Exploring the CIHA: A Career Booster for Working Professionals

Everyone’s educational journey is different. AIHM understands that. While many of our students are young adults just starting out in the world, we also welcome a significant number working professionals who are early or mid-way through their career and looking for a way to take their achievements to the next level.

For professionals already in the workforce, the Certificate in International Hotel Administration (CIHA) or Advanced Certificate in International Hotel Management (ACIHM) can be an ideal solution. These management programmes for working professionals empower those already working in hospitality to boost their careers and allow those working in other industries to pursue their dreams in hospitality.

AIHM’s Samantha Lauver-Marion sat down with CIHA graduate Yupa “Hana” Mawan to discuss her experience in the 1.5-year certificate course and what it’s done for her career. Hana shares her journey, the ways she’s applied the CIHA’s lessons to her career advancement and her advice for professionals considering the certificate programmes.

An Interview with Yupa “Hana” Mawan, Graduate of the Certificate in International Hotel Administration

SLM: Hi, Hana. It’s wonderful to see you again and talk with you today. Before we speak about the CIHA, could you tell our readers about your career journey? What was your background before you studied at AIHM?

YHM: I’ve been working in luxury hospitality for a while now, about twelve years. At first, I was really scared and anxious. When I was younger, some friends of my sister had suggested that I interview for a job at Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort. In the beginning, I said, “No, this is a five-star hotel, and I don’t have the experience.” I felt as if my background wasn’t suitable.

Eventually, I decided to go for it. In 2011, I joined Anantara Riverside as a Guest Service Agent. I did that for two years, and my manager recommended me for a promotion to Supervisor. I was Supervisor for two years and then promoted to Duty Manager for two years.

Then my Resort Manager Ahmed Asim proposed the CIHA opportunity to me. The resort supported my studies at AIHM so I could grow in my hospitality career and take on more leadership responsibilities. I completed the Certificate programme and returned to Anantara Riverside about three months ago with a promotion to my current role as Assistant Front Office Manager, and it’s been amazing. I would really like to thank Khun Ahmed for providing this great opportunity to me. It’s made such a difference in my career, and I’m really grateful to him.

SLM: That's so nice. It's really important to recognise those leaders that have taken an interest in our development and that have supported us through our journey.

You mentioned that you received a promotion upon returning to your job after earning the CIHA. How is your job now following your graduation from the certificate programme different from what you were doing before?

YHM: My current role involves more planning and more leadership responsibilities. For example, in my new role I dedicate more attention to planning how our team can achieve our goals.

SLM: Could you tell our readers some of the ways that you’ve adopted the approaches AIHM covered during your hotel management studies? How are you adapting the things you learned at AIHM to the workplace?

YHM: Yes, I have a lot to say about this topic! I’ve adapted so much from the skills and perspectives I gained at AIHM.

For example, I learned a lot about motivating team members, and I use this now. I use a motivational approach to encourage team members in their work. I’ve been able to learn how to motivate team members when they’re feeling very down or when they’re concerned because they’ve made a mistake. I’ve learned how to cheer them up and help them improve. I can help them acknowledge that they’ve made a mistake and to use it as a learning opportunity instead of just feeling bad about it.

Something else I’ve adapted from my classes at AIHM is a management approach where everybody is equal and they have more independence in their jobs. It’s not just the boss controlling everything like a dictator and being responsible for all the ideas and decisions. We divide jobs amongst everyone. Everybody is equal and they can share their ideas with the team.

I’ve brought this to my career from what I learned at AIHM. All of our team members have knowledge that’s valuable, and I give them the freedom to share it. This is the kind of culture I want to help build.

Instead of having a situation where, for example, the team members just listen to the duty manager, and the duty manager gives all the information, all team members can have a chance to exercise their own leadership. They can be the manager as well in certain areas. We rotate every month. For example, this month one person is training the rest of the team about our DISCOVERY loyalty programme. Next month, a team member will train our team in how to ‘wow’ the guests with our service. In the past, the team would just listen to a Duty Manager talk. We’d have morning briefs or afternoon briefs, where everyone would just listen. Now we give our team the chance to be the lead in the meetings as well.

I think this is an extremely beneficial approach I learned. It benefits both me and my team. I learned to build a culture that empowers people and allows them to exercise more independence. This makes our team stronger. Everybody can step in to replace each other when needed. This new dynamic is very, very valuable to me and to the team.

SLM: Yes, the hospitality industry is one that requires people to be able to wear many hats. Historically, it had been that, as you said, the manager has all the answers. When we empower each of our team members to be able to be leaders, as you've already expressed, then it's like we have double the team members. Everyone can fill in for each other, and there’s a more supportive team environment. It's really wonderful that you've adapted that in your workplace.

YHM: To add on to this, in the past everybody would come to the duty manager to make the decisions. This is just how it would work on an everyday basis. Now, I guide team members in how to handle basic issues themselves. For example, let’s say you have a guest that doesn’t like the room they’ve been given because they’re being disturbed by noise. This is a basic situation that can happen in hotels. I’d guide my team member in solving this problem themself for the guest. Instead of only checking guests in and out, guest agents can learn how to progress in their jobs and act as a manager or leader in small ways. I try to let them solve problems on their own when possible.

Of course, if it’s a big issue, a manager needs to be involved. But if it’s just a basic issue, we’ll try to give team members some guidelines so they can handle the problem themselves. Guidelines are useful for giving team members more independence while helping them feel supported and capable. We give team members guidance about the things they can do to solve common issues. This is very, very helpful. It makes our staff more confident when they talk with the guests.

