Event Management students received a bespoke tour at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, gaining valuable insight into the corporate and banqueting events sector.
Learning about the complexities involved in running events the hotel – which include weddings, conferences and parties – from Human
Resources Manager Stevie Gray and Commercial Manager Susie Clayton-Carter, the students asked questions about the broad range of events held at the Crowne Plaza, how the bookings are processed, what goes into the set up for an event and the hotel’s most profitable target market.
The students were then taken on a tour of the hotel so they could observe not only the public spaces, but the back offices, kitchens, laundry rooms and banqueting areas where all the hard work takes place behind closed doors.
Event Management student Lewis Webb, 16 from Wellesbourne, reflected on what he learnt from the visit. “We were lucky enough to experience the hotel preparing for a function first hand as they had an event taking place that evening. We’ve run events at the college as part of our course, and to see how an actual business runs complex events on a day-to-day basis was really interesting. Hopefully, we can apply some of the strategies used by Crowne Plaza at our next function.”
Event Management lecturer Marloes Graafland commented “This was a great opportunity for our students to get a real insight into the front-of-house and behind-the-scenes services that are essential to the effective running of a large hotel. Experiencing the industry first hand provides them with an invaluable reference and the skills needed to enter the professional world.”
