Hotel receptionist
Travel & Tourism

How to become a hotel receptionist

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role
• applying directly

College

You can do a college course like a Level 2 Certificate or Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality.

College (Entry requirements)

You'll usually need:

• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You can get into this job through a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship (Entry requirements)

You'll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Work

You can start work as an admin assistant or general staff in a hotel and do further training and qualifications on the job.

Direct application

You can apply directly for this job if you've got good administration and customer service skills. IT skills will also be useful to work with computerised booking and payment systems. Many employers will want you to have a good standard of general education, including GCSE grades at 9 to 4 (A* to C) in maths and English.

More info

Career tips You may find it useful if you can speak a second language, as a lot of hotels get visitors from outside the UK.

What it takes

Skills & Knowledge

You'll need:

• customer service skills
• sensitivity and understanding
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to work well with others
• excellent verbal communication skills
• administration skills
• the ability to understand people’s reactions
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

What you'll do

Day to day

In this role you could be:

• dealing with bookings
• completing procedures when guests arrive and leave
• choosing rooms and handing out keys
• preparing bills and taking payments
• taking and passing on messages to guests
• dealing with special requests from guests (like booking theatre tickets or storing valuable items)
• answering questions
• dealing with complaints or problems

Working environment

You could work in a hotel. You may need to wear a uniform.

Career path and progression

Career path & progression

With experience and qualifications, you may be able to progress to front office manager or hotel manager. You could also move into different areas of hotel work, like events, sales, personnel or accounts. You might decide to move outside the hospitality industry into related areas like customer service and administration.