by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
With a half-dozen brands and more than 700 hotels and resorts in 44 countries, Global Hyatt Corporation has already developed an extensive international presence. There are currently 200 Hyatt-brand locations outside the United States and that number will increase by 60 new operations in the next five years, said Hyatt General Manager Dan King.
Staffing that level of expansion has led the company to offer an international intern program to recruit workers from all over the world and train them at larger hotels here in the States.
The interns all have some experience in the hospitality business in their homelands, and coming to America and working at a Hyatt hotel gives them the opportunity to improve their skills. After they learn how things are done at the Hyatt, the interns can return to their home countries to work at the company’s hotels and resorts.
The newest members of what’s called “the Hyatt family” also have the opportunity to work anywhere in the world where Hyatt owns or manages a hotel or resort.
“The world is so global now and Hyatt needs a lot of people to support our growth,” said King. “Enhancing the diversity of our staffs adds a different perspective in customer service and in the guests’ experience.”
A group of more than 40 interns who were recruited in the Phillipines has been working at the Hyatt for almost a month. They will soon be joined by more trainees from Jamaica and India. The international students of hospitality are placed in several of the hotel’s departments and have training visas that allow them to work in the U.S. for as long as 18 months.
Kyle Bongulto has been training in the Hyatt’s kitchen for two weeks and is learning the art of pastries.
He said he’s having a lot of fun learning his trade, and it will give him a bright future because, “A job like this can take me all over the world.”
Human Resources Director Mary Menz said the intern program has expanded the international atmosphere at the hotel that began several years ago when Lutheran Social Services brought Croatian refugees to Jacksonville.
“We were able to offer many of them jobs here at the Hyatt and quite a few are still working here,” said Menz.
In addition to adding work force diversity throughout the hotel’s public areas, having a staff from all parts of the globe has also led to changes behind the scenes, added Menz.
“We conduct our training sessions in English, Spanish, Croatian and Farsi,” she said.
Global Hyatt is also recruiting a work force in America, and a group of freshmen from colleges in the Midwest worked at the hotel this summer as candidates for Hyatt’s Leadership Program. King said it gave the students some real-world, hands-on experience at one of the largest hotels in the company
“And it gave us the opportunity to recognize some potential managers,” he added.
King said in addition to helping grow Global Hyatt’s work force, having an intern training site at the 966-room Downtown hotel also provides a local benefit.
“We are seeing a lot of international guests lately at this hotel. Having the interns here enhances the experience for those international guests,” he said. “Our convention and group business is becoming increasingly global, and with Jacksonville’s tourism and port growing the way it is, that will only continue.”