DCU students commence Bennett Hospitality Internship Programme

Four Dublin City University final year Business Studies students have been offered a place on the prestigious Bennett Hospitality Internship Programme in the United States.

Niamh Devlin, Brian McCarthy, Peter Shannon and Katrina Puncule begin a summer internship with the Bennett Hospitality group this week.

The Bennett Hospitality internship programme is a collaborative initiative, initially devised by Mike Bennett, founder of Bennett Hospitality and Trustee of the DCU Educational Trust, in 2009.

Mr Bennett, an entrepreneur who grew his business from a bicycle and moped rental company in 1977 to an organisation running sixteen hotels and eight restaurants created the programme to provide students with insights into the skills required to run a successful business.

Interns learn the ropes of the hotel industry by rotating through a variety of departments, including marketing and sales, finance and human resources.

Participants also get to grips with the day-to-day essentials of running a hotel while working at the front desk and alongside the housekeeping and maintenance teams.

Speaking about the internship, Brian McCarthy said: 

“This internship is a great opportunity to gain international business experience and to learn from an incredible entrepreneur like Mike Bennett. I hope this experience will broaden my horizons, create some lifelong memories and be a starting point for a career in the hospitality industry.”

Also speaking about the internship, Business Studies student Niamh Devlin added:

“I am looking forward to experiencing a new culture and living in a unique city like Charleston whilst also meeting new people and gaining valuable skills and experience for my future career.”

Previous interns have used the opportunity to go on to work in companies as diverse as Google, Allianz Insurance, Aramark and SQS Group.