, printing and scanning
machines. Furthermore, vocational skills were also lively demonstrated by my
supervisors such as how to carry a tray, how to greet guests to the lounge, how
to make drinks together with other relevant expertise.

After weeks of being trained, I gradually accustomed to the job I was doing,
hence, I was assigned to serve in the Lounge. I had to work in 8-hour shift
following the supervisor’s assignment which is called roster (*). The morning
shift which includes 15 minutes for briefing (*) and 30 minutes for lunch stars
from 6am till 2h45mm, the afternoon shifts is available from 2h30pm till
11:15pm which includes 30 minutes for dinning and 15 minutes for briefing) and
the final shifts is arranged from 12am till 8:45pm which also consists of 30
minutes for dining. In each shift, there are different types of work to do,
however; in general, it was divided in to 2 main periods which are buffet time
and set-up time.

According to morning shift, I started my job by checking all the setups had done
last night whether follow exactly the standard from the buffet counter, cooking
station to the table. After that, name tags of main courses and chesses would be
set, because those foods were changeable every single day. Next, I kept in touch
with my task by recording the temperature of hot food (*) and cold food (*),
which was to guarantee the secure condition of the food or even if there were
any problems with the guests such as diarrhea or vomiting, this record was a
reliable proof for investigation. After checking the buffet counter, I had to keep
track with the guest’s tables whether these has already followed the criteria,
then it must be ensured that every milk containers should be filled. When
everything was in order, I continued my day with checking the terrace (*).
Because after finishing the night shift, all the pillows and cushions are cleared
from the terrace in case of it rained. I had finished my responsibility, in-house
guests came in which is a sign of the buffet time’s start. In this phase, I had to
stop other preparing tasks to welcome guests. It was very significant that for me
I should catch sight of incoming patrons in 10 feet and bow and say good

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

morning when they were in about 3-feet distance from me. In order to show my
regard, flashing a smile and having a talk with them by questions such as “How
are you today?”, “How many people do you go with?” or “which tables would you
like choose?” were applied. Interestingly, by those warm questions, I was
appreciated by the majority of clients. Another important skill is to choose a right
standing position with the broadest view to observe and make anticipation of
when the table should be cleared or when a certain eater needs more drinks to
help him/her refill. My major task in this stage was to record requirements about
drink, make and deliver it to the person who ordered. The breakfast was finished
at 10am and then I and my partner cleared together all the setups on the buffet
counter and on the guest’s area. After clearing the peripheral sector, I had to
access the pantry to classify between the leftovers which will be reused for the
Pre-dinner and the dirty ones. Name tags were put back to their position.
Cutleries and set-up tools would be put in a washing machine by the steward.
While waiting for knives and forks were cleaned, I spent my time on counting
dirty napkins, recording it in the Grand Tower Linen book (*) and then put them
in a basket for replacing new ones at Uniform department. One thing should be
noticed at this stage is that filthy napkins with lots of stains were separated from
the clean ones and tied to a group of ten, because it was reasoned that the smear
from the dirty napkins will stick on to the ones without any spots. Next I usually
spent the time when I had to wait for replacement for dirty napkins (*) on having
lunch in 30 minutes. Continually, I come up with a task of wiping all the cutleries
and set-up tools which had been just washed by the Steward. It is significant that
silverwares which have the same usage should be distinguished from the others
and grouped because this will be helpful for saving time of classification when
silverwares are put back to the container. The criteria for hygiene cutleries (*)
are shining and bright without any fingerprints. After doing that, I jumped to
wipe glassware (*) which mainly included highball glasses using for drinking
mineral water or juices and rock glasses using for drinking sparkling water
because morning breakfast’s beverages just consisted of mineral water,
sparkling water, tea and coffee and juices. That is the most difficult task to which
I took more than a week to accustom since a clean glass should be spotless and
there are not any fingerprints on it. Hence, before keep doing the job, the water
boiled by the kettle was prepared to steam the glass. Water vapor from the kettle
would make the glass spotless then two glass rags were used to wipe out the
vapor as well as fingermarks and make it purer. Unforgettable event occurred
when I was cleaning the white wine’s glass which was soaked into boiling water.
Hot temperature makes it more brittle and unbreakable. Therefore, when I had
just touched the brim of the glass, it was broken. ‘How guilty I was’, I thought at
that moment. My partner consoled me that breaking had been unavoidable in
hospitality, what I had to do then was to record the types and the number of
broken glasses into a Glass Break Record (*) with the reason. Following this task,
pristine napkins replaced ought to be folded for morning’s breakfast and Pre-

