Afbeelding
Sales, Sales and Sales were the top three things I wanted focus on during my internship. Where else to look than one of the most famous MICE city of Europe, Amsterdam.
After an awkward tailoring session, my suit was as ready as I was to start the job. Eager to sell the hotel to our partners I first needed to take a step back and get familiar with what I was actually selling. My first two weeks consisted of cross-trainings where I spent one or two days in different departments. It was nice to better understand the hotel and get to know my colleagues. Afterwards, it was time to do some sales, learning by taking a supportive role and slowly getting more responsibility.
Amsterdam was an interesting city to work in. Many tourists and especially the MICE market is very competitive. Not only hotels but also venues are competing for the same business groups. I started off with strongly selling the hotel brand and culture but soon realized that competitor set is offering almost the exact same product. The city has very little room for differentiation and it often simply gets down to offering the lowest rates. The city of Amsterdam has a very international environment which makes it crowded and vibrant. Having a drink on the Friday afternoon with colleagues made for many good laughs.
During my internship I learned a lot about how large-scale hotels actually operate. Though it was not as romantic as I had hoped, I am very happy with the experience. I know many people got inspired by their Amsterdam internship and I am happy that I now know for sure I will look for a career elsewhere.