Crowne Plaza Hotel

Inside Business Berks

Lauren MatthewsSchool CounselorSchuylkill Valley Elementary

Description of the IBb Program This five day internship program allows educators to work as an intern where they can better grasp

business expectations, and skills. Upon acquiring the the knowledge, educators can help students

develop the hard and soft skills, students will need upon entering the workforce.

Summary of My ExperienceThe Crowne Plaza of Reading is under the umbrella of the InterContinental Hotels Group. IHG oversees

the overall operations, sales, continuing education requirements, and orientation of all of its employees.

Other IHG hotels include: Holiday Inns, Marriott, Hyatt

and Hiltons.

Summary of My ExperienceDuring the five day internship at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Reading, I was able to shadow and interact

with the following departments:

● Sales Team

● The Front Desk

● Food and Beverage

● Maintenance

● Housekeeping

Together, these different departments

must all interact to make the hotel run

smoothly.

Sales Team

The sales team actually consists of a Sale Director

and each one of these ladies oversees a

different aspect of sales:

● Individual Events (weddings, class reunions)

● Group/Business Events (happen yearly)

● Hotel Group Room

Front DeskThe Front Desk is responsible for all of guests as soon as they

come to the hotel.

● Room reservations (350 rooms available)

● Upgrades based on membership

● What to do if they are experiencing an unsatisfied

customer

● Knowledgeable of surrounding restaurants and events

Food and BeverageResponsible for all the food and beverages

needed for the hotel.

● Restaurants

● Special Events

● Works directly with the kitchen staff

Maintenance and Housekeeping

Maintenance

● Taking care of the daily and yearly maintenance

of the hotel

Housekeeping

● Following IGH room guidelines

● Thoroughly cleaning checked out rooms

● Maintaining rooms for stay-overs

● Reporting any maintenance concerns

● Laundry Room

Educational Skills

At the Crowne Plaza there are a variety of jobs that consist of different educational requirements.

Areas such as housekeeping, front desk, dishwashing, and laundry room, may not require a high school

diplomas. These applicants are interviewed by their different department managers and must pass a

drug test.

Managers that oversee departments within the hotel, need a college education (if not more), computer

skills, understanding of sales for the hotel, and excellent interpersonal skills. Prior hotel experience is a

plus for someone in the management positions. Management positions start around $40,000.

Education Continued...

Regardless of the position level, the hotel staff must continue their hotel education. Front Desk

Receptionists are required to take tutorials on hotel policies, how to interact with irate customers, how to

make the customer’s stay more enjoyable, and computer software training.

Managers will need to watch and at times interact with online tutorials about new hotel initiatives, ways

to approach new clients, and how the hotel can have a competitive edge within the community

(marketing of rooms, weddings, meetings, etc.).

Banquet Request Form

Each event that is hosted at the hotel

requires a Banquet Request Form (BRF). This

is the document that outlines the whole

event. Hotel staff from all departments must

understand and be able to successful carry

out their portion of the event in adequate

time.

Technology at the Hotel

● Computer software for hotel reservations (single reservations, blocks of rooms, checking in and

out guests, special rates)

● Computer software for looking at local hotel competition as well as sales for the hotel at different

points of the year.

● AV equipment for presentations

● Ballroom and Dance Floor Lights

● Standard Room upkeep

Greatest ChallengeIn several of the departments the turnover rate of

employees. Managers express this as a real frustration

because they continually can not keep the manpower the

hotel needs to run efficiently.

Spanish only speaking employees can also be a challenge.

Both the Food and Beverage, and Housekeeping Director

are bilingual.

One of the ways the hotel is trying to connect more with

their employees is by recognizing them on their birthday,

their anniversary date, and just recently they implemented

a Celebrate Service Week.

Greatest Asset

In working with the various departments, my opinion of the

company’s greatest asset are the dedicated people who help that

hotel run. Several of the jobs that require the hotel to run

successfully are not 9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday jobs. Several of

positions require long hours to accomodate special events and at

times, multiple events throughout the day. The hotel needs to be

operational 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Employees and departments must abide by the guidelines that are

set forth to them from IHG.

Skills for Hotel Success

● Flexibility

● Reading hotel orders

● Communication Skills● Leadership Skills● Teamwork● Problem Solving Skills● Work Ethic● Flexibility/Adaptability● Interpersonal Skills● Computer Skills (reservations software, spreadsheets)

Questions and/or Comments.

