Seeing as this is my last week at the Greater Phoenix CVB and that I am graduating this month, I need to figure out what my next step is because I am an international student and so am only eligible to stay in the U.S. until the end of August and then I will need to leave the country! The only way I will be able to legally stay in the U.S. is to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT).
OPT is a benefit from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, allowing international students in F-1 status to gain off-campus work experience in their field of study before or after completion of studies for a maximum of 12 months. What this allows me to do is find a job or an internship in the tourism industry and stay in Arizona for another 12 months. I have already taken steps to apply so I’m just hoping that my application gets approved! If you would like to know more information about this benefit, click on this link:
http://www.asu.edu/international/opt.html
Truly, what I would like to do is continue to work at the CVB or a similar type organization because I believe that it is a great place to network and kick-start a successful career in the tourism and travel industry. Other than that I would not overrule a chance to go to grad school at ASU but as of right now, I have had a taste of the working world and that has made me eager to get started in the industry, start making some money, and more importantly, be more involved in our community and contribute to its booming development.
Congrats ASU Grad Class of 2009!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Site Visit and New Member letters
Hey everybody!
Hope your final reports are coming along nicely and that you are all as excited about graduation as I am! I went to Hayden library yesterday for the first time this semester and I was kind of sad that it was probably my last time at that library, where I spent many countless hours studying for classes throughout my college years.
Anyway today has been interesting. We started off the day with our weekly department meeting at 10 am and our director Kimberly, who just got back from Europe, briefed us on her sales mission and progress in the European market, which has fallen a little bit since last year. She said that every person she spoke to could not get enough of Phoenix and that they were planning to visit sometime soon and so need our help to create itineraries for them in order to better experience our destination. After our meeting, I was given a list of our newest members and I prepared and sent out new member letters to thank them for joining us and making sure that they are aware of our services.
Right before lunch, we were invited to go see a newly renovated wellness facility that offers yoga, massages, and other therapy related programs. Located on the SW corner of 2nd Street and Garfield (1 block South of Roosevelt) in Downtown Phoenix, “Just Breathe: a wellness sanctuary” is an eco-friendly wellness facility with 6 zen-like massage rooms, a fitness center, and other rooms where they host Yoga and Pilates classes. Whether you are looking for a specialty massage to relax or a yoga session to get in touch with your inner self, “Just Breathe” is a great place to just get away form everyday stress and just relax. For more information, check out http://www.justbreathewellness.com/!
Hope your final reports are coming along nicely and that you are all as excited about graduation as I am! I went to Hayden library yesterday for the first time this semester and I was kind of sad that it was probably my last time at that library, where I spent many countless hours studying for classes throughout my college years.
Anyway today has been interesting. We started off the day with our weekly department meeting at 10 am and our director Kimberly, who just got back from Europe, briefed us on her sales mission and progress in the European market, which has fallen a little bit since last year. She said that every person she spoke to could not get enough of Phoenix and that they were planning to visit sometime soon and so need our help to create itineraries for them in order to better experience our destination. After our meeting, I was given a list of our newest members and I prepared and sent out new member letters to thank them for joining us and making sure that they are aware of our services.
Right before lunch, we were invited to go see a newly renovated wellness facility that offers yoga, massages, and other therapy related programs. Located on the SW corner of 2nd Street and Garfield (1 block South of Roosevelt) in Downtown Phoenix, “Just Breathe: a wellness sanctuary” is an eco-friendly wellness facility with 6 zen-like massage rooms, a fitness center, and other rooms where they host Yoga and Pilates classes. Whether you are looking for a specialty massage to relax or a yoga session to get in touch with your inner self, “Just Breathe” is a great place to just get away form everyday stress and just relax. For more information, check out http://www.justbreathewellness.com/!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Last week and interviews
Hey everyone! Starting today, I have 6 days left for my internship and then its graduation time!! So exciting, I can't believe that I am so close to being done with college forever, it's actually kind of scary the more I think about it...
Anyway today I finished my last couple of interviews with some of the Greater Phoenix CVB Executives and I must say I was surprised that most of them have been in the industry for over 35 years but the funny thing is that none of them actually studied tourism in college! Our Director of Communications graduated with a bachelor in business administration, our Vice President of Visitor Marketing & Community Development graduated with a bachelor in political science, and our Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing graduated with a bachelor in music!
Although their career paths are not very similar to mine, I still learnt so much from interviewing the CVB executives because they each explained their career paths and how they got to where they are today and the recurring theme from all my interviews seemed to be networking. All the executives kept mentioning how they were able to get their jobs through networking with people in the industry and how important it is to “put yourself out there” and constantly market yourself in order to be ready for any opportunities available. Meeting people and making contacts is essential in the tourism field and it can determine the amount of success one can have in this industry.
