The last weeks of my semester went by so fast. As I mentioned previously, my focus during this time was going to be craft-based learning (CBL) within F&B and the rooms division. Working in the kitchen and cooking with different chefs was more fun than I thought it would be. I never cut or burnt my fingers and also managed to learn how to cook saffron risotto for 500 people!
The second part of my CBL, in Rooms Division, was my favourite part. I really enjoyed working at the reception, organizing the reservations of the restaurants as well as creating a daily based newsletter as concierge for Glion. Everyday my classmates and I changed positions and shifts which required great teamwork based on good communication skills. While we didn’t have the opportunity to use Opera during the CBL we did get a short introduction.
My last week I spent working in housekeeping – I have to admit that this was quite tough. It was the end of the semester and all the students were checking out of Hotel des Alpes so our team had to deep clean all the empty rooms so that they would be ready for new guests next semester.
One of the best things about having an operations-type job is that when you have your day off you are free to do what you want and there is no need to study. We took the chance to go to a friend’s place in Treviso, Italy, and we visited Venice, the Formula 1 race track in Monza as well as Milan. It was exciting to discover something new and different besides the campus in Glion.
The next weekend we did another road trip, this time to the south of France, to Cannes, Saint Tropez, Nice and Monaco in Monte Carlo. We used Airbnb to find an apartment in Cannes. Our accommodation was located in the heart of the city surrounded by lots of restaurants and just a few minutes’ walk from the yacht harbour. The host was so kind and polite, explained the area around and gave suggestions where to go for dinner and shopping. This experience was a completely new side of hospitality for me, different to hotels or hostels, and really easy and quick taking into consideration that we communicated with the host two hours before we left the campus.
On June 6th I had my last day of school. I worked at Glion’s graduation with around 2000 people instead of at the hotel. It was an honour to take part in this event and it was really emotional to see all the graduates walking around in their gowns. It seems hard to believe that it will be us throwing our hats in a few years.
It was sad knowing the semester was over as the beginning of next year my classmates and I are going for a six month internship in different places around the world.
I made the decision to go to Asia for my first internship since I have never been there before. I will be working in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong in the Front Office Department. I left Germany at the end of June, stopped by in Dubai to visit a classmate and then arrived to Hong Kong at the beginning of July.
Next blog I shall share my first impressions of the city as well as my experience at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.
About the author
Daniela Neiderer is a student at Glion Institue of Higher Education, currently in the process of obtaining a Bachelors in Business Administration of Hotel Management. She blogs about her experiences as a student of the industry.
