by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Living in a hotel for three months may seem like a long vacation, but for nine interns at the Omni Hotel, their summer vacation was a full-time job.
Six students from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. and three students from Florida State University have been living and working at the Omni since mid-May.
“This is the first group of interns that we have had at the hotel,” said Wendy Priesand, director of sales and marketing at the Omni. “The interns have been a huge bonus in re-energizing our staff.”
Each student had the opportunity to work in the area he or she would like to work in once they graduate. The students from Mercyhurst are Zack Hertel, restaurant; Brad Maxa, front desk; Caitlin Manning, sales and marketing; Meredith Weir, food and beverage; Sarah Bellomo, banquets; and Don Smith, house keeping. The students from Florida State are Tony Trombley, front desk; Tom Van Pelt, food and beverage; and D.J. Moll, front desk.
Priesand said Omni General Manager Scott Stuckey worked with Mercyhurst College with their internship program when he was with Marriott Hotels. Stuckey went to Florida State for their Career Day and again to interview the students. He interviewed 12 students over the phone from Mercyhurst and they extended offers to six.
Even though the interns were working 40 hours a week — and some more than that — there were a lot of perks to being an intern at the Omni.
“Originally we were going to help them find housing, but we found out it was going to be fairly costly,” said Stuckey. “The summer is the quietest in the hotel so we decided to have them stay here for a very small amount.”
The interns said it was similar to college, but a bit better.
“It’s like living in a dorm, but a lot nicer,” said Maxa. “You never leave work but it’s not bad.”
Trombley said housekeeping comes twice a week to clean their rooms.
“We always have clean towels,” he said.
Other perks included a membership to Gold’s Gym, dining in the cafeteria and the use of the pool except for the weekends, said Stuckey.
While the interns may have felt like they were on a vacation, the students still had a lot of responsibilities during the summer.
“The interns had a great summer learning different positions and taking educational classes in the hotel,” said Stuckey. “I was a mentor for three of them and we were able to build a good relationship that I hope will continue to grow.”
The students at Mercyhurst are required to have an internship while the Florida State kids aren’t, but most students do anyway. The students from Mercyhurst received three credits for their internship.
Every Tuesday there was a mandatory training class about different departments in the hotel including finance, accounting, sales, management and housekeeping. For one week the interns could float to different positions to learn more about the different departments in the hotel. But each intern must work a minimum of 40 hours a week in their department.
“It is a paid internship for those who fill an hourly position,” said Stuckey. “They put in some long days, but in this industry the days are long, so it was a great opportunity for them.”
The interns agreed that the summer was a very beneficial experience.
“Every day we are learning something new,” said Trombley.
Manning and Bellomo agreed that the Omni staff treats the interns like employees and they take the time to get to know each of them.
“It is a big family environment,” said Maxa. “I enjoy going to work every day.”
Priesand said from the executive team’s perspective the summer has been more successful than they had hoped.
“They (the interns) are all enthusiastic, hardworking and they bring passion to the hotel,” she said.
The interns will start to leave the hotel as early as next week. Stuckey said the hotel would consider bringing them all back to the hotel, perhaps after graduation or for another semester as an intern.