Fritz Knoebel News 2021

Knoebel NEWS

Remembering Joy Burns

2

Developing Student Talent

4

What’s New with Knoebel 14 2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

1

Joy Burns

A Reminiscence

By David L. Corsun, PhD Director and Associate professor

2

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

I

n lieu of my usual From the Director column, I must remember Joy Burns who, as many if not all of you reading this column already know, passed away on July 17, 2020, at 92. Joy was memorialized in a message from DU Chancellor Jeremy Haefner*, which details her impact on DU and Denver.

Joy’s dedication to Denver’s hospitality industry and to the Fritz Knoebel School were profound. It is important that we honor Joy by sharing more about these contributions here in Fritz Knoebel News, and, in so doing, share some history that helps explain the School’s trajectory over the past 25 years. We owe so much to Joy.

Management (HRTM) was struggling.

The School was housed in Columbine Hall, which was an awkward building at best and enrollment had dwindled to fewer than 90 students across the four classes. Joy and Dan recognized that HRTM faced a pivotal moment; either the School needed a significant commitment from the University to elevate it back to its former status as one of the top programs in the country or it would be shut down. Committing to

Hospitality in Denver

Joy owned and oversaw the operation of The Burnsley Hotel on Grant Street in Denver from 1969 until its sale and subsequent redevelopment at the end of 2012.

As a result of her engagement with Denver’s hospitality community, and because she was a major proponent of Denver’s development and growth, Joy was a long-time board member of the Metro Denver Visitor & Convention Bureau, now Visit Denver, including serving as board chair. In this role, she was instrumental in the expansion of the Colorado Convention Center, helping to fuel Denver’s development as one of the top destinations for meetings and conventions in the U.S. Joy also served the state and city as a member of the Metropolitan Football Stadium Board, which oversaw the development and construction of what is now Empower Field at Mile High.

The Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management

As a member of DU’s Board of Trustees beginning in 1981, Joy helped steer the University through some of its darkest times. Joy became chair of the board in 1990 as Dan Ritchie became DU’s 16th chancellor. At the time, the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism

the program meant constructing a new building designed around hospitality and hospitality education. Thankfully, Joy was an unbelievably strong advocate for hospitality. She knew the School was important to DU and could be once again to the industry—in Denver and beyond.

To fully appreciate Joy’s impact on the school, I have to share some back story.

Peter Rainsford was hired away from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration to become the School’s director in 1995. Peter’s mandate was two-fold: he was to elevate the School’s academic and industry profile and lead a team of DU community members, alumni and friends in developing a new building for the School. Joy became Peter’s advocate and close friend; this special friendship spanned decades. My

own relationship with Joy was very much influenced by Peter, who was my first professor as an undergraduate student at Cornell in the fall of 1978 and left for DU when I was a doctoral student at Cornell.

Joy, Peter and Dan planned the new building, the Joy Burns Center, raised the money to fund it and several endowments to support the School, and in 2004 broke ground on the project. During this time, Joy led an effort to secure a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to name and endow what is now the Barron Hilton Professor of Lodging Management, a position currently held by H.G. Parsa.

When I came to DU as the School’s director in July 2007, the Joy Burns Center was nearly brand new. Lunch with Joy was one of my first meetings after arriving on campus. It was the first of our semi-regular meetings and phone calls, during which I kept her directly in the loop about the School. Her interest in Fritz Knoebel never waned and her support of the School and of me were consistent and strong. Joy was a fervent leader and always made clear what she was thinking and where I stood. She was a very straight shooter, which I so appreciated. Joy set a high bar in terms of my performance during that first lunch and I always strove to clear it.

I am so grateful for Joy—for her wisdom, commitment, toughness and support; for her love of hospitality, the Fritz Knoebel School, DU and Denver. I am fortunate to continue to lead an amazing faculty and staff team and to work with a fabulous Executive Advisory Board to create programmatic excellence and extraordinary student experiences for the best students in hospitality. All these things are possible, in great part, because of Joy Burns.

