Originally, Cetty from Italy only wanted to stay in Munich for a year, working a while after finishing school. But Cetty stayed – in Munich and at Motel One.

Cetty started out as a service employee at the Motel One München-Deutsches Museum. There she made a good impression on the hotel manager, as she remained calm and in control even during the hectic Oktoberfest period. When Motel One advertised for participants for the first year of the dual study programme, her manager encouraged her to apply. Cetty passed the entrance exam and in autumn 2014, she was one of 23 dual students to start out in the first Motel One class.

Since then, her work in the hotel as a dual student has not only been in service; she has also been getting to know all the other departments, such as reservations, sales, front office and housekeeping. Cetty finds it important to get to know all the departments and to understand what challenges each department in the hotel deals with.

‘The time in housekeeping was difficult for me, because I’m a person who likes communicating and loves contact with the guests. But it was important to get to know that area of activity in order to understand what cleanliness really means.’ Cetty’s favourite area of work is on reception or in reservations – in departments with intensive, direct contact with the guests.

As Cetty lives in Munich, she doesn’t have far to travel to her lectures at the One Campus like some of her fellow students. The 23 dual students make up their own class and tutors from the IU come to them at the One Campus. In lessons they are taught business topics, industry knowledge as well as soft skills and languages in the bachelor programme ‘Tourism management with a focus on hotel management’.

The One Campus offers an attractive learning environment and the small group guarantees personal and intensive support. The students also help each other with their learning. ‘Last semester when we did civil law, learning together was especially helpful for me. As an Italian, understanding German legal texts was a real challenge.’
 

Of course, Cetty is also released from her work at the Motel One Munich Deutsches Museum during the lecture phases so that she can concentrate entirely on studying. Yet theory and practice are closely interlinked. For example, Cetty is able to bring her experience from Motel One into the lectures. And the content of her studies can be used directly in her everyday professional work. ‘I like that it doesn’t just stay as theory. We can put things like cost accounting into practice right away.’ Cetty can also use newly-learnt words from Spanish lessons directly when dealing with Spanish guests.

Back in Munich, Cetty has her last regular semester and her bachelor thesis coming up. She would like to write on the topic of personnel management and leadership. She is clear that after the dual study programme, in the long term she would also like to work as a manager – ideally as a front office manager in a small Motel One in Munich. Her dream, however, is to run her own guest house some day, on Fuerteventura. But she is leaving plenty of time for that and meanwhile wants to keep developing together with Motel One.