WestCord Strandhotel Seeduyn

I'm Maureen Visser, 22 years old, and I'm a Duty Manager trainee at Strandhotel Seeduyn. Before this, I was looking for an internship for my studies. My school has partnerships with various companies, including WestCord hotels. I was searching for a Duty Manager internship and saw an open position at Strandhotel Seeduyn. I applied for it, and the rest is history.

My internship involves working in different departments. I first worked in Housekeeping and then moved to F&B (Food & Beverage). In F&B, I'm responsible for breakfast two days a week, and in Housekeeping, I work as a supervisor for two days.

A day in F&B goes like this. I start around 6:30 AM with the hotel's opening round, where I open public areas like meeting rooms, laundry rooms, and the restaurant, De Brassery. Then I set up the breakfast buffet. Breakfast starts at 8:00 AM, and guests start coming in slowly. I check if the breakfast is well-stocked and if anything is needed. If so, I request warm items from the kitchen and refill cold items myself. Meanwhile, I clean empty tables and set them up again. Breakfast is usually finished by 10:00 AM on weekdays and 10:30 AM on weekends. After that, I clean up the buffet and ensure everything is restocked for the next day, so everything is tidy and clean. My day usually ends around 1:00 PM.

In Housekeeping, my day starts at 7:30 AM. First, I check all the arrivals for the day. Then I see if there are any tasks for Housekeeping, and lastly, I check all the stayovers and any additional rooms to clean. At 9:30 AM, I have a briefing with all the housekeepers. The rest of the day, I check all the rooms that have been cleaned. Once everything is clean and checked, I wait until the housekeepers finish cleaning the public areas. The day usually ends around 4:00 PM.

What I enjoy most about my role is the guest interaction during breakfast. The short conversations and ensuring guests start their day well. In Housekeeping, there isn't much guest interaction, but I enjoy the sense of responsibility, giving briefings, checking rooms, and ensuring everything is clean and tidy. The hotel room is one of the most important things in a hotel, and it needs to be good. I like that I'm partly responsible for that.

For me, enjoyment, good teamwork, and challenge are the most important aspects of my work. Without enjoyment, I don't think the work doable. It's also important to work well with colleagues, know what they can rely on me for, and what I can rely on them for. I also enjoy a challenge and like encountering them in the workplace. It makes the work enjoyable and keeps it exciting. My highlight so far is working with friendly and fun colleagues. This makes me enjoy going to work.

I want to develop more in leadership and become more confident in my tasks. Not to doubt too much but just do it.

Words from Maureen's colleagues:

We would describe Maureen as eager to learn, flexible, a hard worker with a focus on guests. Very hospitable, a social colleague, always willing to help others. Additionally, she is a hardworking, kind, and spontaneous girl. She knows what she wants.