Hospitality (Hotel) Resume Examples

The term “hospitality” covers a broad range of job titles related to hosting and entertaining guests. Jobs most commonly associated with hospitality are hotel positions, such as hotel management, front desk, bellhop, and housekeeping positions.

If you haven’t worked in those specific jobs, don’t worry — all hospitality jobs require similar customer service skills. Learn how to write a hospitality resume that gets you an interview at your target hotel by following these 3 writing tips:

1. Catch the hiring manager’s eye with a resume objective

Your resume objective should grab the hospitality hiring manager’s attention by summarizing everything they want to know about your experience in 2–3 sentences. To write the best resume objective possible, include resume keywords from the job ad.

Job posting keywords include terms related to your:

• experience
• education
• skills

Also, list the position title you want in order to show the employer you’re genuinely interested. Here’s an example of a hospitality resume objective that targets keywords from the job ad:

Hospitality worker with 4+ years’ experience and a BA in Hospitality Management. Proven ability to run a hotel front desk, keep customers satisfied, and resolve conflicts. Responsible, knowledgeable, technically savvy, and perfectly suited for Three Seasons Charleston’s open Hotel Front Desk Manager job.

It’s common for hospitality professionals to switch industries while transferring their service skills. If this is the case, reuse other hospitality industry resumes, like a flight attendant resume, by clearly stating your objective to transition into hotel hospitality. Just make sure to rephrase your experiences and skills in more industry-appropriate ways where necessary.

2. Target a specific job by listing your relevant hospitality skills

Write a new resume for every hospitality position you apply for, emphasizing your skills that best match the position requirements in the job ad. Common hospitality hard and soft skills to list on your resume include relevant training, people skills, and technical skills:

Training

There are many hospitality jobs that don’t require a degree or special certifications. However, some jobs do — and even if it’s not required, adding relevant certifications on your resume makes you a more competitive candidate.

Displaying your relevant certifications at the top of your resume is the easiest way to get a hiring manager interested in your application.

People skills

Hospitality employers look for outgoing and friendly people who make guests feel comfortable, entertained, and relaxed. Also, hiring managers in the hospitality industry are impressed by applicants who are good at interacting and collaborating with coworkers.

So when you write your resume, give examples of how you used relevant people skills to create value for your current and past employers. Here are some interpersonal skills hospitality hiring managers want to see on your resume:

• Emotional awareness
• Active listening
• Communication skills
• Conflict resolution
• Positive attitude
• Management skills
• Teamwork
• Language skills

Technical skills

Displaying your technical experience on your resume shows the hiring manager that you’ll require minimal training, which makes you a strong candidate. Here’s a list of hospitality skills for your resume:

• Hotel management software: InnQuest and ASI FrontDesk
• Point of sale (POS) terminals
• Computer skills
• Math skills

3. Prove your qualifications in your resume’s experience section

Describe your work experience with data and achievements, rather than bland duties. Hard numbers and examples make your qualifications stand out and help the hiring manager quickly decide whether to interview you.

Here’s an example of a poorly written resume work experience bullet point without numbers, followed by a well-written version with engaging data:

Poorly Written Job Description

• Greet and register guests

Well-Written Job Description

• Greet and register guests in a 200+ room hotel using a point of sale (POS) terminal, memorizing faces and names to ensure personalized service throughout guest stays

The second description gives the hiring manager a clear picture of the scope of your responsibility by noting the size of the hotel, and it also emphasizes your attention to detail with an example.

Struggling to think of data to add to your hospitality resume? Here are 4 examples of hospitality-specific numbers that impress hiring managers:

• Customer satisfaction rating percentages
• Number of employees managed and trained
• Amounts of money handled
• Number of guests assisted

And here are two more good examples of work history bullet points quantified by data:

• Maintained a 95%+ customer satisfaction rating over 2 years, with a metric covering categories such as friendliness, efficiency, helpfulness, and knowledgeability
• Trained 2 new front desk clerks in using POS terminals, room inspection, providing guest services, and online room reservation services