Day 3

On our third day, we begin understanding the breakdown of private events and how they contribute to Firestone’s ultimate revenue. We shadowed Mr. Carter during a meeting with the directors of Private Events. Christian is the director of the Private Events Marketing and Sales unit. Emily and Melanie both direct Private Events as a whole. These three people oversee the weddings, fundraisers, and guest hospitality that take place at Firestone. During the meeting, we learned two directly related issues they are currently having. First being that Firestone does not own all the villas on property. Some members own villas, whereas others are owned by large corporations who allow their workers and business partners to use them. This results in Firestone only owning about eight or nine of the villas on the property. This is a problem because on the weekends, many businessmen and women wish to purchase a villa and golf during their days off. However, their villas have become overbooked, and they cannot provide housing for many potential customers. Mr. Carter mentioned to us, that Firestone is attempting to purchase more villas from these corporations, however, the cost of the villas must be less than the revenue they would generate. Otherwise, Firestone would be losing money on wasted costs. Day 3 was also incredibly difficult for the majority of staff. Annie, a thirty-five year worker for Firestone, passed away that morning. Even after going to Firestone many time over the past years, Scott and I were both unaware of what happens behind the scenes, and what makes Firestone so well managed. We learned that day, that a lot of the staff has worked there for the majority of their lives, and contributed immensely to the nationally recognized course, it is today. Finally, we began to understand the benefit of having an extremely tight staff, and how that is evident throughout their work. Scott and I will both take this knowledge to our jobs, and attempt to provide the same work ethic that the staff at Firestone possess.