Tisch Center Internship Spotlight: Madeline Saiontz, Skylark

Madeline Saiontz is a junior in the B.S. Hotel and Tourism Management at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. She is minoring in Economics. This semester, she is interning at Skylark, a New York City-based travel agency to combines advanced technology with expert travel advice. In this post, she tells us more about her internship experience.

Where are you interning and what is your job title? 

I am interning at Skylark as a Junior Travel Advisor.

What projects have you been working on so far? 

So far I have done a little bit of everything; from communicating with our hotel partners to creating detailed itineraries for some of our clients' honeymoons.

What do you enjoy most about your internship so far?

Almost every day people who work at hotels, work with tour operators, etc. come into the office to give a presentation on what they do. It has been amazing to meet so many people in the hotel and tourism industry. Also, I have loved seeing all of the trips our clients go on. There are so many places I have not been to yet and this job has created so much more motivation/inspiration to travel!

Have there been any challenges in your internship thus far? If so, how have you learned to overcome them?

The biggest challenge for me has been learning Sabre, the GDS system. I have never been great with computers so it has been a bit of a learning curve. However, I have used it so much that I have gotten the hang of it and my supervisor is always willing to help me figure out any problems I might have. 

What do you hope to take away from your internship? 

I really want to gain knowledge in the tourism industry. I want to be able to answer any and all questions regarding travel advice. If my friend came to me and asked where she should go and what she should do in Italy, I want to be able to answer with specific cities, hotels, and activities.

What are your future plans?

Right now, I am really enjoying my position at Skylark and it would be ideal to stay here, or at least in the industry!