Luke Sauceda

Responsibilities

My internship was at the Front Desk of the Gaylord Texan Hotel, which is an 1814 Room convention and resort property. My main responsibilities were as a front desk agent, checking guests in and out, providing guests with needed amenities, and answering questions about the property. There is more to the front desk than just checking people in and out though the role often requires quick thinking and problem-solving skills as almost every day, a guest will ask something you are unsure of the answer to or give a request, and you'll try your best to fulfill. Being able to come up with good solutions quickly was satisfying and also improved the guest experience. Overall, I was the face of the hotel to guests. I was responsible for providing excellent customer service during their stay at the hotel.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during my internship experience was that I received employee of the month for June while I was there. I received it for always having good service with a good attitude, a calm demeanor, and being happy to stay late when the team needed it.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned was about customer service; in previous roles, I was more of a Back-of-house employee and rarely interacted with customers. Now being at the front desk was essentially a crash course on interacting with guests, which provided some of the best experiences in problem-solving and thinking on my feet I could have gotten regarding directly interacting with guests and customers.

What advice would you give?

My advice for future students in my major is to be willing to branch out and see new places. Having an internship in a new place and living somewhere new can expand your perspective while also giving connections in a new place. With those connections, you can have a foot in the door after graduation to move to that city for a position there, which is invaluable.