In this article, Lorainne Lee Peixin, a former student of BSc (Hons) International Hospitality Management shares her internship experiences at The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, and Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur and Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur. During her internship journey, Lorainne gained both operational and administrative experiences at the departments of Food & Beverage (F&B) and Human Resources (HR) with the two notable hotels.

She said, “My internship experience was amazing as it was filled with excitement. I managed to learn and develop new skills and knowledge throughout these internships because I was under the supervision of professional colleagues”. She also added that, “[My] communication skills, time management, critical thinking, and decision-making skills were further strengthened and polished during her internship tenure”. Most importantly, such experiences serving in these different departments could allow students to gain further insights and hands-on skills in the hospitality industry.

Lorainne also mentioned, “Upon my internship experience, I have learned to be a better team player and communicate effectively with others. I have also learned that it is important to create a workplace with a positive working environment filled with open-mindedness”. These internship placements in both The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, and Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur and Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur offered beneficial learning components such as coping to work under intense pressure and displaying teamwork to achieve a common goal. 

Classroom simulation could differ greatly from real-life working experiences but the two elements are complementary to one another. The skills and knowledge learnt from the classroom could prepare students to face and tackle real-life situations and challenges in the workplace. An important lesson that Lorainne gained is the importance to demonstrate professionalism when solving problems or assisting others. 

For some students, internships can be a daunting experience. Undoubtedly, Lorainne shared a similar sentiment in the beginning and said that, “At the beginning of my first internship, I felt nervous about being part of the actual workplace. Later on, I became a more confident person with guests and colleagues as I gradually felt more self-assured after gaining a sufficient amount of training in the physical environment of a hotel.” 

COVID-19 proved to be a challenging period for hoteliers as there is a significant need to adapt promptly due to constantly-evolving directives, policies and restrictions.  Moreover, when there are new rules implemented during the Movement Control Order (MCO), there was a need to continually learn up new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to serve the hotel guests. It was also emphasised that during the height of the pandemic, the long working hours and crunch of manpower in the hospitality industry have also trained hoteliers to become more resilient to adapt to the volatile environment. This allowed people within the hotel industry to gain additional experiences as it meant that staff were often entrusted with additional responsibilities.

On a final note, Lorainne said that, “After completing my internship training in two different hotels, I have gained in-depth and sufficient knowledge to enter the workforce as I gained both front-of-house and back-of-house operational and administrative experiences to build my portfolio.” 
  
To the youths who intend to join the hospitality industry, Lorainne would like to share a piece of advice: “Being in a new environment can be tough. It does take some time to adapt to new tasks, colleagues and organisational culture. So be patient and have a little faith in yourself. When the going gets tough, do not give up or do not fall into despair but keep on persevering.”