Tourism: Case studies

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Andrea, front office manager

I studied hotel and catering management at the University of Surrey. I did a placement year as part of my degree and spent this at the Mayfair InterContinental Hotel in London (now owned by Radisson Edwardian). I spent the year working on reception as a day & night receptionist.

I then finished my placement year and continued to work part time in the guest relations department at the Mayfair InterContinental whilst finishing my studies. When I graduated in 2003, I joined the team at the Mayfair InterContinental and worked as a reception supervisor, before getting promoted to night relief manager.

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I then left to work at the Crowne Plaza - The City as part of the hotel opening team. I worked there for six months and was then transferred to Crowne Plaza Heathrow, as guest relations manager. There I was responsible for a team of 16 looking after the club lounge, porters and guest relations officers.

In March 2006 I was promoted to assistant front office manager, meaning I looked after all of the areas above plus switchboard staff.

Then, in September 2006, I got promoted to front office manager, which is my current role. I have a team of 48 and look after all areas of front office staff, including reception, porters, switchboard, guest relations, club lounge, duty managers and night audit.

Generally speaking the hotel looks for people who have some kind of customer service experience for jobs in our front of house areas. The roles here have good prospects though, with lots of opportunities not just in this country, but also abroad, as there is the possibility of transferring overseas if the right job comes along.

Jane, recruitment and HR benefits administrator

I joined the Marks and Spencer Graduate Training Scheme on leaving university, moving around the country in various roles until I left them to join the International Stock Exchange as a senior personnel executive. I then took some time out and came to Cosmos on a temporary contract initially but that was 8 years ago and I’m still here.

Cosmos is one of the largest independent tour operators in the UK, and I work there as a recruitment and HR administrator. It’s a good place to work if you’ve studied for a tourism or business related degree and are commercially minded.

I was provided with job related training to ensure my continual development, and it also gave an opportunity to utilise my academic learning in a commercial workplace.

There are plenty of opportunities for progression within the company. We have an intranet on which all our vacancies are advertised and which any member of staff can apply for once they have been confirmed permanent. Within certain areas there is a specific career structure in place.

Most of our positions are based at our head office in Bromley, although some roles are combined with our sister company Monarch, based at Luton. Within certain roles there is the opportunity to travel overseas to sample the product first hand and our sales team works nationally.