Thank you for everything, Joy. I will miss you so.

To read Chancellor Haefner’s memorialization of Joy Burns, please visit du.edu/news/honor-our-beloved-joy-burns.

*

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

3

H

Q. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

A. I attended DU and was a student in the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management. Since graduating (in 1991), I have worked in hotels, including ones all over the world. I have been working in New York for the past five years.

Q. What made you want to go into the hospitality industry?

A. My exposure to the industry began at a young age as my father was a hotel manager.

Q. Who inspired you when you began your career?

A. My father inspired me the most. Two other individuals in the hospitality industry who inspired me were Horst Schulze (former president of Ritz Carlton) and Alan Fuerstman (founder of Montage Hotels & Resorts).

Q. What are some of the most exciting aspects of working in the

hospitality industry?

A. Making unbelievable memories for guests and helping people grow their careers.

Q. Did you always know that you wanted to work in the luxury

side of hospitality?

A. Yes, I did. It was the segment that I always worked in.

Q. What makes the Baccarat Hotel so unique?

A. It’s the only Baccarat Hotel that exists. It was started from a 250-year-old crystal company. In each piece of crystal there is a 24-karat gold red crystal.

Q. How does the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management help

prepare students for work in hospitality?

A. It provides a good foundation for the business and technical side of the industry.

4

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

H

Hermann Elger

A Developer of Student Talent

Editor’s note Hermann Elger (BSBA 1991) came from a hotel family (his father was a general manager (GM)) and has risen to the top of the field himself. After becoming a GM with Ritz Carlton, Hermann held the GM role at three iconic properties: Montage Beverly Hills, St. Regis New York and the Baccarat Hotel New York. During his time with the Baccarat he rose further in the organization, becoming managing director and chief operating officer of Baccarat Hotels, which included the 1 Hotels brand.

After these interviews were conducted, Hermann left hotel operations and development to take on a new role.

He is now president of travel, hospitality & entertainment for Sharecare, the leader in digital healthcare. The division of Sharecare he now runs was created through a partnership with Forbes Travel Guide.

Though we at Fritz Knoebel are very proud of his accomplishments, it is the relationships Hermann has struck with us and Fritz Knoebel students that engender our deepest feelings of pride and gratitude. In addition to endowing a scholarship for students with financial need, Hermann has given back to the School mightily by hiring students each of the last 10 summers into unbelievable management intern roles in his hotels. He has crafted extraordinary experiences for them that grew them personally and professionally and served as the springboard to great post-graduation opportunities in the luxury space.

Read on to meet Hermann and some of these talented, fortunate recent alumni. ‒ David

Q. Now let’s talk about internships and interns. What characteristics do you

look for in interns?

Q. How many interns do you usually hire each year?

A. I usually hire three to four. The majority of these students are from DU.

A. I look for individuals who are upperclassmen, ones who have prior internship or work experience, and are self-directed. I Q. Are there any additional events/experiences/activities in which interns want this experience to be the last step before working in a hotel.

Q. How do you structure internships for college students?

A. The interns specialize in a division. This can sometimes be loosely aligned with a project that they must complete at the internship, which can ultimately serve as an opportunity to jump into a department and gain some real-world experience.

Q. What do you hope your interns (and employees) take away from their

time at the Baccarat?

A. I hope that they gain really practical experience. I think that the New York work environment also helps the interns take away strong confidence in themselves and their careers moving forward.

participate (i.e., tours)?

A. I arrange to visit competitors (with the general managers of these hotels), and the interns are invited to attend various meetings and employee events.

Q. How do internships at the Baccarat Hotel differ from those at other hotels?

A. I try to structure internships differently for each student so that it is customizable and unique to their own experience.

Q. What are some valuable takeaway points that interns leave with after

interning with you?