Other great pieces of advice I collected from my interviews include:
· Following your passion
· Professionalism & Appearance
· Academic Competency
· Willingness to learn, and
· Participating in many local events, being involved with your community.
Overall, I believe that it is very beneficial and that there is much to learn from interviewing the people you work with during your internship because not only do you get to know their background and find out how they succeeded in the industry, but also they get to know you as a person, not just as the intern, and you never know, they can provide you with that opportunity you are looking or hoping for! Best of luck with your interviews!
Anyway today I finished my last couple of interviews with some of the Greater Phoenix CVB Executives and I must say I was surprised that most of them have been in the industry for over 35 years but the funny thing is that none of them actually studied tourism in college! Our Director of Communications graduated with a bachelor in business administration, our Vice President of Visitor Marketing & Community Development graduated with a bachelor in political science, and our Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing graduated with a bachelor in music!
Although their career paths are not very similar to mine, I still learnt so much from interviewing the CVB executives because they each explained their career paths and how they got to where they are today and the recurring theme from all my interviews seemed to be networking. All the executives kept mentioning how they were able to get their jobs through networking with people in the industry and how important it is to “put yourself out there” and constantly market yourself in order to be ready for any opportunities available. Meeting people and making contacts is essential in the tourism field and it can determine the amount of success one can have in this industry.
Other great pieces of advice I collected from my interviews include:
· Following your passion
· Professionalism & Appearance
· Academic Competency
· Willingness to learn, and
· Participating in many local events, being involved with your community.
Overall, I believe that it is very beneficial and that there is much to learn from interviewing the people you work with during your internship because not only do you get to know their background and find out how they succeeded in the industry, but also they get to know you as a person, not just as the intern, and you never know, they can provide you with that opportunity you are looking or hoping for! Best of luck with your interviews!
What a busy week!
So last week was a hectic one! My managers have two huge sales missions coming up in May and I was responsible for making sure that they had all their collateral ready to go!
The first sales mission is the AAA sales mission in Southern California and this one was a big one! I was responsible for stuffing, packaging, and shipping out all the collateral from the CVB and other participating properties, such as the Hyatt Regency, the Sheraton, the Westin Kierland, and other luxury properties. I made sure that all the collateral, gifts, and amenities were all sent to the hotels that my managers were staying at and at the Call Center, where they were scheduled to give a presentation about Phoenix and its participating properties to the Southern California AAA travel agents. Overall, we stuffed about 330 gift bags and I was in charge of packaging and shipping out the boxes, which all together were about 30 (It took me all day Wednesday and Thursday to do this!)
The second sales mission coming up is the annual International Pow Wow tradeshow which is the “largest generator of Visit USA travel with more than $4 billion worth of future business expected to be booked this year” (http://www.tia.org/powwow/index.html) and it is held in Miami, from May 16 – 20, 2009. Again, I was responsible for packaging and shipping out all the collateral required for the show and this time, I even helped my managers with car rental bookings, hotel reservations, and even finding and making a reservation at a restaurant where they could host their client event at!
Thankfully, I received confirmation today that all the boxes were delivered to their respective destinations and that my managers were able to get their car rentals to begin their first sales mission. It was a frantic week but a satisfactory one since everything went smoothly and successfully.
The first sales mission is the AAA sales mission in Southern California and this one was a big one! I was responsible for stuffing, packaging, and shipping out all the collateral from the CVB and other participating properties, such as the Hyatt Regency, the Sheraton, the Westin Kierland, and other luxury properties. I made sure that all the collateral, gifts, and amenities were all sent to the hotels that my managers were staying at and at the Call Center, where they were scheduled to give a presentation about Phoenix and its participating properties to the Southern California AAA travel agents. Overall, we stuffed about 330 gift bags and I was in charge of packaging and shipping out the boxes, which all together were about 30 (It took me all day Wednesday and Thursday to do this!)
The second sales mission coming up is the annual International Pow Wow tradeshow which is the “largest generator of Visit USA travel with more than $4 billion worth of future business expected to be booked this year” (http://www.tia.org/powwow/index.html) and it is held in Miami, from May 16 – 20, 2009. Again, I was responsible for packaging and shipping out all the collateral required for the show and this time, I even helped my managers with car rental bookings, hotel reservations, and even finding and making a reservation at a restaurant where they could host their client event at!
Thankfully, I received confirmation today that all the boxes were delivered to their respective destinations and that my managers were able to get their car rentals to begin their first sales mission. It was a frantic week but a satisfactory one since everything went smoothly and successfully.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Morning Presentations at the CVB
Today's morning was great!
As soon as I came into work my supervisor, Stephanie, told me that there are some people in the office today who would like to give us and the marketing department a couple of presentations about their business and discuss potential future business opportunities! So without knowing what to expect, I followed her to the boardroom where we joined some of the office staff for the following morning presentations.
