Young Crew Checks In, Checks Out Hotel Jobs

It wasn’t a typical orientation tour for newly hired employees.

Brand-new bellboys and housekeepers don’t normally squeal with laughter while riding 17 floors on the hotel elevator. Novice waiters and managers don’t usually break into a run to test the water in the third-floor hot tub.

But then, the Hyatt Regency Alicante’s typical new hires were rarely 10- and 11-year-old fifth-graders from Clinton-Mendenhall Elementary School.

Twelve students from the Garden Grove school were invited to the hotel Tuesday to participate in the chain’s seventh annual Camp Hyatt Career Day. Students were assigned various jobs in the hotel and spent several hours working alongside their real-life counterparts.

“This is cool,” said 11-year-old bellboy Thomas Martin. “I told them I wanted to be a waiter, but they said I’d be a better bellboy.”

Working with real bellman Jeff Hedrick, the youngster got an up-close look at the workings of a major hotel chain and the job duties of a bellman.

“We get to see everything. . . . We get real tips [and] we get to keep them.”

Ten-year-old Moramay Ramirez was tapped to be chef for a day and donned a white double-breasted jacket and white chef’s hat.

“This is wonderful,” Moramay said. “It’s fun and exciting and I like to cook. I also like the uniform.”

With input from the hotel’s chef, Moramay spent her morning preparing pizza and cookies for the group’s lunch. “My favorite thing to cook is cookies,” Moramay said.

Linda Villalobos, director of human resources for the hotel, said the career day was created to give students insight into working in the travel and tourism industry and to give them a firsthand look at various jobs.

Ten-year-old Jason Nguyen, chosen to be general manager for the day, wore a black suit coat and white shirt to impress on the others the seriousness of his job.

“I’m sure I’ll have to make some decisions today,” the junior executive said before he took his place behind the desk.