Finding Work in the Hotel Business

In order to get hotel jobs, you must be ready and willing to work. Employment in the hotel industry can be quite rewarding and certainly has its advantages, such as good benefits, great advancement opportunities, and a wide variety of work roles, however, it can also be exhaustive and time consuming. Therefore, it is important to go into any hotel interview with your eyes open as to the work and responsibilities that go along with getting a hotel job.

Just about any type of personality or background can find a hotel related job if they are willing to dedicate themselves. From housekeeping to front desk, sales to finance, maintenance to catering and human resources the opportunities in hotel jobs are broad in scope and interest. For people who are more outgoing, they might find a hotel job in human resources, front desk, or sales appealing. For the more introverted of souls, a position in maintenance or housekeeping might be more to their liking. It is important to note however, that just about any hotel job will require some level of human interaction so bear that in mind as you begin your hotel job search.

For entry-level positions within the hotel business, pay is often not competitive with other industries. Larger hotels and hotels located in urban environments will typically offer better pay rates and advancement opportunities. If you end up starting at the bottom rung of the employment ladder in your hotel job, it doesn’t mean you will be there for long. That is one of the great things about hotel work. The higher turnover rate for the industry, the preference of many hotels to hire from within, and the large numbers of positions that are continually opening within many hotels, make for numerous advancement opportunities. Once you reach the upper tiers of management within a larger hotel such as department head, director, assistant general manager or general manager, you’ll find the pay is much more competitive.

There are downsides to working a hotel job though. Remember, a hotel never closes. This means that they are open on weekends, all holidays, and yes, even your birthday! With many of the management positions this means that you might be on call even when you are away from the office. This can be a definite downside to the work. Dealing with upset guests is another aspect of a hotel job that can take quite some time to get used to. If you aren’t a people person working at a hotel might not be right for you, but there’s no way to know until you try. You might find it’s just the job you’ve been searching for.