A. They gain a hotel experience, learn how to run a hotel in New York City, and gain confidence going into their career.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

5

S

Sophia Burge Developing Student Talent

Q. How did your time at DU influence your views on hospitality?

A. DU set me up for my future career better than I could have ever asked for. At DU, I took advantage of every opportunity possible, and led most of the things Fritz Knoebel offered. I was able to travel, learn, volunteer, experience and lead. And this is what helped me stand out amongst my competitors and land this job I currently am in.

Q. How did you meet Hermann?

A. I met him freshman year at a career fair. I knew that I wanted to introduce myself so that I could ultimately build up to a potential internship possibility. I interviewed with him and started to build my relationship over a couple years so that there was a rapport there when I interned.

Q. Tell me about some of the opportunities Hermann provides to

the students at DU.

A. He sets up futures for the students and truly showcases the luxury in hospitality. Despite great professional accomplishments in the hospitality industry, he is also very relatable to students. He started as a doorman at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, then after a few years was able to work at a luxury hotel in Seattle, and then made the career decision to take lower jobs for the experience, and from there he worked his way up.

6

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

Q. What are some valuable teachings from Hermann?

A. His overall work experience and his work ethic is something that can be taken away as a teaching from Hermann himself. He was a mentor for me while working on the sales and marketing team.

During my internship, he provided numerous hotel tours with the general managers of those hotels that we toured. He also lives in the hotel mainly on weekdays and travels back home to his family on the weekends, which shows how dedicated he is to his work and how important it is to him as well.

Q. Tell me a little bit more about the work that you did this summer?

A. During my internship at the Baccarat Hotel I worked in the sales and marketing division. The first project that I did was helping sales leads for groups. I negotiated rates based on the number of nights that a group or people would be staying, and from that I calculated revenue that was brought in for the rate per room per night. This then helped project and negotiate group rates for the future. I also organized data into Excel to help manage corporate accounts, created a hotel overview manual to streamline training for the reservations team, assisted with public relations, created group resumes for press groups, completed site visits for travel agents and represented the hotel at the LVMH Trade Show.

Q. What was your most memorable experience from working at the Baccarat?

A. Hermann really wants to set the interns up for success. That is why we were able to go on tours at other hotel and meet with the general managers of those hotels, and had weekly intern meetings with Hermann. One cool thing that I was able to do was learn about French wine and spirits at the Baccarat Hotel.

“Hermann sets up futures for the students and truly showcases the luxury in hospitality.”

Q. What was your path in hospitality after your internship?

A. In June of 2020, I graduated virtually from DU with a BSBA in hospitality and concentration in revenue management and analytics. After working on my connections and network, I ended up finding a position at Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, managed by Montage International, in Big Sky, Montana. I worked in member services, concierge and food service for their summer season for about four months.

In September I was beyond excited to announce that I had landed a position on the pre-hotel-opening leadership team for the Montage Healdsburg (in Sonoma, California), opening fourth quarter 2020. I was the company’s 24th hire and am the sales and marketing coordinator and administrator. After finishing my last day in Montana, I moved back to California and began my first day Oct. 5, 2020, and have been loving it and learning so much.

It has been challenging opening an ultra-luxury wine property in the midst of COVID-19 and a devastating wildfire season, but this experience has taught us resiliency, flexibility and extreme teamwork. This position is providing me with an incredible experience that I am so grateful to have. The competition for this position was tough as I am a new graduate and competed against thousands of furloughed and unemployed professionals in the industry. In the past year I have had over 25 interviews and moved five times, so I am happy to finally be in one place.

Q. What does hospitality offer the world that you wouldn’t expect?

A. Hospitality offers the world memories, moments and experiences that make life worth living. Hospitality provides connections, love, culture and so much more. A hospitality career has allowed me to live and work in, and experience, so many different places and cultures, and meet some incredible people. The industry is small and I find that my network is all interconnected and has continuously helped me along the way.

Q.

What do you see in the future of hospitality and how do you plan on being a part of it?