The first presentation was from "Castles n Coasters", Arizona's premier amusement park. Lou Snow, the Sales and Marketing Manager, did a presentation, with the help of his assistant and other visual aids, about the park's main attractions, discounted group rates and other special events that they can offer on their property. The amusement park was recently renovated about a year ago and is located at 9445 Metro Parkway East, Phoenix, AZ 85051. Once his presentation was over, Lou thanked us all for our time and presented us with free miniature golf passes! (For more info, check out http://www.castlesncoasters.com/)
The next presentation was from the Comfort Suites in Goodyear. The Director of Sales, Annie Long, came into the boardroom with complimentary breakfast, which included doughnuts, bagels, muffins, and other breakfast specialties! I had a frosted doughnut filled with strawberry jam and it was just what I needed to kicks-start my day. As we all attacked the breakfast buffet, Annie handed all of us a few goodies from the hotel and briefly talked to us about the Comfort Suites amenities and opportunities. The property was built last year so is brand new and some of the standard amenities include free breakfast, free Internet, plasma TVs, pool & spa, and a business center. She also mentioned that they have began their summer specials of $60 a night, half off their regular price! Finally, to show us her appreciation for being there, she raffled out a free weekend at their presidential suite, which unfortunately i did not win :(
The final presentation of the morning was by Stephanie Vieira, the Catering Sales and Special Events Manager at the Wrigley Mansion. Stephanie showed us a video of the mansion and provided us with a brief history of it. She also talked about their fine restaurant Geordie's and of opportunities and rates for hosting any types of events at the mansion. Once she finished her presentation, Stephanie handed us all a couple of free drink coupons for Geordie's Restaurant & Lounge! (http://www.wrigleymansionclub.com/)
Overall, i got to say that this was probably the best morning I've had at work all semester! Not only did we enjoy a free breakfast, but we also learnt more about a few of our member properties and also received many free goodies. This was a great start to the week and I think the CVB should make this a weekly event!
As soon as I came into work my supervisor, Stephanie, told me that there are some people in the office today who would like to give us and the marketing department a couple of presentations about their business and discuss potential future business opportunities! So without knowing what to expect, I followed her to the boardroom where we joined some of the office staff for the following morning presentations.
The first presentation was from "Castles n Coasters", Arizona's premier amusement park. Lou Snow, the Sales and Marketing Manager, did a presentation, with the help of his assistant and other visual aids, about the park's main attractions, discounted group rates and other special events that they can offer on their property. The amusement park was recently renovated about a year ago and is located at 9445 Metro Parkway East, Phoenix, AZ 85051. Once his presentation was over, Lou thanked us all for our time and presented us with free miniature golf passes! (For more info, check out http://www.castlesncoasters.com/)
The next presentation was from the Comfort Suites in Goodyear. The Director of Sales, Annie Long, came into the boardroom with complimentary breakfast, which included doughnuts, bagels, muffins, and other breakfast specialties! I had a frosted doughnut filled with strawberry jam and it was just what I needed to kicks-start my day. As we all attacked the breakfast buffet, Annie handed all of us a few goodies from the hotel and briefly talked to us about the Comfort Suites amenities and opportunities. The property was built last year so is brand new and some of the standard amenities include free breakfast, free Internet, plasma TVs, pool & spa, and a business center. She also mentioned that they have began their summer specials of $60 a night, half off their regular price! Finally, to show us her appreciation for being there, she raffled out a free weekend at their presidential suite, which unfortunately i did not win :(
The final presentation of the morning was by Stephanie Vieira, the Catering Sales and Special Events Manager at the Wrigley Mansion. Stephanie showed us a video of the mansion and provided us with a brief history of it. She also talked about their fine restaurant Geordie's and of opportunities and rates for hosting any types of events at the mansion. Once she finished her presentation, Stephanie handed us all a couple of free drink coupons for Geordie's Restaurant & Lounge! (http://www.wrigleymansionclub.com/)
Overall, i got to say that this was probably the best morning I've had at work all semester! Not only did we enjoy a free breakfast, but we also learnt more about a few of our member properties and also received many free goodies. This was a great start to the week and I think the CVB should make this a weekly event!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
ATA's Annual Arizona Unity Dinner
Last week, on Wednesday, April 15, the Arizona Tourism Alliance hosted their 5th annual Arizona Tourism Unity Dinner at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix. The event was scheduled from 5:30-9 pm and many employees of the Greater Phoenix CVB volunteered to help out at the event, including me, and so I went to the Biltmore around 2 pm with my supervisor, Stephanie, in order to help set up the tables, auction, and registration.
