A Visit from Three Superheroes

There are heroes everywhere. Sometimes they're hidden in lab creating the elixir for cancer. Other times, they're out in the field stopping a fire. Today we met three heroes in charge of keeping citizens rested and happy.

The morning started off with a short discussion about our weekend project of serving the community. The questionnaire was followed by a video of the Waldorf Astoria. The clip captured the enthusiasm, endurance and pride that every employee of the hotel has for their occupation. Whether it cleaning the toilets or checking in the guests, every staff member completed the task to the best of their ability.

Everyone took a short break, trying to get back into the working mindset after the weekend. Upon our

Picture with Ilana Bobroff.

return, we were greeted by three chairs lined up in the front of the classroom. Two were stationed on either side of the desk while one was far off to the side. Mark enthusiastically jumped to the front of the class and opened the panel. Our classmate Hannah introduced her mother, Ilana Bobroff, a local hotel owner. Then, our classmate Aaron introduced Greg Mezey, an executive for the Statler Hotel, comparing him to a tiger due to his zodiac sign. He mentioned that just like a tiger, Mezey is almighty and powerful. He continued with his metaphor and the class broke into a roaring cheer at the end of his speech.

Our two panelists did an amazing job of showing us what superheros do in the real world. Ilana expressed that being franchised under Choice 

Picture of Greg Mezey. He is too popular.

Hotels restricts her from making all the decisions she would like because it goes against company standards. However, Ilana believes that her decision of adding glutton-free and kosher styled foods to the complimentary breakfast menu would do the most to benefit her customers. Ilana provides a prime example of someone straight from the Waldorf Astoria video. She is enthusiastic about her art, serving people, and she will battle the company to get there. Not only did we touch on the powers of these heroes, but we also went over some differences between the learning in the classroom versus the reality of hotel ownership. Both speakers did an amazing job of providing us insight on hotels in the real world. 

After the speeches and questionnaire, everyone went out for lunch. Upon our return we were met with great news. First, the planned quiz was taken off the agenda and our guest speaker had arrived. The difference this time was... He was on camera!

Our class joined Bob LaFleur in a discussion about economics. The conversation was difficult to follow. Nevertheless, we realized that there's a lot more than enthusiasm and charisma that comes with hotel operations. 

Finally, the interviews were over. We spent the rest of the evening touching up on hotel mathematics and preparing for the upcoming final assignment.

Today, our class had the honor of meeting three great individuals in the hotel field. On top of serving their guests, they took the time to visit our classroom and educated us or serve their community. Now that’s a real hero.