A. When I was younger, I thought hospitality was a luxury and want but never a need. I thought working in the industry would be fun and exciting, but not necessarily fulfilling. That view has now completely changed. The world needs hospitality. I know that in my career, I can make a difference in the lives of the guests and the people I work with. I want to be a leader who practices service leadership and helps her team achieve their goals together. I want to make the industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly, especially in luxury.

The hospitality industry is one of the most diverse industries and I have loved working with J-1s, immigrants and refugees from all around the world. I want to start language and mentor programs so people from other countries working in the U.S. can move up from the lower positions they usually tend to stay in. I am passionate about the industry and know that when the virus eventually passes, the pent-up demand will make us boom again.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

7

C

Claire Caviglia Developing Student Talent

Q. When did you graduate and what was your major?

A. I majored in hospitality management and graduated in 2019.

Q. What were you involved with at the University of Denver during

your time here?

A. I was involved in Knoebel Events, National Society of Minorities for Hospitality, Pioneer Leadership Program, Her Campus DU and Delta Zeta Sorority.

Q. What is your current position and title?

A. I am currently the international operations management trainee at Swire Hotels based in Hong Kong at The Upper House.

Q. What drew you to the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management?

A. What drew me in was the personalized, practical, hands-on approach of the curriculum, the individualized attention of the staff and the uniqueness of the courses. And the wine cellar!

Q. What about Fritz helped prepare you for work after college?

A. I was able to learn about all different facets of the industry— from working at Knoebel Events, to concentrating in lodging real estate. This has given me well-rounded knowledge that I know will especially serve me in the future.

Q. What did you know about Hermann before you began working for him?

A. I knew that he had a very long, international career in luxury hospitality.

Q. How did you meet Hermann?

A. I first met him at the Knoebel Career Fair.

Q. Which hotel did you work at when you interned with Hermann?

A. I interned at the Baccarat Hotel & Residences over the summer of 2018. I was the rooms division intern and rotated through housekeeping, front desk and guest experience.

8

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

Q. What did your daily tasks look like while interning with Hermann?

A. It depended on which department I was in, but I mainly reported to the department head and worked on different projects from inventory, to uniform management, to guest experience amenities.

Q. What did you enjoy the most from your time working with Hermann?

A. The other interns and I were able to have meetings with Hermann once a week to discuss our growth as well as the hospitality industry.

Q. What was the most memorable part of your internship with Hermann?

A. I remember asking for a one-on-one meeting with Hermann, seeking advice about wanting to pursue a hospitality career in Asia. He not only mentioned Swire Hotels and the possibility of working for them, but he made sure I met with them when they were in-house.

Q. How did Hermann influence your personal career?

A. Without Hermann’s knowledge, I never would have known this international opportunity existed in Hong Kong and would have never pursued Swire Hotels!

Q. What about Hermann’s work ethic can people take away and model

their own lives after?

A. Hermann has had a successful career not only because of his work ethic, but also because of his genuine kindness. His team knows that he is on their side, and the foundation of his leadership stems from his humbleness, humility and interest in the human condition.

Q. Do you keep in contact with Hermann?

A. Yes! This past October, he stayed at Swire Hotels’ sister property, The Middle House in Shanghai, when I was there on taskforce, and we were able to catch up. We spent a couple hours exploring a local market together.

N

Natasha Crawford Developing Student Talent

Q. Where do you currently work?

A. I work for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants as the hotel openings and transitions manager for our new properties in North and South America. I specialize in building the preopening budgets and oversee all hotel operating supplies and equipment (OS&E) procurement.

Q. What did you know about Hermann prior to meeting him?

A. I knew that he was an accomplished alum of the University of Denver, and I was able to make an introduction to him during one of the career fairs.

Q. How did you meet Hermann?

A. While I was a housekeeping extern at the St. Regis my freshman year, I had the opportunity to meet and work with Hermann.

Q. What did you do during your role as an extern at the St. Regis?

A. I spent my freshman year spring break as a housekeeping extern at the St. Regis New York. The program exposed me to all operational aspects of the department—I shadowed room attendants, butlers, housekeeping managers and the director of housekeeping. This was where I had the opportunity to first meet and sit down with Hermann. I also completed an Excel-based project where I identified operating expenses with opportunity for restructure in an effort to save on costs.