Project Requirement

Abstract 1

Name: Lauren Matthews, Elementary School Counselor

Unit Title: Identifying Career Clusters

Subject Area: Guidance Lesson Grade Level: 3rd

PA Academic Standards Addressed: 1.1 Career Awareness and Preparation

● 13.1.3. D - Identify the range of jobs available in the community

Content ASCA Standards Addressed:

● PS:A1.9 Demonstrate cooperative behavior in groups ● C:B1.4 Know the various ways in which occupations can be classified ● C:B1.7 Describe traditional and nontraditional career choices and how they relate to

career choice

Activity: 1. Group students randomly (either through technology or classroom accessories)

a. Students will be assigned to four different groups to cover the different realms of the Hospitality and Career Cluster.

2. Continue the students understanding that careers are based in career clusters with today’s cluster focusing on the Hospitality and Tourism Career Cluster.

a. Define the cluster: The hospitality and tourism industry provides accommodations, meals, and personal services for both the traveling 

public and permanent residents. The range of employment opportunities in the industry is vast.  

3. Share the following website with the students to get a better overall view all of the different career opportunities in the realms of: http://sbo.nn.k12.va.us/careerpathways/pathway_hospitality.html

B. Lodging C. Food/Beverage Management D. Travel and Tourism E. Recreation, Attractions, and Amusements

4. Each group will be assigned a cluster and together within their group, the students will use the O Net Website as their source of information. https://www.onetonline.org/find/career?c=9 Together, they will need to complete the following information on the worksheet provided. Together they put together the information in a way to present it to the class for up to a five-minute duration.

A. Powerpoint B. Poster.

5. At the end of the class period, students will present their presentations.

Names: ___________________________________________________________ Career Cluster: Career Realm:

Occupation:

Job Description:

Education Requirements:

Daily Tasks:

Technology Needed:

Wages:

Each person in your group must identify a skill/ ability that you have that would help you be successful in this job. Once the skill is identified, please give a specific example of the skill.

On a scale of 1-10 (being the lowest and 10 being the highest) rate your level of interest in this career cluster.

Project Requirement

Abstract :2

Name: Lauren Matthews, Elementary School Counselor

Unit Title: Entrepreneurship

Subject Area: Guidance Lesson Grade Level: 3rd

PA Academic Standards Addressed: 13.4 Entrepreneurship

● 13.4.3.A -Define Entrepreneurship ● 13.4.3.B - Describe the character traits of successful entrepreneurs, such as, but not

limited to: ○ Adapability ○ Creative Thinking ○ Leadership

● 13.4.3.C - Describe age-appropriate entrepreneurial opportunities, such as but not limited to:

○ Bake Sale ○ Crafts ○ Lemonade Stand ○ Pet Care

Content ASCA Standards Addressed:

● C:A1.2 – Learn about a variety of traditional and non-traditional occupations ● C:C1.2 Explain how work can help to achieve personal success and satisfaction

Activity: Milton Hershey

Questions to be answered by the end:

· What is an entrepreneur?

· Who was Milton S. Hershey?

· What was one of Milton S. Hershey’s many careers/jobs?

Procedure:

· Explain to the class that we are going to be discussing a particular kind of career today called Entrepreneurship. Define the word:

● An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures. (Investopedia.com)

· Make a web of businesses student may know that fall into this cateogory.

· Today we are going to focus on someone very special to our local area. We are going to talk about his famous career with chocolate and all of the other things he did to help others. Discuss how your interests can correlate to a career choice.

· Who am I talking about? (Give the class time to respond) - Milton Hershey

· Have the students watch the two videos:

o On Milton S. Hershey’s Life

§ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxYRhgRF_lo

o Milton S. Hershey’s School

§ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fm5U0h1mg8

· After each video summarize what you saw.

o Buinessnes? (Chocolate facotry, etc.)

● Characteristics they noticed about Milton Hershey that helped him be successful:

○ Leadership ○ Positive Attitude (even though he failed, he tried again) ○ Risk - Taking - trying new products - expanding ○ Creative Thinking

● Explain to the class, they too even at this age, can become an entrepreneur. Have them come up with examples of “business” they can develop, own, and operate event at the age of eight.

○ Bake Sale ○ Garage Sale ○ Friendship Bracelet Sales

Have students make a copy of the following Google Form. Have them answer the questions pertaining ot the lesson, and save it to their Career Portfolio. This will serve as a piece of evidence.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOuS3L8CFUkxbtn9E0YJgIS0rcr1egjz_6h11fsYLS9fK7HA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Challenge Question: Which of the career clusters that have been discussed does Hershey fall into? Answer: Hospitality and Tourism