Sarah Miyake

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan/Manila, Philippines

Current Location: Vancouver, Canada

Why did you choose SHA? 
I was initially accepted into the School of Education as an Early Childhood Education major. Having grown up in Tokyo and graduated from an International School, I realized traveling and meeting people from around the world was my passion. Between my Sophomore and Junior years I took HF100 and immediately knew that hospitality was for me. The class sizes at SHA are intimate and allows for constant interaction and relationship building opportunities with students and professors alike. Moving to SHA was the best decision I made in college.

What is your favorite BU memory? 
Everything relates back to SHA for me. My favorite memories are the cooking classes and the professional lecturer series at SHA. SHA classes were not only fun and interactive, but truly what motivated me to be a successful hotelier.

What was your first full-time job, and how did you end up in your current position? 
My first full time job was as a Guest Services Agent at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel. I simply applied to numerous hotel companies (Four Seasons, Hyatt, Mandarin, Westin & Fairmont) and was fortunate to be presented with multiple job offers. I ended up choosing Fairmont as I firmly believed that their core values, mission and vision aligned with my own personal and professional ones. After a year and a half I was awarded the Employee of the Year award and shortly thereafter was promoted to Assistant Front Office Manager. After a year I transferred to the Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown as an Assistant Front Office Manager. In 2013 I was given the opportunity to work for Starwood as a Front Office Manager. For personal reasons I decided to move to Vancouver, Canada and was hired as the Guest Relations Manager at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. After only three months in the role I was promoted to Front Office Manager. Hard work, dedication, respect, leading by example and taking care of my staff have lead me to where I am today.

Please describe your current role, and how your SHA education has impacted your career.

I am currently the Front Office Manager at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, Canada. We are a five star hotel property that currently ranks number 16 in the world. I currently manage the Bell, Door, Valet, Driver, PBX, Concierge and Front Desk teams.

As you can see I have held numerous progressive roles in Rooms Division. I owe my success to SHA and the mentors that have guided me along the way. SHA’s stress on work experience and the two 400 hour experiences required to graduate are truly key to step ahead in this industry. The classes (especially accounting and sales) give a great overview of what the industry is really like. The opportunities I had to gain invaluable work experience and meeting professionals in the industry through SHA were a big part of my success so far. Although experience counts for a lot, it is also about who you know in the industry and SHA truly opens the door for that

Any advice for current and prospective students? 
Start from the bottom and work your way up. Many these days are about the fancy titles but as you move up to Department Head roles, you earn more respect from those around you if they know you put in your time to acquire as many progressive roles as possible. Definitely work during the summers before you graduate and figure out which department is right for you (Rooms, F&B, Sales, Accounting, etc) Be the best at what you do, no matter what position and stay away from any internal drama. When you move into management roles always remember to lead by example. As Richard Branson said, “train your people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” Lastly, ask the professors for advice! They are all seasoned hoteliers with invaluable knowledge and genuinely care about all their students.