Q. What is the most memorable part from your work with Hermann?

A. I learned so much from him and he helped me become an accomplished intern, which ultimately helped me get a job.

Q. What are some valuable teachings from Hermann?

A. Hermann is a humble and soft-spoken individual, who is also able to command the attention in a room. He provides such a great amount of trust and responsibility to his interns. I think that his demeanor and work ethic are things that people who intern with him can take away and mimic in their own work post-graduation.

Q. Tell me about some of the opportunities that Hermann provides to the

students at DU.

A. He offers amazing internships and is extremely well known in the hospitality industry. If you work with him, you will be able to get a job anywhere because people know that he is so knowledgeable and good at what he does.

Q. How did Fritz prepare you for work in your current role?

A. My experience at Fritz equipped me with both industry-specific knowledge through the curriculum and practical skills by means of the required internship programs. Both aspects of the program were equally critical in preparing me for my current role.

As I reflect back on those four years, I am very grateful for each and every opportunity and know they would not have been possible had I not selected the major or this particular hospitality school. Looking back, I realize how much I was pushed to learn multiple sectors of the industry and grow both personally and professionally—I use and build on these lessons every day.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

9

M

Michelle Litton Developing Student Talent

Q. Where are you from?

A. Long Island, New York.

Q. What was your major at the University of Denver?

A. My major was in hospitality management with a focus in revenue management, and I also received a minor in statistics. I graduated in 2018.

Q.

What were you involved with at the University of Denver during your time here?

A. I was involved in Club Ski and I was also a part of Chabad when I was here.

Q. Where do you work?

A. I previously worked for the Four Seasons MIT Program at Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where I was an assistant rooms operations manager. I recently resigned and will be going back to work for the Baccarat group. It will be at the SH group for the Baccarat and I will be a CRM analyst.

Q. What drew you to the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management?

A. I honestly got very lucky and chose a university with a good business program. After I was accepted into Daniels, I chose to major in hospitality because I thought that I would excel in the field. Overall, I really enjoyed it a lot.

Q. Did Fritz help prepare you for work after college?

A. Yes, it totally did! Fritz helped me get or at least be introduced to all of the jobs that I have had, including the Four Seasons job, which I got through Fritz!

10

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

Q. What is unique about Fritz that other schools do not have?

A. The career fairs. They care about their students and make sure that they are set up for success in their future. I liked how involved David is with the students. The classes are great and very applicable to the jobs.

Q. What

did you know about Hermann before you began working for him?

A. I only knew that he was the general manager of the Baccarat Hotel, though I later found out that he was the COO. I then was informed that he was also a University of Denver alum and an excellent person to work for. After asking about him, I found out that he had started his career as a doorman at a hotel in Denver after graduating.

Q. How did you meet Hermann?

A. I met him through the career fair that was put on by the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management. My parents were obsessed with the Baccarat Hotel and had been telling me that I should try to intern at it. I then decided to introduce myself and spoke to him at the career fair and later ended up interviewing with him.

Q. When did you work for Hermann?

A. I worked for him during the summer of 2017 at the Baccarat.

Q. What was your role during your internship?

A. During my internship I worked with the sales, marketing and revenue management team.

“Despite his outstanding accomplishments, he is still very humble and truly wants to grow talent out of college.”

Q. Why is Hermann such a great person to work for?

A. Hermann is a truly wonderful person to work for. I have an example of how he was as a person during my internship: as I was sitting in on one of the morning meetings, I was listening to the conversation that a few employees were having and I remembered something that I had learned in one of my classes in relation to raising occupancy. I decided to bring it up in the discussion and Hermann took the time to stop the conversation, acknowledge what I had said, and gave recognition to me. I was applauded in front of the whole team and it was only my first week on the job. He is good to his team and genuinely cares about each member.

