Placement Information

Our undergraduate courses provide many opportunities to gain valuable work experience – both in the UK and overseas.

Bethan Clarke completed a placement year in the USA and thinks this will be invaluable in her future career.

"I went to a suburb of Chicago called Schaumburg and worked in a brand of Marriott hotel called SpringHill Suites," said Bethany.

"The hotel had around 150 rooms so was quite small and did not have a restaurant or bar (except for the breakfast area). This suited me as I wasn’t really looking to work in the food and beverage side of hotels. I was mostly on the front desk, which was the hub of the hotel and I worked closely with my managers.

"They always empowered me to make my own decisions and try to solve problems. Throughout the year I worked as the housekeeping inspector and spent some time shadowing my managers, including in the Sales department.

"I lived with two other English interns whilst I was over there and we had a great time both in Chicago and travelling to different states when we could. I would definitely recommend taking part in a placement year abroad."

Lucy Haydock is currently undertaking a 48-week internship at Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, and is the first ever student to work on placement there.

She said: "I applied to several hotels in the area as I live in Cheshire and wanted a placement close to home.

"These included Carden Park Hotel and The Mere Golf Resort who both offered me a placement. However, I felt Peckforton Castle would be the best fit.

"I wrote directly to Michael Auld, the Hotel Manager asking him if he would be willing to take me on placement for a year, via a cover letter and including my CV.

"I had a interview with him and he was happy to do this and offered me a job as a Management trainee. I'm working through different departments in the hotel spending 3-4 months in each area. So far I've worked in the 3 rosette restaurant, the conferencing and banqueting department and I'll soon be moving onto reception.

"This placement fits with my course as it is in the hospitality sector, but also fits in with my future career plan as I aim to run my own hotel or B&B. By working in all these areas I'm gaining experience in a variety of roles helping me gain knowledge I can use in the future."

Pia Flavell's placement has given her experience across a variety of roles – something she felt was key to her development.

"I'm working for the largest hotel in the Exclusive Hotels group, Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa," said Pia. "My application process was extremely fast - I was interviewed and offered a placement position straight away.

"I'm lucky enough to be moving around the hotel and working in different departments from F&B to front of house. So far I have worked in the Spa restaurant, the 2 Michelin star restaurant and reception.

"I'll shortly be moving across to the reservations department where I’ll be taking room bookings and will see some of the amazing rooms at the hotel. I'm very happy with the work I'm doing as I'm learning a lot about different areas in the hotel, so this will help me in the future as I wish to run my own hotel.

"Pennyhill Park is a brilliant place to work as a placement student as not only am I working in the areas that they would like me to, but I can see my needs and wishes are being met with moving around the hotel and seeing more areas."