Connections

After listening to lectures all day, I’ve oddly missed the times when we worked in the labs. It wasn’t a cvery stressful day, but it was a bit difficult to sit there all day taking notes. I wished we were playing CHESS or were learning new things with the Microsoft Office Suite. Even though I’m usually slow at keeping up when we learn about Microsoft, it was still interactive. I learned a lot about the hotel industry today.

We had lecturers talk about their personal experiences with the hotel business. The focus was always on the customers. Customers are always right. Hotelies are there to serve the customers and they don’t succeed unless the guest is satisfied. It went along with the reading I did last night. We need to treat guests how we want to be treated (Golden Rule), but we always need to treat them how THEY want to be treated (Platinum Rule). In addition to that, we need to help guests in ways they didn’t even know about (Double Platinum Rule). It means that we should be as helpful as possible to fit the known or unknown needs of a guest.

The three rules can be applied to real life as well. I could help my peers in work because I know I’d want to be helped and I’m sure they would like to be helped. Also, giving peers information they may need in the future is very helpful. It saves time and more work can get done.

In a video we watched today, the concierge of a hotel seemed to have plenty of connections. It was amazing to see how many accomplishments he was able to gain because he knew so many of the right people. For example, he was able to book a table at a full restaurant because he knew the right people. It’s almost like the ILC. We ILCers are able to talk to so many people and have such great experiences because of our connections. ILCers can have an inside look into the admissions process because there are dinners with admissions officers.

We had an information session about how to get into the Hotel School at Cornell and once again, the admissions officers mentioned using our connections. In the real world, people should take advantage of their connections because it gives them a better chance in almost anything. Knowing the right people could get you an interview and even a great job. Using connections isn’t cheating. It’s just being able to be given a better chance at something.