My internship – three weeks, countless learnings
About Leni:
I’m 15 years old and a student at a secondary school. My favorite subjects are English and P.E. – a great mix of language and action. In my free time, I love doing sports – I play tennis, volleyball, or go skiing in the winter. Especially during summer, I spend a lot of time outdoors with friends. I really enjoy traveling, as I’m fascinated by different cultures, ways of life, and architecture in various countries. I’m a very open-minded person and love learning new things. That’s why I wanted to use this internship to get real insights into working life – and to find out what I’m good at and what I enjoy.
I’ve known hotelkit for a long time – after all, my dad is the CEO and founder. Still, I wanted to find out for myself what it’s really like there. What does the team do all day? How does the software work? And would I even enjoy working in such an environment? That’s why I decided to do my internship at hotelkit. In this article, I’ll share what I experienced, learned, and tried – and what it was like to be right in the middle of it all.
Why I wanted to do my internship at hotelkit
As the daughter of the CEO, it’s not exactly a coincidence that I’m doing my internship at hotelkit this year. Still, I was really curious to see what everyday work life looks like here. I wanted to know what “Dad’s company” actually does, what a regular day at the office looks like, and how people work at a modern software company.
Of course, I’d overheard things about hotelkit at home – conversations, ideas, maybe a logo or a screenshot. But that’s very different from actually being there. I didn’t just want to watch – I wanted to experience how a team works together, how projects run, and what it takes for the software to function and be used. Most of all, I was curious if I would like the environment – and if I’d feel comfortable in it.
The first days: Familiar yet new
Even though I’d heard a lot about hotelkit beforehand, almost everything was still new to me. The tools they use here – like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, or ChatGPT – were partly familiar. I already knew a few, and I quickly got the hang of the others. Whenever I didn’t understand something, I could just ask. Everyone was super friendly and helpful, which made starting really easy. I felt comfortable right away.
What I liked most was that I immediately felt like I was part of the team instead of just watching. I was taken seriously, allowed to ask questions, and given real tasks. That showed me that even interns are valued – and that’s really motivating. I wasn’t nervous for long – I was just excited for what was still to come.
My tasks: Quite a variety!
I’m definitely not getting bored here. I’ve already been able to take on a variety of tasks: for example, I compared the hotelkit website with other websites to give feedback. I helped count merchandise, joined online customer meetings, transferred data for the Sales team, and assisted in preparing the team event.
I think it’s really cool that I’m not just helping with one thing but get to try out a lot of different tasks. That gives you a much better understanding of the different departments and helps you discover your own strengths and interests.
And that’s not all! Over the next two weeks, I’ll be getting to know more departments like Customer Success and HR and helping out there too. I’m really excited to see what else is coming up.
What really impressed me
I wasn’t exactly surprised – I already knew hotelkit was very digital. But I was still impressed by how well everything works via computer. From team communication to task management and organization – almost everything is digital here, and it works super efficiently. The working style is ultra-modern, well thought out, and yet still feels very personal.
What I found especially interesting was that internal communication happens through our own tool “teamkit,” which is structured just like hotelkit. That way, I was able to get to know the system while working and gain practical insight into how it’s used.
You can really see how smoothly digital collaboration can work when everyone knows what to do. There are clear processes, everything is well structured – and yet everyone seems to have their own space. I find that inspiring, because I didn’t expect working on a computer to be so flexible, creative, and at the same time so well organized.
“Here I realized that digital work doesn’t have to be impersonal – on the contrary, it can be efficient, well-structured, and still creative.”
Leni Donhauser
Intern
hotelkit
When your dad is the boss
Sure, it’s something special when your own dad is the CEO of a company – but during my internship at hotelkit, that never really took center stage. Still, it was exciting to experience firsthand what he actually does at work and what he’s built over the years. You suddenly see a whole new side of what really goes into running a business.
I especially found it funny how much his personal work style is reflected in the hotelkit app: everything is well structured, clear, and organized – with detailed to-do lists, tasks, and workflows. That’s exactly how he likes it in everyday life too. It was cool to see how much of his personality is in the company.
What I’ve learned so far
I’ve learned a lot in a short time. What I’m most happy about is that I’ve become more confident on the computer – especially with programs I didn’t know before, like HubSpot. And I’ve also become braver about speaking English, since the team is very international and many programs are in English. That felt strange at first, but I got used to it over time. I think it’s great because it helps me improve my English, which will definitely benefit me in my future career.
I’ve also learned to organize myself better and complete tasks independently. I’ve realized that I don’t have to know everything right away – what matters most is being open, asking questions, and just trying things out. I’m proud that I stepped out of my comfort zone – especially when it came to speaking English – and I can feel that I’ve grown not just professionally, but also personally.
“I’m proud that I stepped out of my comfort zone and realized that it helped me grow not only professionally, but also personally.”
Leni Donhauser
Intern
hotelkit