Q. What did you enjoy the most from your time working with Hermann?

A. I think I enjoyed the team that I worked with the most.

In addition, Hermann really instills a good team-wide morale. The overall culture of the hotel on the sales side was excellent! Hermann shared a lot of knowledge with me and he truly trusts and empowers his employees.

Q. What did your daily tasks look like while interning with Hermann?

A. Every day at the Baccarat I performed the daily morning STR report for the hotel and then did various reports that were issued to the CFO and revenue managers. During my time as an intern I had a really big project in which I created an Excel spreadsheet to determine rates for different corporate accounts. From this we then strategically positioned ourselves to get the best revenue from those accounts.

I also used Agency 360, which is a system that tells you how your comp system is doing and if you are getting a fair market share. To use this application, I had to learn it by watching tutorials and videos as no other employees knew how to use it yet. I then went through all of the data and used it in this application. This was also included as part of the big project that I completed during my time at the Baccarat.

Q. What was the most memorable part of your internship with Hermann?

A. The dynamics of the team. The Baccarat definitely wants to grow talent and people; it had only been in business for three years when I started working there. They also empower their employees to promote that growth.

Q. How did Hermann influence your personal career?

A. Hermann influenced my career a lot; I had such a great experience that I’m going back to the company. He also helped me develop professionally, made me feel more confident in what I was doing and made me realize the type of company that I wanted to work for.

Q. What

about Hermann’s work ethic can people take away and model their own lives after?

A. He works very hard and still listens to others and is extremely accomplished. Despite his outstanding accomplishments, Hermann is still very humble and truly wants to grow talent out of college.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

11

Z

Zara de Matran Developing Student Talent

Q. Where are you working these days? What have you been doing since you

left DU or your internship at the Baccarat?

Q. Where are you from?

A. Originally I’m from Napa, California.

Q. When did you work with Hermann and where did you work?

A. I worked at the Baccarat during the summer of 2019. My specific job title was rooms department intern. I am interested in hotel design and concept management, which is something that I discovered while working with Hermann.

Q. What was something interesting or engaging that you had the

opportunity to do while completing your internship?

A. The intern group had the opportunity to go on hotel tours together with the general managers of those specific hotels.

This helped show us what other hotels (competition) are doing as well, and it was nice to be able to see other hotel environments.

Q. What was unique about the internship that you completed during the

summer of 2019?

A. It was very personalized to your own experience. The internship itself was structured as a rotational experience. This meant that you also had tasks outside of your hired field to gain experience in various departments and facets of the hotel.

Q. How did working with Hermann influence what you wanted to do

post-graduation?

A. It influenced me greatly. He has so much wisdom in the pulse of the market and industry. That was so helpful for when we knew what we wanted to do—he put us in touch with employers and networked us throughout the city. His approachability allowed us to sit down with him and run career ideas by him to see if they were feasible, and that was a great influence, as well.

12

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

A. After ending my internship at the Baccarat, I went back to finish up my final year at DU and started the job search. After much consideration and advice from mentors (some from the Baccarat), I pursued my passion for design and development swaying away from the operations world of hotels and restaurants. Upon graduation, I spent the summer at home in San Francisco and wine country on the job hunt. Given the global pandemic and continued economic stress—especially to the hospitality industry—it was difficult to find the perfect job, let alone a job. In August of 2020, I received an offer from Bray Whaler, a FF&E procurement company located in Denver. Currently, I work as a project coordinator in the luxury hospitality sector, as a purchasing and procurement agent.

Q. How did your understanding of hospitality change over your time at DU? A. In the hospitality industry, we say “the guest is always right,” and “the customer comes first,” but to what point? My understanding of hospitality changed in many ways, but mainly, it made me less narrow-minded about the industry.

Hotels and restaurants are not a black and white field. I wanted—and still want to be—in the luxury hospitality sector.

