Students studying Travel and Tourism at Bridgwater College welcomed Rob Holmes, General Manager for The Holiday Inn Express, Taunton, to hear about his career to date.
Rob joined Holiday Inn Express in 2002 and since then the hotel has gone from strength to strength. With tough competition from Travelodge, Premier Inn and their own Holiday Inn the Express Hotel has consistently performed strongly alongside its competitors.
After leaving education in 1996 Rob began employment with McDonalds working at various sites across the UK finishing in 2002 as Floor Manager. Working at McDonalds taught Rob a number of different skills but above all the importance of customer service. Rob took this forward into his positon at The Holiday Inn Express Taunton something he is extremely proud of and which he instils in his staff.
Rob spoke to the Level 3, year 2, Travel and Tourism students about the industry and life working in a hotel. This gave the students a flavour of what they should expect should they decided to choose it as a career. Rob spoke about the positives which go alongside a career in the industry one of which would be having the opportunity to visit a variety of different countries.
Rob was extremely open about the industry which was great for our students as it allowed them to understand all aspects of what they should expect. Rob also showed how the hotel monitor and respond to guest feedback and how sites such as TripAdvisor filter their comments to Rob and his staff.
Abbie Brogden Work Placement Coordinator for Business, Management and Computing said,
“I would really like to thank Rob for giving up his time to speak to the students. Rob was a fabulous speaker and our students could really relate to him and his laid back approach making the presentation extremely enjoyable. His knowledge of the industry allowed the students to understand what they should expect if they choose a career in the hotel industry”
If you would like more information about studying Travel and Tourism at Bridgwater College please contact our Information and Guidance team on 01278 441234.
