Make no mistake about it: a job in the hotel industry is hard work. Working nights and weekends is not unusual and workdays in this fast-paced environment can seem long when you spend most of them on your feet. Then, of course, there are demanding guests who must be satisfied. However, the hotel industry is also a great place to learn some life lessons that can serve you well throughout your career – whether that’s in the hotel industry or elsewhere. Here are six valuable teachings that demonstrate just how beneficial hotel industry experience can be on any career path.
1. Patience. You will come into contact with a wide range of personality types in the hotel industry and they will come in the form of guests, colleagues, and superiors. You’ll interact with people who are easy-going, high-strung, and lazy as well as people when they’re under stress, celebratory, tired, and any number of other factors affecting their mood at any given moment. You’ll also regularly encounter people when they’re at their best and at their worst. However, you will be required to maintain your composure at all times and you’ll need to be patient with them, no matter the situation. Learning to adapt to a certain level of serenity is a practice that will make it easier to work with others as you progress in your career.
2. Building a rapport with the boss. The hotel industry likes to talk about the merits of leadership and whether it’s regularly or on occasion, you will interact with the hotel’s general manager and possibly even the owners. But keep in mind that regardless of their position, they are people too. They have good and bad days. However, you’ll have to treat them with the same respect that you do hotel guests. When they ask you a question or assign you a task, you’ll need to carry it out as affably and expediently as you would a guest request. If you consistently deliver great service to your bosses, you’re well on your way to building a positive working relationship with them.
3. Answering negatively without ever saying no. Telling a guest “no” in the hotel industry is simply not an option. Most hotels will move heaven and earth to fulfill a guest’s request. Yet, there are times when it’s just not possible. Those are the moments when you’ll want to tell the guest what the hotel can do for them rather than responding with a definitive “no, we can’t.” This is a skill that may also prove very practical with current and future bosses.
4. Apologizing. A job in the hotel business virtually assures you of apologizing to guests at various times. On some occasions, it may be warranted and on others, not. No matter. You will be required to offer an apology on behalf of the hotel and one that is proportional to the situation and sincere. This won’t be a skill that you’ll ever put on your resume, but it is a practice that will serve you well in future jobs, where you may need customer service skills or where you may simply need to manage difficult coworkers or bosses.
5. Teamwork. Working in a hotel will make you a better team player than you ever thought you could be. You’ll be working with a diverse group of people and collaborating with them on a wide variety of tasks, from those specified in your job description to last-minute requests for an extra set of hands from other departments within the hotel. You won’t just learn how to pitch in when called upon to do so, you’ll volunteer to assist, even when the work isn’t a set part of your job. Those will be the examples that you’ll give in future job interviews when asked if you work well as part of a team.
6. Maintaining a tidy workspace. If you work at the front desk, it’s not your personally designated work area. You’ll be sharing that space with both coworkers during your shift as well as with coworkers who work other shifts and you’ll need to be respectful of them by keeping the space orderly. Moreover, regardless of how high up you rise in a hotel’s hierarchy, you can always expect to be asked to assist housekeeping, especially on days when a full house is departing as another checks in. Also, no matter your position in any hotel, if you see trash on the floor, you’ll be expected to throw it out. All of these situations breed a good habit that coworkers and supervisors at future jobs will appreciate.