Anyone work in the Hotel industry?

[Deltac]

If so, what position? and what chain (if it is part of a chain)?





Wanted to get some feedback from anyone who works in a Hotel, what kind of benefits you're offered, possibilities of transferring, size of the hotel, and such...

would be great to hear your thoughts

ciao

[BetterByDesign]

I have never, but know a few ppl that have in management positions.

In short, it's hell.

The actual hours worked are undefined, you'll never underestimate what ppl will do in in hotels at any price point and your view of hotels will be forever changed.

Put it this way: One guy had the title of Financial Controller, and he wore a nice suit, but his shoes were actually dark running shoes.

[VR6JetPilot]

i guess it depends what position you are looking for.

i work for in the corporate office of a major cruise line and have a regular M-F schedule with standard benefits.

i also just graduated with a masters from the college of hotel administration at UNLV (univ. of nevada, las vegas).
my old classmates all work in the hotel/resort/casino/travel industry. many work at the corporate level but there are a few that have specialized in a certain part of hotel administration such as food & beverage or casino mgmt and work at a four seasons or MGM. if you're not working in finance/human resources/IT, it will be very customer service related with odd hours.

[surfcity21]

I am an architect that works on mostly casino hospitality work. I work in AC and it is pure hell. everyone wants everything for nothing and everything is lipstick on a pig. I'm actually looking to get out of working at a firm and want to work directly for the client as like an owners rep/project manager that oversees construction. the 9-5 is boring and its something i never wanted. im hoping for crazy hours and travel.

kramer

[Vee-Dubber-GLI]

I'm a college grad that took my current hotel job as I had to come home and help family as our financial situation took a turn for the worst. Living in the Napa Valley, I've worked various forms of hospitality before, but never hotels; here are my experiences from starting as a Front Desk Agent/Night Auditor:

-Try and get on with a corporate chain/property. Best Westerns are all independently owned franchises and pay/benefits/insurance vary based on the individual property owner. Marriott's are either franchise or corporate owned; from what I've gleaned, the corporate properties are the way to go as there's more options for recourse if something goes south. Hyatt's and Hiltons are as well. Holiday Inns and Four Season properties are franchised also.

-Don't take anything personally; I always pride myself on doing my best and making sure things are done right. Entering the hotel industry, there will be people that refuse to be pleased/satisfied and you need to just slough it off.

-Be prepared to see some weird s***... I've seen some of the weirdest crap since I've started working there. You see how a happy couple can go from marital bliss to knock-down drag-out fight/hate after a few too many wine tastings. You can see what appears to be your grandma and grandpa, but then also see they prefer to get down in ways that would make even a Japanese businessman shudder. I've had a guest try to pull my feet out from under me when I was kicking them out of our pool/hot tub area at 1AM. Just be prepared to see the weirdest and worst in people.

-Know and mesh with your housekeepers and housemen/maintenance staff. Everyone at the hotel works towards a common goal, but sometimes people move a little slower depending on who's asking. One of my coworkers at the front desk refuses to learn Spanish and gets angry that not all of the housekeepers and support staff dont speak English and she is rude to them; as such, they will either blow her off or pretend to not understand just to piss her off more. I know a little spanish and brushed up on hotel terms and use it as much as possible. To them, they saw it as a sign of respect and understanding, reaching out and trying to communicate as they couldn't do very well in English. My ok-ish Spanish and their ok-ish English also brings about the common ground and putting forth an effort will be seen by them and appreciated. As it is now, if I need something special done or the guests have a housekeeping request, mine will most often be taken care of, whereas my coworker will be frustrated and angry.

-Schedules are not set in stone. Again, this is anecdotal and from what I have gleaned from others with more hotel experience. Your scheduled days are off are somewhat tentative, as are your shift times. I've been scheduled 3PM-11PM but ended up staying until 1:30AM due to the night auditor being swamped and having no houseman, only to be called in early at 7AM later. I've also gone 14 days without a day off due to people being sick/emergencies/etc. It's just how it is here.

-Personal rule: Don't interact with guests outside of work. There's a local bar near the hotel I frequented before starting work and I will still go there after my shift, but I tend to not go out with guests or interact too much with them there. For me, it's keeping the business and personal separated. Plus, I'm not being paid to listen to and handle their problems anymore That's the bartenders job now.

Anything else, just ask or PM. Again, I'm new to the hotel industry and low man on the totem pole, but it's definitely a different world compared to other hospitality work..

[StL2.5]

I've been working in the Hotel Industry for around 6 years now. I started in housekeeping when I was 16 and now work at a 4 star hotel in the front office. I have seen it all including a drunk naked guy who thought he was stepping into his bathroom in the middle of the night and had to come down for a key.

During this time I have always worked during the evening hours (3-11pm mostly but occasionally 5-1am) and I really do love this shift. There is not a lot of upper managemant that is around so things are quite as wound up as in the morning. Plus I can still go out and drink and sleep in late.

Like others have said you really can't let anything get to you. Some days it seems like everyone has a complaint or rooms aren't ready fast enough and you want to go off on everyone. And then you have others where you actually feel like you've turned around someones vacations or business trips to make it enjoyable for them to come stay there again. Some people even bring you gifts during the holidays when they stay with you for a while.

I have loved working in the industry and is something I recommend to try as it gives you experience working with so many different attitudes and personalities. That said I am looking forward to leaving hotels soon and persuing education into being a airline transport pilot. It is the one job I could do every day of the month and not get tired of ever.

Hotel Stats:

-300 room property
-Starwood Chain but it is franchised.
-Benefits are actually on par with Corp. Marriotts I have worked at.
-I've worked at 2 different chains Marriott and Westin transferring is easy and you have great access and opurtunities to positions throughout the company.

***I do apologise for any spelling or grammar errors. I'm just getting ready to end my shift and hit the bar***

[venicemayer]

I've know some people particularly friends of mine work in hotel industry and they absolutely like their work. I cannot say much about it since I'm not the one working at hotel but what I know is their job is truly interesting.