It’s difficult to lead a group of over 20 employee. It’s even harder when you’re still a college student who is not regional and did not see yourself in an organisation’s top role.
However that’s just what Bhuiyan Md Sadman Rahman, a Bachelor of International Hospitality Management (BIHM) program at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, had to do.
When his programme began the Hotel Takeover Project, the hospitality management student from Bangladesh never pegged himself as a leader. In fact, he believed he ‘d land the lowest-paid role.
“It’s a bit of a funny story,” Sadman states. “To be sincere, I wanted to be a guard since I had no expectation of myself.”
However his instructors and mentors saw prospective in him, specifically after his performance in interviews. They probably saw something in him that he had yet to learn– though he soon will throughout the two-week takeover.
Hospitality management students with academics of School of Hospitality, Tourist and Occasions and the team at Hyatt Place Kuala Lumpur Bukit Jalil who took part in Hotel Takeover Project 2026. Source: Taylor’s University
Something books can not reproduce for hospitality management students
The two-week training duration before the takeover was, by Sadman’s account, mind-blowing. Classroom learning, he states, offers students info. The hotel offered him something different totally: experience.
“The textbook situations and real situations are absolutely various,” he says. “You can not envision the fire until the fire is currently on your face.”
During training, he had to fix different live situations. From check-in hold-ups to security, each issue needed him to loop in the pertinent department head and coordinate a response.
One incident stood apart. A couple from Australia dealt with a 35-minute wait to check in. Sadman was charged by the real hotel manager to discover the root cause. His impulse was to go straight to housekeeping.
The room had been cleaned on time, it ended up, however the engineer had been contacted for cracked walls, a malfunctioning remote, and damaged paintwork– 3 different problems that jointly consumed into the timeline.
Things deciphered however Sadman stayed calm and fixed it.
Ending up being in charge of buddies and peers Leading 22 fellow hospitality management trainees throughout departments is a various sort of leadership obstacle from managing staff. It’s probably even harder when these are schoolmates and friends, people who remain in the exact same boat as you.
Sadman’s team was also culturally varied– students from China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Maldives, and beyond– which added another layer of intricacy.
However he managed all of it well, particularly since he likewise knows what it’s like to be immersed in a various nation and culture.
“Every culture has its own different perspectives,” he states. “There were some barriers, but communication was no problem. If they needed assistance, I was there. If I required help, they were there. It resembled a brotherhood circumstance– everybody was assisting each other.”
The interdepartmental nature of the role also improved his understanding of how hotels operate. “If check-in was delayed, I had to talk with housekeeping. If there was a security concern, I had to go to security. If income was off, I had to go to the income manager. Whatever is interrelated,” he states. “Any delay or problem in one department can affect the whole operation.”
Bhuiyan Md Sadman Rahman(third from left), Hotel Supervisor, and Siow Jia Ying (initially from left), Revenue Manager, with the remainder of the hospitality management students’ Hotel Takeover Task 2026 committee. Source: Taylor’s University
What tasks can hospitality management trainees get?
The Hotel Takeover Task sits within a broader method at Taylor’s University to close the space in between academic understanding and market preparedness.
Dr Kandappan Balasubramanian, Head of the School of Hospitality, Tourist, and Occasions, has actually been clear about one thing: future hospitality leaders are not formed in class alone.
For David Leung, General Manager of Hyatt Location Kuala Lumpur Bukit Jalil– and himself a Taylor’s graduate– the partnership is a direct financial investment in the industry’s next generation. The takeover, he has kept in mind, evaluates not just what hospitality management trainees know, however how they lead and resolve issues when it matters.
Sadman is clear-eyed about what the experience gave him.”If anyone goes into this industry with absolutely no experience, they will be falling into a deep ocean,” he says. “It resembles someone tossing you into a pool when you don’t know how to swim.”
As a Term 5 hospitality management student, Sadman will quickly begin an internship. Equipped with this experience as a hotel supervisor, he is positive and passionate about continuing his profession, come what may.”I can communicate with other people with a smile,” he states. “There will be a fire. And I’ll be smiling and controlling the whole thing.”