PEOPLE SAVVY

Front desk at the Double Tree by Hilton, Mission Valley

For my HTM 398 internship, I worked as a guest service agent at the front desk of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Mission Valley. During this experience I worked with a lot of individuals from different cross-cultural settings as well as interacted with guests from all over the world. I was one of two students who worked at the front desk and everyone else was at a different place in their life. We had some who were married and had families, some who were using this job as a stepping stone to another career, and some who had a passion for hospitality and guest service. I think my biggest takeaway from this experience was that everyone is motivated by different things. My goal was to try and understand each person and what their motivations were for being in this role. Then I could best understand what they were hoping to get out of it and how to support them.

Another example of this is when I trained the new programs assistant in my current role. She is younger than me, a different ethnicity, has different friends and interests, and comes from a different background. It was really my goal when we first met to understand how she is best taught and how to motivate her. I think this helped us build the relationship that we have today and she was able to train quickly to take on the new role. I think my biggest takeaway from this experience is that it’s important to recognize differences and acknowledge them instead of just ignoring them. It can make both people seem easier to understand and help break down any barriers.