Everything you need to know about working in a hotel
So you think you’ve got what it takes to be in the hospitality industry? Fancy working in a hotel, do you? Here’s everything you need to know about the job!
Hospitality is the art of making people feel welcome, comfortable, and satisfied, so your best asset in the hospitality industry is a willingness to please. You’ll fit right in, and find your job easy if you’re a natural-born people-pleaser. Couple that with a service-oriented work ethic and you’re well on your way to ticking all the boxes for working in a hotel.
A hotel is made up of a range of speciality departments such as Front Office, Housekeeping, Kitchen, Food & Beverage Service, Entertainment, and Administration. The hotel will be overseen by a General Manager, who has various Department Heads reporting to him/her.
The lowdown on hotel work
What kind of role you take on depends on your personal interests – if you like crunching numbers and balancing books, you could work in the accounting department. If you like a challenge and you consider yourself knowledgeable and well-connected; you could work as a concierge. Whatever you decide to do, know that team effort is central to pleasing your hotel’s guests and if you’re not a people-person and a team-player, then front of house probably isn’t for you…
If you do love people, you’ll love working in a hotel. No two days will be the same. Although the basic job might be the same, there will always be something new happening as guests come and go.
There’s a clear set of hospitality qualifications accepted across the industry, and it’s also worth bearing in mind that every country worldwide has a hospitality industry, and the skills you learn in one place are easily transferrable to another. A career in hospitality could be key to discovering (and paying for) new countries, meeting new people, and exploring new cultures, if you plan on travelling the globe.
Working in a hotel can be demanding
Working in a hotel is demanding on your time. Peak periods in hotels may be seasonal and over long weekends, and this is the time when you’re expected to give 110% of yourself. Know that the staff roster works on a shift basis and that if you’re on shift, you cannot clock out at the end of your shift unless your replacement arrives.
If your replacement doesn’t arrive, you’ll be expected to continue with your duties until alternative arrangements can be made. You’ll have to work nights and weekends, just like everyone else in the hotel – but you will get time off on other weekends and during the weekdays – which gives you more flexibility than ordinary people working 9-5 jobs.
While the work is demanding, the rewards are great. The people you’ll meet, the places you’ll see, the opportunities you’ll have – hospitality is unlike any other industry in that regard. It really is a special field that most people don’t appreciate unless they’re in it!
The perks of hospitality
Unlike other businesses, some hotels pay their staff a service charge in addition to their salaries. This service charge is paid by guests and is around 10% on top of all hotel bills and is distributed evenly among the staff. It’s intended to make up for tipping, but most guests generally leave an extra tip as well. Bear in mind that tips are generally in cash, which means tax-free money in your pocket.
There are also all sorts of other perks that complement the pay package as well – great food cooked by top chefs and discounts on food, beverages, transport, entertainment or activities, and accommodation in other hotels as well.
While working in a hotel can be extremely challenging, you’ll be working in an industry that is constantly changing. It will give you the opportunity to learn new things and will require that you stay on the ball in order to maintain competitive edge. You’ll always be able to reinvent yourself and one thing is for certain – you’ll never be bored or stuck in a rut. It’s the job that dreams are made of!
