Morrisville State College students learn the hospitality business at a Cazenovia hotel

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. — Nine students at Morrisville State College spent time this semester learning about hospitality functions at the Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton location in Cazenovia.

John Felton, assistant professor of hospitality at Morrisville, conducted his hotel-operations class at the hotel “for part of the semester,” Morrisville said in a news release issued Tuesday.

The college wanted the students to observe the “actual operations of a major hotel corporation.”

“It’s enhancing the educational experience for our students,” Felton said. “They get to learn in a brand new, outstanding facility which is affiliated with Hilton, an industry leader.”

The 80-room, four-story franchise hotel with a 5,000-square-foot conference center and located just off Route 20 in Cazenovia, opened in July 2016.

The students learned about four areas of hotel operations, including front-office operations, sales and marketing, housekeeping. and general management.

Young Goodyear, guest-services agent from Cazenovia, was among the Hampton Inn employees demonstrating the various aspects of her job.

“I’m introducing them to everything we do at the front desk and discussing what a typical day is like,” she said.

Kathy Shue, the hotel’s general manager, spoke with students about how to operate a hotel, her specific role, and how to communicate with employees. It gave Shue the chance to learn more about the Morrisville students participating, the college said.

 “They are potential members of our staff,” Shue noted in the school’s release.

The on-site instruction wasn’t the first time that the hotel had hosted Morrisville students.

With its close proximity to the Morrisville campus, the Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton hosted the school’s Harvest Dinner last year.

The event provided the school’s hospitality students a chance “to do a little bit of everything,” including setting and waiting on tables and plating food.

“The industry is saying, we want graduates with hands-on experience and this is one way for them to get it,” Felton said about working with the Cazenovia hotel.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

PHOTO CAPTION: Dustin Sherman of Tioga Center (left) and Miranda Stocking of Cooperstown get tips about front-desk operations from Young Goodyear, guest-services agent at the Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton in Cazenovia. Both Sherman and Stocking are studying travel and tourism at Morrisville State College. (Photo credit, Morrisville State College)