I’m a Leadership Development Program participant with the Fairmont Royal York. This is a supervisory position that rotates throughout the hotel in the rooms division, in front office, housekeeping and guest services. As a Royal Service provider, I supervise a team in the switchboard department.
I went to Centennial College for hospitality management – hotel and resort.
School was very hands-on. A lot of the faculty were industry professionals who’d worked as director of front office, director of housekeeping, general manager – individuals from whom I could get advice, guidance and mentorship about where I wanted to go.
In our restaurant management course, we had a mock restaurant on campus where we’d serve people. You could be front or back of the house, so you’d get to see the full scope of what it takes to run a restaurant. All my chopping and cooking skills came from that. It opened my eyes to that world. Though I don’t do that any more, it was fun interacting with the culinary side and made me appreciate the daily hard work that goes into those jobs. The program also opened my eyes to property management as a career path – not just at hotels but anywhere from shopping centres to retirement homes.
I grew up in a strong, tight-knit community. My closest friends lived 10 minutes away, so friends and family is what I’m all about. That really translates well into what I do now.
I like working with people and also do a lot of volunteer work. What better way to work with people on a daily basis than at a hotel? I’ve found the most fulfilling career path for me. The Royal York is the biggest hotel in the city and has tons of groups and different people coming through, so it’s a great opportunity to meet people, network and grow.
My favourite experiences on the job involve seeing the different types of groups in the house. We had Fan Expo in the hotel, so we saw people dressed up and heard about a lot of celebrities – that whole buzz is great.
The difficult part is maintaining relationships. You’re going to run into a lot of difficult individuals, be they guests or co-workers. Never take it personally and never take it home. School prepared me for that. You run into tough situations and you have to learn how to handle it. Knowing how to handle and speak to people in a polite way goes a long way to making sure your day runs smoothly.
There’s a fair number of jobs out there. Not all are full-time, but if you do a good job, companies will take you on after working part-time. The hotel industry has peaks and valleys there are dead times. At Fairmont, there are relocation opportunities, not just in Canada, but abroad as well. When I’m done my leadership program, the next step is relocating and working at another property.
I’m certainly looking at working abroad as the next step in my journey.
