Trainee Manager Review

It was a very rewarding experience. I imagined that the hotel was my own company and that my livelihood depended on the level of success I achieved. I now feel that if I do decide to set up a hospitality business in the future then I am in good stead because of this placement.

They were great. It was strange because, although they knew I was a trainee and had no previous experience, I felt like they respected me and valued my opinions.

I was allowed to focus on whatever side of the management role that I fancied. I love interaction and am quite a sociable person so I stated that I wished to be heavily involved with the customers and therefore I was asked to deal with customer feedback. Throughout the placement, my managers were very hands on in my development and were always very approachable.

It varied from day-to-day. Some days I was rushed off my feet - like this one day in winter when the heating system stopped working - and other days I had literally nothing to do.

Although I wasn't running the whole hotel I like to think that I held a position of considerable importance. In the business industry the customer is always right and their satisfaction is imperative, therefore I felt that as I was dealing with customers every day I had quite a lot of responsibility.

The experience I received was essential in helping me achieve the best degree classification I possibly could. I think that my time at the Grange Hotel helped me improve from a third class degree to a lower second.

The staff were very cheery at the hotel as we always wanted to give every customer a great experience. This helped create a nice, pleasant atmosphere around the building.

I was very satisfied with the initiation and development of the placement. I got to be involved in the management aspect of the company almost immediately and I was allowed to develop at a natural pace throughout the year.

I never had any professional training or development. The training consisted of the managers informing me of what they would do in certain situations and me taking this on board and acting upon this.

I'd bite the manager's hand off if he offered me a job at the company. Yes, the wage isn't the best. But you are allowed to do what you want while you're there.

Come the weekend, the staff turn into party animals. Every Friday night once my shift had ended, me and a few other staff members would go out for the night and have a good time.

Rent's pretty cheap in York and there's plenty to do to keep you entertained when you're not working.

There's lots of nice pubs in York if you want to have a few drinks, however if you want a proper night out with bars and clubs then I would suggest catching the train into Leeds as that is an immense night out.

If you're open to doing things that you usually wouldn't consider doing then there is lots of opportunities. For instance, I was invited to go for a night at the bingo hall. Usually I wouldn't be at all interested in bingo but I decided to make the effort and attend the event. A lot of social activities occurred which I usually would flat out reject but instead I attended them.