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

dinner. Two popular types of napkins in the Grand Tower Lounge were Inverted
Sail and Simple Napkin Pocket. Besides that, Lotus fold was also created to line
under the breads that prevents crumbs falling out from those. Usually, I finished
all the hygiene roles at nearly 2pm and in order to prepare for Afternoon Tea
which is available at 2:30 pm, I kept doing my daily activities with preparation
task. Firstly, tongs, small forks and tea spoons are set on the counter for the
guests to enjoy sweet cakes and mini rolls or burgers. Secondly, big knives and
forks were put into the Simple Napkin Pocket, so did soup spoons and
chopsticks.

In general, the majority of Afternoon-shift works were similar to the preceded


one. However, the major differences were at the set-up step. Morning employees
did not do any setups while Afternoon ones had to set-up the buffet counter for
Pre-dinner time. Hence, I started my shift at 2:30pm by checking in the minibar,
the wine’s fridge and the main refrigerator whether they were in sufficient
condition. If they were not enough, I would do a back-up. I also had to refill water
and coffee beans for the coffee machine (*) which was to help guests make coffee
by themselves. Next, I did setup for the buffet counter with setup tools, bowls,
dishes, chopsticks, cutleries and soup spoon which were prepared by the
morning staffs. Another distinction from the morning shift was that I have to
checked the inventory and recorded it into the bar inventory list (*) at the end of
the day. This job requires thorough and concise performance. Next, I did the
setup for tomorrow breakfast for the buffet counter and the table. I finished my
working day by switching all the electrical devices off, turning off the music and
locking all the doors. All the activities performed at Grand Tower Lounge were
similar to Club Lounge.

Besides those main tasks above, I also did other minor ones. In particular, during
a week, there were two times of receiving products including soft drinks, coffee
beans and powders, napkins, coasters etc. from the hotel’s warehouse to Grand
Tower and Club Lounge store which were at lunch time of Monday and Friday.
Therefore, the person who took responsibility to receive products should have
lunch earlier than the ordinary days. Furthermore, I was required to access into
the guestroom to put the Welcome Card (*) for the incoming guests and also
check whether it has been fully set up yet or there were any damaged devices.
The purpose of this is to warrantee that guestrooms must be always in the best
condition. In addition, I was asked for helping the official staffs photocopy the
passport for the guest who was checking in. In Sheraton, hygiene inspection was
conducted every month in all F&B outlets to maintain as well as enhance the
cleanliness which should follow the standard of Starwood Corporation. A
previous week from the inspective week, everybody undertook to do the
washing to all facilities in the pantry from the fridges to the bartender’s table and
shelves. Glasses were washed again and wipe carefully until they were crystal
and spotless. On the 21st floor, there was no cooking station as well as chef de

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

station who was in charge of food such as cooking or refilling the food when it
was over. Therefore, in the very high occupancy days, the Club Lounge was
usually covered with customers and my supervisor sent me to the 21 st Lounge to
rescue my partners.

3.3 Evaluation of the Department Performance


Strengths and weaknesses always existed in any types of business, in different
departments inside any organizations and so does my department. During 3-
month internship at Sheraton, by observing the operation of the lounge,
interaction with my colleagues and individual hospitality spirit such as passion
to serve guests of my partners, I realized that besides advantages, there are still
weaknesses which should be solved for a long-lasting development.

