My internship experience at DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam

"Sometimes working from home helps me to focus more since I have no distractions. It is quite nice to have that change of setting and to work from my balcony when the weather is nice, with blue skies and sunshine."

Hi, I am Lydia Chelaram and I am currently doing my internship at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam. During my time here I work as Hotel Opening and Transitions Support for the EMEA (Europe, Middle-East and Africa) region. I am responsible for the efficient and effective onboarding of the assigned new and converting hotels and I will guide the hotel teams during their opening process. Let me share some of my experiences of my time at DoubleTree with you!

The best part of working at DoubleTree

It's hard to only name one thing, because it can almost be everything: the food, the games, the views!

The staff canteen is beautifully designed to create a ‘gezellige’ (Dutch for comfortable/cozy!) atmosphere. It is a great place to take a break from work, have a coffee, listen to some good music in the background and catch up with colleagues. I absolutely love the food that they offer staff, there is so much variety; yoghurt, fresh fruits, tosti’s (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches), and fresh fish like salmon or even ribs!
Sometimes work is busy and there are times when you have to multitask during work, so here I am having lunch whilst attending a Hilton webinar about mentoring!
 
After a long day of sitting at your desk, DoubleTree Hilton really makes sure you get on your feet and be active for a bit. I also think working out together with your team is a great way to bond.
In addition we also have the game room. This is where I normally play ping-pong with my colleague! It is so relaxing and really gets your mind off from work for a bit. And it is a great way to re-energize for work again after that heavy lunch!

The canteen at work cannot always fit everyone in due to the social distance rules, so when there is no space, my colleague and I enjoy our lunch in a meeting room with a very beautiful view.
I absolutely love sitting here and enjoying my lunch whilst looking outside, it almost feels like eating at a restaurant!

Orientation day 

During my second month of working at Hilton, we had our orientation day at Hilton Amsterdam. This is another hotel than where I do my internship, in the southern part of the city. During the orientation day we were introduced into the world of Hilton for our internship. It was a great opportunity to meet new people, learn about the history of Hilton and the different brands they have nowadays (such as DoubleTree!). We also had the chance to see John Lennon’s room from where he did the famoua peaceful protest with his wife Yoko Ono against the Vietnam War! 

Working from home

You must be wondering if I ever work from home during this pandemic, and I actually do. It is not compulsory but I do prefer to work from home once a week, on Fridays especially. These are usually the days when I do not have any external meetings, so I can just review the past week and prepare for the next. Sometimes working from home helps me to focus a bit more since I have no distractions, so it is usually a shorter day. It is quite nice to have that change of setting and to work from my balcony when the weather is nice, with blue skies and sunshine. But the greatest thing about working from home? That I can work in my most comfortable sweater because I only have internal meetings!

Exploring Amsterdam and surroundings

There is so much to discover in Amsterdam, I love it! During the weekends, my friends often visit me from Maastricht and we explore the city. Close to Amsterdam is the city of Zaandam, a small and colorful city just 20 minutes away by train. A couple of weeks ago we decided to visit this place and it was absolutely gorgeous and worth a visit if you're doing your internship in Amsterdam!