Edouard Labat, you will be starting your third and final year of Bachelor in Tourism and Hotel Management at Vatel Mauritius next month. Can you tell us a bit about your four months long internship with Concierge Hotels?
I had an experience as concierge in a hotel before but had never worked on such an exclusive and upscale concept as Concierge Hotels. When asked by the person in charge of internships at Vatel last year what kind of internship I was looking for, I immediately said I wanted to get hands on experience in sales and marketing. As Junior Concierge at Concierge Hotels, that’s exactly what I got. The experience was very enriching. I was able to express myself and share my ideas. I met with future business partners to sell our concept.
And did you manage to sell?
I haven’t signed any contracts with potential business partners but this experience was nevertheless a great one. Especially as Concierge Hotels gave me the opportunity to work in the booking department for the past two and a half months. I worked with Mauritian clients who wanted to book hotels both in Mauritius and Rodrigues Island. This was hand on sales experience. I went from theory in the classroom to the real world, selling real products to real customers. And since Concierge Hotels’ booking is more complex than booking in a hotel itself, with loads of research to do, etc. I learnt a lot.
You mentioned the fact that you could share the ideas you had with the Concierge Hotels team. Mind sharing some of these ideas with us?
I had loads of ideas they had already thought of but I managed to come up with some new ideas too. I suggested some VIP services like the bodyguard service and also a day at the horse racing track in the lodges. I might be leaving Concierge Hotels now but I trust these services will be a huge success with our VIPs.
Enormous!
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