Students Take Over Hotel in London

Earlier this week, students from Kingston College studying Travel and Tourism took part in a ‘take over’ at the Premier Inn located on Putney Bridge in London.

Fifteen students got some hands-on experience running a busy London hotel with 179 bedrooms and an on-site restaurant.

Each student was given a job description and was assigned a role such as Operations Manager, Receptionist, Duty Manager and Restaurant Team Manager.

Premier Inn team members were on hand throughout the day to ensure all ran smoothly for guests, and to offer their expertise to these hospitality professionals of the future.

Lidija Sinicina, Operations Manager at Premier Inn London Putney Bridge, who organised the ‘takeover’ said, “Here at Premier Inn we are keen to provide young people with opportunities to learn and develop. Hospitality is one of the fastest growing industries and we are constantly looking for passionate and talented individuals to furnish our team with. Our aim was to offer the students as authentic an experience as possible and by the end of the day we wanted them to leave with the confidence to apply for similar roles in the industry once their studies are completed.”

The students took on the full responsibilities of each role and ran a busy breakfast, lunch and dinner service in the Thyme restaurant as well as checking guests in and out at reception.

They also handled customer enquiries and made sure all housekeeping duties and bar services were up to Premier Inn standard.

One of the students who took part, Luis Ornelas, said, “This experience has been invaluable. It was great getting to learn what an Operations Manager at Premier Inn has to deal with on a daily basis – it’s not an easy job! I even managed to get into the kitchen to help with breakfast preparation under the watchful eye of the head chef Victor in the on-site Thyme restaurant. I look forward to starting my career in the hospitality industry when I finish my course!” 

See also: Premier Inn's Asia Pacific Expansion Plans - HD Video Interview.

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