That’s why I worked at the Baccarat. So I asked myself, “How can I be in the luxury hospitality industry and take all my other passions in with it?” Catering to others is not a passion, but a pleasure. Passions of mine are art, creativity and travel—all things that felt muted in the world of operations and the track I was going down.

Hospitality is in our lives no matter what you do. It’s really what you do with it that makes the difference. My philosophy goes back to selfishness: do what’s best for your career, but more importantly do not sacrifice your self-worth or happiness in the process. The beautiful world of the Baccarat allowed me to realize this. Instead of being in a hotel, how can I build one, how can I be a part of a larger ecosystem, surrounded and supported by smart and networked individuals, so eventually I can open one for myself?

A

Arden Townsend Developing Student Talent

Q. How did you meet Hermann?

A. David Corsun, director and associate professor of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, introduced me to Hermann at a career fair during the school year.

He said that working for the Baccarat Hotel would be a wonderful experience.

Q. Tell me about some of the opportunities Hermann provides to

the students at DU.

A. Hermann provides wonderful professional connections, great learning opportunities, and he is an exceptional mentor and a resource for students.

Q. What did you do during your internship?

A. I was a food and beverage intern at the Baccarat Hotel, which is not actually what my degree is in. However, we were able to cater the internship to include more analysis and numbers, which is something that I like. My major at Fritz was in lodging real estate.

Q. Are you able to describe one or two projects that you worked on while

interning with Hermann this summer?

A. My main project at Baccarat was to identify current process inefficiencies that were adding extra expenses to the hotel.

Creation of a collection system for purchase orders, a monthly par for chemicals and paper supplies, and standard operating procedures for both ordering and receiving were some of the solutions I carried out to increase efficiency of the purchasing department. I also contributed to menu costing in order to decrease our food costs.

Q. What is the most memorable takeaway from your internship?

A. That you need to be passionate about what you do.

Q. What was the one thing that Hermann stressed to his interns?

A. One thing that Hermann stressed to the interns was to stay true to your goals. If you want to work in the luxury segment, never sacrifice that for a higher position or a larger salary because you’ll be thrown off track of your goals.

Q. How did the weekly meetings help with your personal

internship experience?

A. Our weekly meetings encouraged us to explore our interests and discover what we wanted to pursue in life. Even if our current position didn’t align with our dreams, Hermann wanted us to discover what we were passionate about. Anything we had interest in, he would provide us with opportunities to explore those interests.

Q. What did your internship teach you about what you wanted to do

post-graduation?

A. I learned the importance of incorporating your passions into your position. It allows you to tailor the position to your strengths, improving your performance and increasing happiness in the workplace. With this concept, I came to the realization that I was not passionate about operations. I am more analytical and enjoy working with numbers. I was able to incorporate this into my position through the projects I worked on.

Q. How did the hospitality school help prepare you for work?

A. I feel that the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management helps set you up for success. It really helps with professional preparation, specifically with communication in the workplace and how to conduct oneself on the job.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

13

What’s New with Knoebel Food and Beverage Updates In the fall of 2020, Fritz Knoebel launched its updated Beverage Management course sequence. Instead of a onequarter Advanced Beverage class, Fritz now offers a more robust two-quarter sequence, with winter quarter dedicated to beer, spirits and sake and spring quarter dedicated to wine.

This gives students the opportunity to achieve a second Wine Spirits Education Trust (WSET) certification and engage in

an in-depth curriculum on beer, spirits and sake in addition to wine. Students now sit for the WSET Level 2 certifications in both wine and spirits between the two quarters.

The additional certification and expanded curriculum allows students to enter the job market more competitively, and creates a stronger foundation for internships, jobs and management training.

Forbes Travel Guide Luxury Service Certification Program Update

By Cheri Young, associate professor Forbes Travel Guide is the global authority on luxury travel. It rates over 2,000 hotels, restaurants and spas across 70 countries every year on the world’s most stringent standards. Forbes Travel Guide serves the most elite global brands in hospitality.

It represents a greater focus on luxury service, something that Fritz has been leaning toward over the years. With the Forbes certification program, we now have committed to luxury service being a core competency of what we do.