SLM: Speaking of confidence, we’ve heard from your colleagues, and even from your friends and family, that your own individual confidence has grown in all aspects of life. Can you speak to that a little bit?

YHM: I’m naturally an introverted person and very shy. In the past, I was fairly quiet during meetings. I wouldn’t say very much except to agree and accept what was being asked. Then I went to AIHM for a year and a half. Two weeks after I returned, my manager said, “Hana, I can feel you changed a lot in terms of your confidence. I see it in the way you interact and speak with guests, and how you share your ideas in meetings, and just how you approach everything.” They could see that I felt more confident. I feel more like a manager. I matured.

I’m more confident in sharing my opinions and suggestions with the team. Instead of just accepting everything passively, if I feel like there’s a detail or part of the issue that more senior managers aren’t aware of, I feel comfortable speaking up or recommending an alternative. There’s a new side of me. It’s not an aggressive side, just more confident. I can see it in myself. I’m very, very proud of this growth in myself, and I want to say thank you to all of AIHM’s instructors. I didn’t change drastically or into a totally new person, but I changed to be more confident.

SLM: I'm so happy you said that because it's not our intention that students come here and change their personalities. We want students to be a more confident version of themselves. And to grow in their own way. We’re not trying to produce people who are just a copy-paste of someone else or the way that another person is being a leader. We’re helping our students to become leaders in a fuller capacity. We’re helping people be the leaders they’re already going to be. We just help you by giving you a little push to get there.

I know that in the beginning when you joined AIHM, you were a little bit nervous about coming back to your studies since you've been working for so long. What would you say to a student who is nervous to come to study after having a long period of time not studying?

YHM: Like you said, in the beginning, I was very, very nervous because I had been away from the classroom for so long. I had a chance to speak with some other students who had the same feelings, who were worried about how difficult it would be to study after being out of that environment for so long. Talking with people experiencing the same thing helped me to overcome my nerves. I told my fellow students, “Okay, if we already know everything, there would be no need for us to come here. We came here to learn new things. Let’s go for it.”

Maybe this is something just passed down to me in my upbringing or from my society, but in the past, I used to feel as if asking a question when I didn’t understand something would make me look stupid. AIHM taught me to overcome that. That wasn’t the situation at AIHM. If you don’t know something, just put your hand up. You accept that it’s okay not to know things and admitting that is how you get all the information you need.

So going back to students who might have the same feelings I had, my advice is to be open to learning and growing. Remember: you came here to learn. You joined to learn new things, to make new friends, to experience an environment that will give you more confidence, to gain more knowledge. I was so stressed at first too, but AIHM opens your world. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. Maybe things might be quite hard in the beginning, but after that, you’ll feel so grateful and happy for the opportunity to advance, just like me. I’m so thankful I didn’t give up in the beginning.

Maybe the beginning of everything is like that. Not just studying but the workplace as well. The beginning of everything is hard. You have to adjust and adapt yourself to a new environment.

SLM: What I appreciate the most about your story and your journey is that you've gone through this experience and then you've returned to give back to the other students, and not only the ones who have felt the same way as you. You’ve also helped to build the community here. You've come here in support of our Practical Arts classes in previous semesters, and you're a manager or big sister to the students who are here now.

We really appreciate that. That's the kind of community we want to foster, a community where people can grow and help others to grow, not only while they’re at AIHM but also in their workplace. It's really important to be able to kind of pass on this mindset-shift.

YHM: I can say that the AIHM students now are my friends. Even though many of them are younger, it still feels like we’re family. I love the closeness we have. I see AIHM’s students around the property since Anantara Riverside is basically next door to AIHM. They call out to me, “P. Hana!” and we chat and spend time together. I love that even though I’ve graduated from my programme at AIHM, I still have such a close, friendly relationship with the current students. It’s so special.

SLM: What advice would you have for a student who is considering applying for the CIHA experience at AIHM?

YHM: You don't have to hesitate at all. Please join. Don’t think too much or worry. Come to learn. I can say based on my own experience that the results are beautiful. You’ll learn things you never knew.

AIHM prepares you for going out and achieving the next level. For example, AIHM gives you a chance to experience all departments in the hospitality industry. During this time, you get to explore and ask yourself which department you see yourself within in the future. You might be thinking, “It would be fun to be an office manager.” But after you have the chance to discover the food and beverage departments in the Practical Arts class, you might set a new goal for yourself. You can experience the real life of each department. You can experience what the staff feel. You don’t just learn theory and learn from books, but in the practical parts of the curriculum, you face real-world problems and interact with real guests in different departments.

I love this part of the CIHA experience a lot. You can try everything, and in the end, you can find yourself after the experience. You can realise, “I love this. I will focus on this. This is the part of hospitality that I really love.”

My advice for potential students is not to hesitate. Just come. You’ll enjoy all the instructors and the new friends you make. Everybody is so nice. Come to be part of our family.

SLM: I really appreciate you taking the time to come to speak with us today and for joining us for your CIHA experience.

YHM: Everything I said was from my heart. It was great to speak with you today!

Are You Looking for a Career Boost?

Explore AIHM’s hotel management certificates. Read our blog post comparing the CIHA and ACIHM to decide which one is right for you.

We also offer a suite of professional development courses for individuals in and outside the hospitality industry. Learn secrets of customer service, upselling tactics, revenue management, training your team members, personal branding, finance basics, public speaking and more. We have over a dozen courses to choose from, and each can be completed in a single weekend.