A group of students from Newham College will spend three days running Holiday Inn Express London – Park Royal, as part of InterContinental Hotel Group’s (IHG’s) National Hotel Takeover in partnership with People 1st. The programme is designed to encourage more young people to work in the hospitality industry.
The students will run a range of aspects across the hotel – from checking in guests at reception, to serving food and beverages, even running the housekeeping and room service.
They are all shadowed by hotel team members and have the opportunity to gain practical experience of running a busy, fully functioning hotel, to complement their classroom based training.
The initiative is part of IHG Academy. Through IHG Academy, IHG hotels (with brands including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express) collaborate with educational providers and community groups to help local people build their hospitality skills and improve their employability. Since 2013, more than 47,000 people have benefitted from the IHG Academy across 2,133 programmes in 79 countries.
Holiday Inn Express London – Park Royal, operated by the UK’s leading independent hotel management company Redefine|BDL Hotels (RBH) – is among over 30 IHG hotels across the U.K. to participate in the hotel takeover, aimed at encouraging more people to choose careers in hospitality.
Damien Le-Hoste, General Manager of Holiday Inn Express London – Park Royal said: “We’re really delighted to be participating in the hotel takeover and have every faith the students of Newham College will do a great job.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to share our decades of hospitality experience with the hoteliers of the future. I’m sure it will be a very rewarding experience for everyone involved.”
Paul Stephen, Principal and Chief Executive of Newham College said “We’re delighted that our students are getting this fantastic opportunity to be part of IHG’s National Hotel Takeover week. Newham College is focussed on giving its students the education and opportunities that launch them into successful careers and running Holiday Inn Express – Park Royal with the hotel team members will give them invaluable employability experience.”