Regarding to the strengths, firstly, it is not impossible to mention about a very


good training course which provided me with an overall view about the
operation of my current position as well as other departments. The training
schedule was designed in details with many essential skills not only in FO field
but also in F&B aspect were showed to me. I was trained in most of departments
in Front Office by the head of each department. A hotel tour was held for all new
trainees to learn about the operations and striking features of each department.
One illustration for this is that I fully comprehended the major differences among
room types, how big the twin and king-size beds are via setting Welcome Card or
how to distinguish from four luggage tags at the Concierge and so on. Secondly,
the connection among Grand Tower members is concrete and the operation is
efficient. A new trainee will be always supported by an official staff in his shift.
This combination is assumed to firstly create a safe feeling for that newbie and
then avoid the serious problems derived from the lack of experience of that
member. A vivid illustration of this is that I spilled a glass of Vietnamese coffee
with condensed milk on the Platinum prissy guest’s backpack. At that moment,
the panic about being reprimanded from him as well as my manager appeared.
Immediately, my official partner initially said sorry for my carelessness and then
wiped the spilled coffee from his bag with a napkin on behalf of me. Fortunately,
that unlucky man checked out without any complaints in the following day.
Furthermore, the individual timetable will be always scheduled one week earlier
by supervisor and members can take picture of a roster (*) of an upcoming week,
so that they can arrange their time and make a request for a day off with
personal purposes. Whenever once Lounge are crowded with guests, a staff who
is working in the other Lounge will be sent to this Lounge for rescuing. A briefing
which was a short meeting occurred at the end of the morning shift was daily
held to discuss about current issues during the day. Roster, supporting when
there are any needs and briefing all aim to deliver the best service to the guests
as well as enhance the productivity and efficiency of work. Finally, it is honorable
that for Grand Tower staffs good connection with guests has been formed and

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

customer’s loyalty has been built. Most of in-house guests have positive
feedbacks about the service and promise to come back next time. Customers who
have intension to stay at Grand Tower have been there so many times. Moreover,
the guest’s complaints are always prior to be handled first. Besides that, some
guest-related programs or events were celebrated to build up customer’s loyalty.
In particular, SPG (*), which stands for Starwood Preferred Guests, was applied
to freely create membership accounts for patrons who were Sheraton familiar
Members. Another activity named Taking Photo With Us was also conducted as a
way to be closer to the guests.

Meanwhile, there were still some weaknesses stemmed from internal


departmental causes. Initially, the hospitality spirit of each individual towards
customers is not strong. They seem to be working for living rather than for a
passion to serve guests. They usually intend to avoid over-demanded guest’s
requirements such as main courses, desserts, drinks which are not listed in the
menu because all the food serving in the lounge are included in the room rate.
Some of partners have the tendency to prefer very VIP guests who are generous
in paying tips to the ones who have never given any tips. For instance, The
Japanese are high-demanded and there are many taboos in serving them.
Specifically, they desired to be personally served even though they are in a buffet
and they have never left tips because the Japanese believe that it shows no
respect to the waiter or waitress according to their national culture. Anyway,
those perceptions just come from my personal thinking and observing and
guests have never known about that. Next, unfairness is still existed inside my
department. Staffs having close relationship with supervisor or manager are
prior to do forbidden things following the rules. For example, during my
internship, there was a female trainee and myself. That girl, whose name is Phuc,
built a strong relationship with my supervisor and other official staffs. One day,
my supervisor invited her to hang out with her for dinner. However, she could
not come because she had to work at afternoon shift (2:30pm-11pm). Then my
boss called me for an obligatory suggestion of changing my shift with Phuc on
her behalf. As a result, I grudgingly accepted her request because I realized that
the shift exchange was just for person needs. Moreover, manager is usually
prone to assume that officials are always true and this made me feel like I was
not treated fairly. There was a time, during the cleanup after breakfast, my
manager found large forks and small forks were mixed together. She called me in
and yelled at me that why you did it and you knew it was unprincipled. I do not
understand why she was so because I did not do that. I told her I did not do that,
but she insisted that I was like a culprit.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

4 Assessment of Internship
4.1Skill and knowledge
During the internship at Sheraton, I was provided various vocational knowledge
as well as learned relevant expertise in serving skills. A high-demanded
workplace requiring high responsibility in teamwork and multitasking skill
matured me every single day.