The Unity Dinner is an opportunity for leaders from business, government, and the community to join in celebrating tourism and honor the contributions of extraordinary Arizonans for their leadership and support of the tourism industry. This year, the Dinner honored the following three automotive legends as 2009 Tourism Advocates of the Year:
- Bob Bondurant of the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving
- Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, and
- Bryan Sperber of the Phoenix International Raceway
The Unity Dinner was held in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom, which is about 25,000 square feet of meeting space (biggest ballroom in the Biltmore), and the event included a dinner and silent auction. The silent auction was basically a large table that had all kinds of luxurious packages listed and described on paper that everyone at the event was able to sign and bid on, and by the end of the night, the highest offer/bid won. I was helping out mainly with registration so everyone who came in would come to our table and check in to find out what table they were supposed to be joining. There were so many people! There was roughly between 400-500 people at the event and everyone seemed to know each other. Free champagne was flowing all night too so by the end of the night, people were being loud and seemed to really enjoy themselves.
The presentation and dinner went great! The theme was racing cars, since the people that were being honored are huge automotive players, and they had a few racing cars parked outside the ballroom that many car enthusiasts took pictures with and admired. The dinner itself was delicious! They served us a three course meal with salad, steak, and desert and wine was free so I helped myself to a couple glasses of red wine :)
The event ended around 9 pm but everyone I was with from the CVB still wanted to drink and party so we headed to Wrights, a trendy bar in the Biltmore Lounge. It was awesome to hang out and get to know many of the CVB's vice presidents and other executives. We had a few more drinks and we're really enjoying ourselves and the best part of it all was when Steve, our CEO, told us that we were all allowed to come in late for work the next morning in order get some rest from the evening's festivities.
Overall , the AZ unity dinner was very successful and everything went extremely smooth. Even though I helped set up the event and checked people in most of the night, I still enjoyed myself tremendously and I look forward to being at this event next year! For more information about the ATA and its mission, visit http://www.aztourismalliance.org/index.htm
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Action Plan
After meeting with Ms. Owen for my midterm site visit, I have further developed a few of my goals and have recognized some of my strengths and weaknesses that I must address in order to achieve these set goals. These goals include:
1. Networking is a very important tool for success in the Tourism Industry. I have realized that the best way to do this is to follow up with the people I meet; this is the only way to stand out in my opinion. I think that by sending them an e-mail or an “it was a pleasure meeting you” letter, it gives me the opportunity to show them that I care about them primarily as a person and that I am very interested in what they do in the industry. I believe that taking this initiative does not only give me a positive image but it also lets them know that I am actively seeking for job opportunities and that I am serious about succeeding in this industry.
2. Interviewing some of the department heads at the CVB is another goal of mine because it will allow me to get to know some of the “more” important people in the office, who could offer me advice on how they achieved their success and any other tips that could be useful along the road. In addition, it will also give them the opportunity to get to know me a little better as a person, rather than just the TIS Intern, and you never know, if an opportunity arises in their department, they could offer me the job – It really is all about who you know.
3. In order to secure a job post internship, I believe that I must first update my resume and second, request for some reference letters from well-known and respected figures at the CVB who know a lot of people in the industry and could put your name out there. I believe that all this too can be backed up by positive attitude and appearance, which are integral parts for continuously marketing yourself
In conclusion, my action plan calls for certain goals, specifically networking, interviews, and securing a job post internship. I believe that by addressing my strengths and weakness, it will allow me to reach my goals, particularly networking, because I feel that this is the primary goal for anyone who is trying to be a successful professional in any industry they wish to do well in. My new found motto is always be positive and always take the initiative, sooner or later, you will be noticed!
1. Networking is a very important tool for success in the Tourism Industry. I have realized that the best way to do this is to follow up with the people I meet; this is the only way to stand out in my opinion. I think that by sending them an e-mail or an “it was a pleasure meeting you” letter, it gives me the opportunity to show them that I care about them primarily as a person and that I am very interested in what they do in the industry. I believe that taking this initiative does not only give me a positive image but it also lets them know that I am actively seeking for job opportunities and that I am serious about succeeding in this industry.
2. Interviewing some of the department heads at the CVB is another goal of mine because it will allow me to get to know some of the “more” important people in the office, who could offer me advice on how they achieved their success and any other tips that could be useful along the road. In addition, it will also give them the opportunity to get to know me a little better as a person, rather than just the TIS Intern, and you never know, if an opportunity arises in their department, they could offer me the job – It really is all about who you know.
3. In order to secure a job post internship, I believe that I must first update my resume and second, request for some reference letters from well-known and respected figures at the CVB who know a lot of people in the industry and could put your name out there. I believe that all this too can be backed up by positive attitude and appearance, which are integral parts for continuously marketing yourself
In conclusion, my action plan calls for certain goals, specifically networking, interviews, and securing a job post internship. I believe that by addressing my strengths and weakness, it will allow me to reach my goals, particularly networking, because I feel that this is the primary goal for anyone who is trying to be a successful professional in any industry they wish to do well in. My new found motto is always be positive and always take the initiative, sooner or later, you will be noticed!
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