Mayfield Hotel School nurtures hospitality professionals

Mayfield Hotel School is run by Mayfield Hotel and Resort, and that appeals to aspirig hospitality professionals. / Courtesy of Mayfield Hotel & Resort

By Kim Se-jeong

For Kim Tae-wook, 30, and Choi Yeon-hee, 25, Mayfield Hotel School helped their dreams come true.

Both trained at the academy for two years and are now working for Mayfield Hotel and Resort, which is located right next to the school, near Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. Kim works at the Korean restaurant, Bongraeheon, while Choi at the buffet restaurant, Michelin.

“There was no better option than Mayfield Hotel School because the school is run by the hotel,” Kim recalled and his sentiment is shared by Choi and the almost 1,000 students who are currently studying at the school.

The school, which opened in 2010, specializes in hotel management and is slowly earning recognition among hotels and prospective students.

“Hotels prefer students from this school because they have hands-on experience,” Song Won-kyung, the school administration team leader, told The Korea Times. “And this distinguishes the school from others.”

Mayfield has also become an attractive alternative as the job market started becoming tougher for college graduates.

“I know that not everyone will end up working for the hotel, but it was a relief to know that the hotel could be my future workplace if I worked hard at the school,” Kim said. Kim earned a degree in architecture before joining the school. He said he discovered his passion for hotel management when he was traveling Australia on a working holiday visa.

“Mayfield Club” is of the core of the school’s training. Students compete to get in to the club, and those who are selected are given opportunities to serve clients at the hotel’s lobby, rooms, restaurants, kitchens and housekeeping. The club is actually paid training that runs up to six months each semester and in which each student is paired with a mentor who works at the hotel.

In addition to the hotel management department, the school also has a culinary arts department and a cafe/dessert department. Next year, it will open casino management department, for which it is currently recruiting students.

Earlier this year, almost 400 students graduated from the school, 12 of whom got a job at the hotel and 50 at other hotels, according to Song. Other graduates also landed jobs at restaurant franchises and school and company restaurants, Song said, albeit she did not provide a number. She said the school is still compiling data on how many students received jobs since graduating.

Hotel management is taught in many institutions, ranging from four-year universities to two-year colleges and short-term vocational training centers.

However, the hotel management course at Mayfield Hotel School was the first. The hotel founded the school in 2010 for a practical reason to secure quality workforce for its growing business. Mayfield Hotel and Resort opened in 2003, owned by a Korean businessman who wanted to expand his hotel business. The owner has another hotel property in Daehagro in the northeastern Seoul.

Kim and Choi said they highly recommended the program for those who are considering a career in hotel management.

“The greatest merit of Mayfield Hotel School is that you can work and study at the same time. You can also experience different aspects of hotel management which will help you discover what you really want,” Choi said.