According to knowledge, the list bellow sufficiently demonstrates to what I


received from my partners as well as my managers:

I was learnt how to operate the Opera system from my colleagues which is used
to manage all the hotel operations such as the daily occupancy, profile of guests,
guest’s booking and so on. Next, knowledge which I perceived from 2 courses
such as Front Office and F&B at Saigontourist Hospitality College (SHTC) are
applied and practiced every day. In particular the procedure of welcoming a
guest, checking in/out or serving guests in the Lounge was trained very carefully
by my line supervisor. Moreover, I was also learnt the operation of other
departments and outlets via a Hotel trip. Some departments and outlets that I
have visited were Aqua Day and Sheraton Fitness, Reservation, Concierge,
Security, Front desk, Signature restaurant, which is a fine dining restaurant on lv
23rd, Saigon Café, which is the main restaurant serving the entire in-house guests
on lv 1st, Or Wine Bar and Night Spot where guests are able to enjoy alcoholic
drinks in vibrated Dj’s music. Besides that, by observing how my partners
organize and arrange important documents, I also figured out for myself the way
how to record my important files and data.

Regard skill, I was practiced using stationary equipment for photocopying,


printing, scanning, binding and so on. Next, skills relevant to serving guests were
taught to me by my supervisor. In particular, how to take guest’s orders and
make drinks are more focused. Formulas for creating cocktails and some special
types of coffee such as Cappuccino and Latte are printed on papers and stuck
onto the wall inside the pantry. The most helpful benefit that I receive from
interaction with guests is communication skill in English. This gives me a great
deal of enormous opportunities. The illustration of this is that an offer of a totally
different job to what I was doing now was made by a CEO from an automobile’s
company, Mr.Landford. He told me that I was very good and hospitable.
Therefore; Speaking English fluently is a key which lead you to the guest’s
satisfaction as well as precious opportunity.

4.2Responsibilities and Personal Disciplines:

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

According to job, I am a responsible employee because I believed that working


with a strong passion will generates excessive outcomes and benefits. Hence I
completed my tasks with strong interest and enthusiasm. Because of a newbie
with no experience and power, hence, I always followed the instruction of my
supervisor and observe the other official staffs. Especially, I respect the
punctuality hence I have never been late during the internship.

Regard colleague’s relationship, I was quite extrovert. I always show my interest


to assist my partners to reduce their bunch of job and I desire to share my point
of views with them. However, some people express their annoyance to my
performance. Perhaps, the difference in age results in a distance among my
relationships. Therefore, I rule out for myself that enthusiasm is not always good
for relationship. However, I try to avoid having argument with other staffs.

4.3Future career plan


In particular, after graduating from university, I am going to work for Park Hyatt
at the receptionist or apply to
work on a cruise (*) for one to
two years. These jobs will
provide me with experience, the
ability to work under pressure
and good income. After a period
of working at Park Hyatt, I
desire to jump to a higher
position as a Front Office
Manager because I believe the
time working as a receptionist
gave me precious knowledge as
well as experience. So that, I will
build for myself relationships
with critical counterparts, good
suppliers, save a sum of money
which will be a spent on
investing or business purpose.
Then, when I was 35 years old, I
will star up my own business
operated in hospitality industry
such as restaurant or hotel.
Figure 3: Personal Career Path After a period of running
business, if my company gains a
prosperous income, I will next invest to real estate market to gain the final target
of financial freedom.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

4.4Contributive suggestion for interned departments or


hospitality department of IU:
In my opinion, hospitality department of IU should separate from BA school and
become an independent department. Then an accurate and dependable syllabus
ought to be created for students because it will help students save their time,
money and effort in case of studying wrong subjects. Then practical lessons
teaching vocational skills in hospitality industry should be conducted.

