Kids learn hotel business

Acorn Staff Writer


How do you get your 10-year-old child to make beds, clear dishes from the table, sweep floors and deliver breakfast in bed? Simple; just call it "working" in the hotel industry and provide a costume.


Twenty fifth-grade students from Westlake Elementary School learned firsthand about the hospitality industry during Camp Hyatt Career Day last week at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza. Over the last 10 years more than 10,000 fifth graders nationwide have participated in the event that highlights job opportunities within the travel and tourism industry.


On Camp Hyatt Career Day it’s anything but business as usual at Hyatt Westlake Plaza. A doorman too young to drive a car to the valet lot might greet guests. They may be checked in by a front desk clerk standing on a crate in order to see over the desk to handle transactions. But guests enjoy seeing uniformed hotel wannabes performing the hotel’s vital jobs alongside their adult "hotel buddy."


Before the kids can participate they must first make a resume for the job they want, complete an application, write an essay on why they should get the job and be interviewed. After the process was complete, 20 kids were chosen and assigned various jobs around the hotel.


Lia Woodward learned the ins-and-outs of being a front desk clerk as she shadowed Paolo Domingo, front office manager.


According to Lia, she was chosen for the job because in her essay she wrote about her ability to quickly learn new things in new situations. She also said she likes to meet people and make them happy. According to Domingo, that’s just what she did.


"She could be a very good front desk agent in the future," said Domingo.


David Lewin, Hyatt Westlake Plaza general manager, whose first job was hotel bus boy, said there are many reasons Hyatt sponsors career day.


"We have as much fun on Camp Hyatt Career Day as the fifth graders who work along side us," said Lewin.


"Their interest and enthusiasm gives us a fresh perspective on the work we take for granted," said Lewin.


"Camp Hyatt Career Day reminds us just how cool the hotel industry is. Just ask a 10 year old."





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