THE FORMER residence hall of international students has been converted into a training hotel in a bid to boost tourism and hospitality programs in the University.
Some portions of the Domus Mariae International Residence were renovated to cater to practicum subjects of the Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) and Tourism programs of UST.
“It would be considered as a laboratory venue for HRM students for their housekeeping [subject], while it accommodates special guests of the University at the same time,” College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (CTHM) Dean Ma. Cecilia Tio Cuison told the Varsitarian.
The training hotel, which was patterned after hotels abroad, is located at the second floor of the left side of the Domus Mariae. It has a front desk, a management office, a laundry room, and a glass-walled demonstration room. There are eight deluxe, superior, junior and standard suites.
The external structure of the dormitory, however, was retained.
“In any HRM program there is an in-house practicum. As of the moment, we have two coffee shops located at the Miguel de Benavides Library and Thomas Aquinas Research Complex. However, we don’t have yet the hotel laboratory,” Tio Cuison said.
The training hotel will also cater to the Travel Bureau and Basic Front Office subjects of Travel Management students.
CTHM proposed the renovation of the dormitory in 2010. Last year, international students residing in the dormitory were asked to leave before the renovation, which lasted for five months beginning January.
The three-storey building, which formerly housed the old printing press, was converted into a dormitory in 1997 to accommodate international students and foreign visitors.
It was named Domus Mariae, a Latin term for “the house of Mary,” in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I think it is time for UST to build its own hotel for the HRM and Travel Management programs. We are left behind by Lyceum and De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde in terms of facilities. The hotel laboratory would intensify the skills of the students in front office, guest relations, housekeeping, and other hotel departments. It would help the students through hands-on hotel training so that they would not be culture shocked as they enter the real thing in the hotel industry.
As one saying states, “tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll understand.”
Lectures are not enough, the students need more hands-on training, aside from their practicum, so they will fully understand the hotel operations.