Summer is a popular time for students in the School of Human Environmental Sciences to complete their internships. This series will spotlight student interns.
Student: Kaitlyn Engelman, Hospitality, Management & Tourism
Internship Location: Hotel Solamar- a Kimpton Hotel in San Diego, CA
What is your typical day as an intern? When I was in the sales department my typical day consisted of finding leads, following up on previous leads, inputting data in the system, figuring out group rates, reading and editing proposals and studying different reports. When I was in the front desk my typical day consisted of checking guests in and out, making sure all guests’ complaints are handled, making sure the guests have everything that they need or ask for, handling amenities for the guests and also helping the guests figure out where to go and what to do in San Diego.
What is one of the things you learned as a student that you use often as an intern? The subject I use the most is what we learned in our room’s management class. Since I am at the front desk, a lot of the things we learned in that class are very helpful when trying to handle and understand different things that happen at the front desk.
What is one piece of advice you would give to students preparing for their internship? Make sure you plan ahead when preparing for your internship. You want to make sure you start looking pretty early before everything is due so you have multiple choices and aren’t stressing out. Also, make sure you are in a place that you will really enjoy or you will be miserable working the amount of time you need to work if you are in a place you dislike.
Additional Comments: Hotel Solamar has been an amazing experience! I had never heard of the Kimpton brand before and now I’m so glad that I know all about this brand of hotels. It was rated on Forbes as the 16th best company to work for out of 100. Also, Kimpton provides the best service and has the highest guest loyalty in the industry (higher than the Ritz-Carlton and the JW Marriott) which is an enormous accomplishment. Kimpton also takes really great care of their employees. I would recommend working at this hotel or any other Kimpton hotel to anyone. There is something special about Kimpton and being there for a short time anyone can see the way Kimpton believes in taking care of all employees.