Forbes Travel Guide Luxury Service Certification Program consists of 13 courses that explain the principles of anticipatory service, and the procedures and behaviors used by leading luxury teams around the world, necessary for providing the highest levels of luxury and unparalleled guest experiences.

Whether the student goes into lodging operations or not, this certification indicates that the Fritz graduate understands and knows how to deliver a luxury experience. That luxury experience translates into any type of service, including food service, event planning, etc.

The program covers Forbes Travel Guide luxury standards and their application to concierge, reservation service, arrival service, departure service, housekeeping, hotel dining, bar and lounges, in-room dining, casino, and pool and beach areas.

Completion of the certification program permits learners to deliver luxury authentically and confidently given the globally recognized standards and reputation of Forbes Travel Guide.

We are a boutique hospitality education program, and we can’t be all things to all people. We do luxury really well, and this certification program provides a “seal of approval” for our students. Providing a luxury experience is challenging, as the luxury guest is a sophisticated traveler who knows what hotels can produce. Simply meeting their expectations is not enough. With luxury training and education, our students are prepared to exceed travelers’ expectations and provide a luxury experience.

This certification is recognized around the world, and thus provides a standard upon which to compare graduates and job candidates. Our Fritz Knoebel students who complete this program will have an advantage over those competing for the same jobs in that Fritz students can prove they know luxury service due to their completion of the certificate program.

14

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021

It’s terrific to have this certification program open to our students so that their knowledge, skills and abilities regarding how to create and execute a luxury experience are globally recognized.

Alumni Job Updates Nick Adolph (BSBA 2014) is a manager, account

Nicole Germain (BSBA 2017) is a financial analyst at

Koji Akabobshi (BSBA 1997) is the general manager at

Hannah Gouin (BSBA 2017) is a workplace supervisor

Alex Lomas (BSBA 2007)is the general manager at RMC

Arianna Santamaria (Lossing) (BSBA 2017) is an

management at Amazon.

the Seagate Hotel & Spa – Delray Beach, Florida.

Resorts.

Nick Phelps (BSBA 2009) is the executive advisor and owner of Cultivate Advisors.

Analisa Charles (Fisher) (BSBA 2010) is the director of recreation at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui.

Jaylyn Stoesz (BSBA 2014) is a senior data engineer at Iborra, Inc.

Jeanna Hine (BSBA 2015) is the director of revenue management for Highgate Hotels, Florida.

Celia Smith (BSBA 2015) joined Zola.com in October, 2020.

Megan Welch (BSBA 2015) is a senior associate at The Craddock Group, LLC.

Owen Barber (BSBA 2016) is a senior manager of

residences as The Residences at The St. Regis in Chicago.

Liz Surprenant (BSBA 2016) is the F&B operations manager at The Ritz Carlton in Avon, Colorado.

ARIA Resort & Casino.

at Richmond American Homes.

event coordinator and small business marketing design manager in Corpus Cristi, Texas.

Lauren Hitchner (BSBA 2018) is now the membership account manager at Exclusive Resorts.

Paige McNeil (BSBA 2018) is a tasting room manager at Attimo Wine.

Amelia Schwartz (BSBA 2018) is an associate editor at StarChefs.

Terese Specker (BSBA 2018) is a business system analyst at Optum.

Paul Zink (BSBA 2018) is a sommelier at Satellite in Santa Barbara, California.

Kelly Anderson (BSBA 2019) is a Guest Services Associate at Chalk Hill Estate Winery.

Rachel Hansen (BSBA 2019) is a sales coordinator at The Westin in Seattle, Washington.

Teresa Pomrening (BSBA 2019, MS REBE 2020) is a financial analyst at McWhinny.

2021 | FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS

15

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Denver, CO Permit No. 321 Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management 2044 E. Evans Ave. Denver, CO 80208-8921

@DANIELSATDU | #DANIELSATDU 16

FRITZ KNOEBEL NEWS | 2021