5 Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is a very helpful internship which helps me to draw an overall
view about hospitality industry in the very vivid way. Therefore I can identify
whether I am fit with this field. I appreciate all the assistance from my supervisor
as well as other members who are always enthusiastic in supporting me during
my internship a. I am also grateful for the concern and support from my lecturer,
Mr. Mai Ngoc Khuong, whenever I need.

6 Appendix:
6.1Images

Figure 5: History of Sheraton Saigon

Figure 4: History of Sheraton Saigon

Figure 6: Starwood Hotel Chains

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Figure 7: Core values of Sheraton


Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Figure 8:Breakfast Setup Figure 9: Club Lounge (21st floor)

Figure 10: Club Lounge's Small Meeting Figure 11: Daily Forecasting Board
Room

Figure12: Club Lounge's 8-seat Meeting Room

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Figure 14: Club Lounge’s Smoking Room Figure 13: Club Lounge’s Buffet
Counter

Figure 15: Club Studio (2) Figure 16: Club Studio (1)

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Figure 17: Grand Tower Entrance (Lv 5th)

Figure 18: Grand Tower Lounge (2) Figure 19: Grand Tower Lounge

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Figure 20: Grand Tower's Cold Food Counter

Figure 22: Grand Tower's Cooking Figure 21: Grand Tower's Drink Counter
Station

Figure 23: Grand Tower's Buffet Counter

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

6.2Word Index:
Aqua Day Spa (*) and Sheraton Fitness (*): are two types of services which
generate the large amount of income for the hotel. Furthermore, those places are
launched to give various choices of relaxation and entertainment to guests
during their stay.

Back of the house – implies the departments which are not revolve directly in
guest’s interaction such as Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Human resources
and so on.

Bar Inventory list – is a checklist records the number of beverages remains or


the number of drinks were consumed and whether there are any drinks, wine
transferred in/out.

Bellmen: are people who carry luggage to the informed guestroom or bring
them down when guests are going to check out.

Briefing – is a 15-minute group meeting occurred at the end of the morning shift
discuses about problems have just arisen during a day.

Butler – is a position belonging to Front Office sub-department. Its daily tasks


are a combination between F&B as a servants and FO as a receptionist. A butler
usually works in the executive floor. In particular, it is level 5 in Grand Tower in
Sheraton.

Cashier – is a person who undertakes to manage or keep in touch with money or


to conduct the check-in/ check out to guests.

Coffee Machine – is the automatic equipment which helps to make Americano


coffee. The steam’s spout is used to warm and bubble the milk up and then hot
milk with bubble is used to make cappuccino and latte.

Cold food– is food which has an average temperature range from 1 Celsius
Degree to 5 Celsius degree. They are usually salad, smoked salmon, Sashimi
which is a mixture of salmon and tuna.

Cruises–there are two types of cruise which are Star Cruise operated in Asia and
Costa operated in Europe.

Cutlery - is a set of knives and forks.

Drop-off service - is to take guests to the airport after checking out.

Glass Break Record – is a book used to record the types and the number of
glasses broken with reason.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Glass rag – is a linen with soft surface used for wiping the glasses or cutleries in
the hotel

Grand Tower – considered as a twin brother with the Main one was built in
2008. With the breathtaking Saigon River view and city view combined with
modern design and private space, Grand Tower is able to catch the attention of
everyone who have ever visited or stayed. It consists of three types of room and
one Grand Tower Presidential Suite:

Grand Tower Junior Suite (32 rooms) –is wide 65 square meters.

Grand Tower linen book – Is a record of towels such as napkins, rags which is
to daily manage the number of very filthy napkins are in exchange with the
better ones.

