How important it is to acknowledge the importance of the events in hospitality
An interview with Valerie Culkin from Phoenix Airport Marriott
Where did the interest of the field came from?
I started in journalism after college as a television broadcasting and decide to try hospitality for a while because I love interacting with the public. In college, I was the production director for the radio station and we planned functions and benefits. I was conveniently offered a position at a small independently owned boutique hotel as an event coordinator. It was a startup business and it did really well, so I stayed of total of 5 years and learned as much as I could. Developed relationships with third party vendors and event planners. Then I moved to Arizona and wanted experience in corporate hospitality which landed me a job at Marriot.
Is there a way to share the training experience and how was the start of the position was processed?
Training mostly involves hands on experience and a lot of hours and dedication. Each hotel has a slightly different way of doing things internally, but in general learning how to do your best in hospitality takes time. training on software varies from hotel brand to hotel brand. For instance, Marriot uses different software’s from Hilton.
How was the easiness and the difficulty of the job since the entrance, could an explanation given?
Hospitality is something that you need to learn hands on. It can be difficult at first when you still learning, but having a good leader to help you along the way is very important. Also, doing as much research online as possible. For instance, looking at hotels and event venues to become familiar with their pricing, event space, etc.
What are the needed attitudes and characters for the job success?
Patience, teamwork, compassion, detail oriented, always anticipate and react quickly.
Could an explanation be given for the best and the worst parts of the job?
The best part of the job is making the guest happy, nothing best than seeing the guest walking out with a mile on the face. Forming relationships with new or returning guest, it makes them feel like they’re coming home. I love the fast paced environment which you have to love in the field of hospitality. Working well with your team is very important, it creates bonds of trust between your co-workers and I love that. For the worst part, it can be challenging when you have an upset guest, each situation is different and needs to be handled uniquely. Sometimes you can resolve the problem and sometimes you can’t but in those situation you cannot be hard on yourself. Think of it as a learning experience and do better next time.
What are the needed strength to satisfy the job?
You have to be strong in your opinion when it comes to what you think it would be best for the guest, your confidence will make them feel at ease with their event. Learning as musch as you can to set up a good event will help you. Having confidence in your job is one of the most important qualities.
For the giving tasks, any advices are given for the workers and volunteers in order to reach the satisfaction?
Always have the guest in mind, guest comes first. Work hard, help your team, and learn as much as you can.
What is the average salary range?
For the entry level will be 30-40k. 5+ years would be 40k+ per year.
Any given advices for the employees and volunteers? Any awareness?
Always anticipate.
For new people coming to the field? Anything could be provided for the help?
Getting a job in a hotel, if you are interested getting into event planning, I would suggest starting out in banquets. That way, you get experience on the operations side of the event. It also helps moving around into different departments of the hotel. You can also work as a part time in a catering company.
What is your typical day like?
Coming to work, check emails, check the voice messages, evaluate what are the most important thing to tackle today, prioritize based on how close the event is and how important it is to close the business, then I spend the majority of my day detailing programs, following up with customers to get questions answered, menus in from customers and answering numerous phone calls. We have meeting every day at 2 o’clock to go over the events for the week. On days, I am scheduled to leave at 4 ‘clock and I sometimes stay till 6, be prepared to stay late.
