Taylor’s Students Take Over Holiday Inn Hotel to Gain Industry Experience
From power cut simulations to missing TVs, take a look at how Taylor’s students learned what it takes to run a hotel and solve real-world problems.
Updated 06 Aug 2019
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work in the hotel industry? Thanks to Taylor’s Step 2.0: Hotel Takeover Programme, students from the higher learning institute didn’t have to wait until employment to experience life as hotel personnel.
From 6 to 10 May 2019, the Taylor’s Step 2.0: Hotel Takeover Programme took place at Holiday Inn Express Kuala Lumpur. During the takeover, 38 students from Taylor’s University’s Bachelor of International Hospitality Management and Diploma in Hotel Management programmes got the opportunity to step into the shoes of the hotel staff for 5 days and take on operational and managerial duties.
These students were trained by current employees of the hotel who provided firsthand guidance, teaching them important skills such as good customer service and conflict and employee management across various departments such as front-of-house, human resources, finance, housekeeping and more.
The training experience was far from boring as students were thrown curveballs they had to try and solve. Some of the surprises they were faced with included good old customer complaints, a power cut, a stolen television set from a guest room and even an armed robbery!
A student that went through this training mentioned that these elements of surprise were good as students can gauge how they would react to these real-life situations and figure out how to overcome them as “hotel personnel”. It was also a good opportunity for students to communicate as a team, exercise their knowledge and put the right action into place.
According to Dr A.R. Neethiahnanthan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management at Taylor’s University, the hospitality, tourism and event sectors are growing at an exponential pace and Taylor’s takes pride in matching this growth. This can be seen in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject, where Taylor’s University is ranked #14 in the world and #2 in Asia for the Hospitality and Leisure Management discipline.
Set to occur annually, the Taylor’s Step 2.0: Hotel Takeover Programme gives students the opportunity to decide if hospitality is for them while preparing them to be industry-ready upon graduation. Those who have successfully completed the programme will receive 2 certificates from Taylor’s University and Holiday Inn.
Interested to study hospitality at Taylor’s? Leave your details below and our education advisors will get back to you.
Najihah Rahman
Might have a soft spot for fried chicken
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