Hi, I am Ilse, 23 years old and currently living in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht with my parents and brother. That is about to change, because in January my boyfriend and I bought a house, also in Hendrik Ido Ambacht. We have been renovating for about 5/6 months now, which takes a lot of time and energy, but is also a lot of fun to do together. In my spare time I like to go out with friends to discover nice cities in the Netherlands. I love terraces in the sun, festivals with good music and fun and recently I discovered cycling.

During my education ‘'Horeca Ondernemer Manager’' at De Rooi Pannen in Breda I did an internship for a year, divided over two companies. The first semester I went to Italy, where I worked behind the reception desk at a glamping resort. Then I did an internship behind the front office at Hotel New York in Rotterdam. I had already visited the hotel through school and the atmosphere immediately appealed to me. Moreover, I had heard many good stories about it, so I was very happy that I could do an internship there!

After my internship, I was given the opportunity to continue working full-time, which I immediately took. I have now been working there for three years and time has really flown by. Shortly after my internship, I started the apprenticeship course to be able to supervise interns myself. Slowly I was given more and more responsibilities, which eventually led to the position of First Assistant Front Office. I have since advanced to Shift Leader and, together with the Duty Manager, am responsible for the front office.

'‘We have a super fun team and it often feels like one big family.’'

My workday usually starts early or ends late. In fact, I mostly run open and close shifts. I always start by going through evaluations and the mailbox so that I am well informed about what happened during the previous shift. Then I get to work preparing call lists, answering emails and preparing rooms. We also take the time to call guests in advance to go over their reservations. That's an extra piece of service that also allows us, for example, to reserve a table in the restaurant right away. Meanwhile, the phone is ringing off the hook almost constantly, so answering it is also part of the job.

We also check guests in and out and I often work with an intern, whom I supervise, explain and assign tasks. When things are quieter, I take on my own administrative tasks, such as checking bills and making the schedule.

What do I like most about my position?

What I like most about my job is that I have a leadership role, but at the same time I'm really part of the team. I just stand on the floor and work with everyone else, so I really am one of them. Hopefully I can inspire and motivate colleagues to do their best. We have a super fun team and it often feels like one big family. No day is the same. Really every shift brings something new. Even after three years I am still learning a lot and I get plenty of opportunities to develop myself further within my job. That makes the work extra fun and challenging!

What is most important to you in a job?

What I find most important about a job is 100% the colleagues. Your work can be so much fun, but if you don't have nice people around you, it's still less fun. I also like the fact that no two days are the same. If I had to do exactly the same thing every day, I would quickly become bored. It's the variety and sociability that make me enjoy going to work every day!

Because I have not been in my current position for very long, I am busy developing myself. I take various courses and trainings offered through WestCord. I am also learning a lot from my duty manager. I am now mainly working to raise the level of hospitality at the reception even further and to feel more confident in how I approach things. Step by step I am growing more and more in my role.

What do you want to develop further in the near future?

I can't really list one highlight, but there are actually several. The moment I got my new position, I was really super happy of course. I was proud of that. The staff parties at WestCord are also real highlights! Always mega cozy, great and fun to see colleagues from other hotels and party together. Another moment that has always stayed with me was during my internship. There was an American couple staying at the hotel for a few days. On the day of their check-out, I was free, but they had specially left a handwritten letter with a colleague to give to me. In it they wrote how nicely they were helped and that they would definitely remember my name for next time. Really super cute!

How would my colleagues describe me?

I asked several colleagues from different departments, how they would describe me. Most called me a cheerful person, (almost 😉 ) always with a smile. I was also described as empathetic so someone who really thinks with others and helpful/careful. In addition, spontaneous and energetic also came up several times. Super nice to hear!