American Hotel Academy

 

 

[0:00:00] – Felicia Forte –  Hello, today we will speak with Ada Țerea, our Academic Director. Ada, hello! 

 

[0:00:10] – Ada Țerea – Hello 

 

[0:00:12] – Felicia – We have a few questions for you. The first one is how has our school adapted the curricula to this pandemic period?  

 

[0:00:20] – Ada – We have actually adapted very well and quite fast with minimal disruption to student learning. We are a very flexible organization so we tend to adapt quickly to new situations, so we looked at this situation and saw an opportunity actually, to develop our programs further. 

 

[0:00:45] Obviously, the safety of our students and our staff has always been one of our major concerns, so we took this very seriously and literally overnight… well, over a weekend we switched everything from onsite to online and that means both teaching and evaluation, and we started working from home. 

 

[0:01:09] We brought home all our students that were placed in internships abroad, and this change was very smooth because of our constant communication and the trust we share with our students and our faculty. So both the lecturers as well as students have been having this experience of learning and evaluating online because we’ve been doing this for some of our courses already.  

 

[0:01:40] So we already had the tools necessary to switch fast and we were also fortunate that the restrictions that we’ve had started very close to the academic year’s end. 

 

[0:01:55] Felicia – We are fortunate because we have a great Academic team.  

 

[0:01:59] Ada – Yes, that’s true 🙂 

 

[0:02:01] Felicia – American Hotel Academy believes in the synergy between Academic knowledge and Practical experience. From your sources, what do you think will happen with the internships and the blended structure of our program. 

 

[0:02:18] Ada – Our programs are indeed based on this blending of Academic knowledge with practical training, and as we believe this is the best way to learn and develop especially in the hospitality industry. 

 

[0:02:30] Because of this, during this period but not only, we have kept a very close communication with all our industry partners. Always looking to find temporary solutions and alternatives for these temporary situations. 

 

[0:02:49] We are all optimistic and we believe that things will bounce back and internships will be organized as soon as possible depending on the economic context, obviously. In the meantime, we’ve been working on a skills building summer program for our students where we aim at offering the students the opportunity to still gain additional skills and additional certifications through various programs and webinars that we’ll be offering them. 

 

[0:03:23] Felicia – I’m sure that the summer program will be very appealing to our students and the ones that are applying to our academies right now. What do you think about the recovery of the hotel industry after the COVID-19 period?  

 

[0:03:41] Ada – It is true that this crisis has affected entire economies and the hospitality industry is no exception, obviously. However, I believe, this is one of the oldest industries in the world and it has overcome its hare of crises and disasters throughout history. 

 

[0:04:03] So, it has shown us that it is very versatile and very resilient. We see new trends being adopted by the industry very quickly after the come out, so I’m certain that the industry will adapt to the new normal, probably with more safety precautions, more sanitation procedures. 

 

[0:04:31] Moreover, I believe hospitality is filled with passionate people. People that are used to working together, to help others. We have seen restaurants, we have seen hotels all over the world supporting people in this situation, in this crisis, so I trust that they will come back stronger out of this. 

 

[0:04:57] Moreover I also think that people like to travel. We all do that. We all take vacations and we like to discover new places and new cultures, and especially after this isolation period, I think, soon we will resume exploring.  

 

[0:05:18] Felicia – I also think so. I’m positive everybody will start traveling as soon as it will be safe and possible. The last thing that I want to ask you if you want to transmit something to those candidates passionate about the hospitality industry that applied or intend to apply to American Hotel Academy. 

 

[0:05:43] Ada – Well, I would like to tell them that we are prepared and looking forward to welcoming them in the new academic year and the fact that they are already passionate about hospitality already brings them one step closer to their dream career. 

 

[0:06:04] For this dream career, this program, American Hotel Academy’s program is the best opportunity for developing it. So, my message would be to continue to believe in that dream and in that passion. Work towards and not let obstacles get in their way, continuing with the positive attitude that will certainly make them successful professionals in the hospitality industry.  

 

[0:06:36] Felicia – Thank you Ada, I am proud to have such an academic director at American Hotel Academy, stay safe and see you soon. 

 

[0:06:46] Ada – Thank you! Yes, we’ll see you soon!