Grand Tower Studio (52 rooms) – is an


entry level room with the size of 53
square meters.

Grand Tower Suite (33 rooms) – 83


square meters in size with 3 spacious
bays.

Hot food – is food which has average


temperature up to 70 Celsius degrees and
over. It can be cooked by using beef, fish,
chicken, lamb or veal. In the buffet
Figure 24: Grand Tower Junior Suite breakfast in Grand Tower Lounge, I
usually took a temperature record of Dumpling and Woked Fried Noodles.

In-house guests – are persons who are accommodating in the hotel.

Main Fridge – also contains soft drinks and beers like Heineken, 333, San Miguel
and Tiger.

Minibar – contains mostly soft drinks, tonic and soda so that in-house guests are
able to take away whenever they want.

Napkin – is a smooth tower used for guests to wipe mouth after eating.

Opera System – is an software which is used to managing all the bookings from
all over the world and saving the histories of guests such as the nuts to which
he/she have an allergy or fruit juice which is the most favorite of guest and so
on.

Pick-up service - is a way which the hotel greets its clients from the airport and
carries them to the hotel.

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

Presidential Suite (1 room) – is a special require for heads of state, corporate


presidents (CEO) and international Royals to enjoy or to implement business in a
totally secure place. It is measured 174 square meters in size.

Roster – is a working schedule arranged by supervisor to assure the exact


number of staffs is allocated for every shift.

Roster – is an individual working timetable arranged by supervisor a week


earlier for members to keep track with their jobs.

SPG – is a totally complimentary program for Sheraton’s preferred guests to


accumulate rewarding points which bases on the number of nights or stays that
guests spend on the hotel.

Terrace – is an outside area of Grand Tower lounge where guests can have a
smoke. This place is also furnished tables and chairs with astray for not only
smoking needs but also enjoying food.

There are 4 levels of SPG which are A member, B member, C member, Gold
member, Platinum member and Ambassador member. Each type of accounts has
their own conditions to accumulate rewarding points as well as benefits. With $
1, A, B, C and gold members will receive two points for their accounts while
Platinum and Ambassador Accounts will receive 3 points for 1 USD.

Welcome Card – is a greeting card set up in the guestrooms to wow the guests.
Amazing factor such as the number of times that a guest stayed at Sheraton is
added to the Card for more surprises.

Welcome Fruits – are usually set up in guestroom together with Welcome Card
and Welcome Flower to create a feeling of being warmly greeted for upcoming
customers.

Wine Fridge – is to contain white wine such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc
which was served at Pre-dinner time and sparkling wine- which was just served
when guests required.

7 References:
Internet Source:
1. https://www.hotelmule.com/html/93/n-793-2.html
2. http://www.svhttdl.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/web/guest/tin-tuc-su-
kien/du-lich?
p_p_id=EXT_ARTICLEVIEW&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_col_id=column-
1h&p_p_col_count=1&_EXT_ARTICLEVIEW_groupId=16&_EXT_AR

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Internship Report Advisor: Ms. NguyễnThịVân

TICLEVIEW_articleId=161410&_EXT_ARTICLEVIEW_version=1.0&
_EXT_ARTICLEVIEW_redirect=%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Ftrang-chu
3. http://www.sheratonsaigon.com/
4. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/index.html?
&PS=LGEN_AA_DAPI_CGGL_TBRD&SWAQ=8CHR

Book Source:

1. A.Casado, M. (Second Edition, 2012). Housekeeping Management. Hoboken,


Newjersy: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Agency, T. S. (1987). An Introduction to Food And Beverage Service Skills. Ireland:


CERT.

3. Brwon, G., & Hepnen, K. (4th Edition). The Waiter's Handbook. French Forest, N.S.W.
: Pearson Education Australia, 2008.

4. Micheal L.Kasavana, P. (9th Edition). Managung Front Office Operations. Michigan:


American Hotel & Lodging Educaitonal Institute.

Student: Vũ Trần Anh Nguyên | 29

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