Looking to work in an action-packed, people-oriented field that has a promising future and potential for advancement?
Look no further than the hotel business, also known as the hospitality industry.
Here, there’s a job for every skill set, whether you work with your hands or love crunching numbers. There’s even a ‘Lobby Florist’ job at some big hotels for individuals with a knack for floral design who love being around flowers.
Pretty amazing places like Hawaii and Las Vegas are chock-full of hotel jobs. Also, some colleges, such as Cornell and Penn State, offer Hospitality as a major. In hotel hospitality, the hours are flexible; so you can juggle the gig with school. Check out our round-up of some entry-level hotel gigs:
Bellhop
It’s a big secret but the Bellhop can earn more money than anybody in the entire hotel, and in fact, many other jobs period. The money comes from the common policy most regular travelers follow of tipping a dollar per bag. They call it ‘a buck a bag.’ That doesn’t sound like much till you consider sometimes you carry 17 bags an hour. For those of you not mathematically-inclined, that means seventeen dollars an hour! On top of that, the hotel pays you buy the hour and sometimes people tip in twenties. (It’s all luck of the draw) Hauling bags may not be the most glamorous of jobs, but the hours are solid, the pay is great, and it doesn’t ever involve arguing with someone about their bill.
Room Service Food Delivery
This job is a great for people who are fast and efficient. This is because food is really hard to keep warm if the room you are bringing it to is on the 15th floor of the building—and even harder if the elevators are running slow. What is beautiful about this job is many hotels charge a large automatic tip that goes right into your pocket. With hotel food prices so high, even a plain family meal delivered to a room can mean a fifteen dollar tip. On top of that, many people feel bad and give you a cash tip on top of the one the hotel already charges. It’s a win-win for your wallet.
Front Desk/Deskies
Do you talk a lot in class? Are you good with people? Then front desk is your hotel job. This is where you check in guests and assign their rooms at night, and in the morning you check them out and deal with them yelling about why their kid watched 8 On-Demand movies at ten dollars each. (Kidding! Well, we can’t promise that won’t happen…) Besides that, you spend your day meeting and assisting people from all over the world, so this job really does require a fun personality and lots of patience. The best past about this job is it can be a true shoe-in to the upper reaches of running a big time hotel. Most hotel managers have spent some time in their lives working front desk. Thus, if you can “rock” the front desk by remaining calm, cool, and collected with a friendly smile, Hotel Managers will notice you’re an employee worth keeping and promoting.
Housekeeping
Cleaning hotel rooms may have a negative reputation, but the truth is that this job has reliable hours, solid pay, and if you excel there are great higher-paying jobs like Housekeeping Manager to which you can ascend. Some who work this job also love that you are on your own most of the day without a boss or customers bothering you. There are even housekeeping ‘Olympics’ held in Las Vegas (no joke) where they have races to see who can make the bed the fastest! All fun aside, this can be a hard job especially if you work at a big hotel because let’s face it: there are a lot of rooms. But work hard you and you’ll get noticed and next thing you know, you’ll move up to manager.
Maintenance
If you love to fix things, problem solve, and work with your hands this job is for you. You do regular maintenance stuff like fixing broken televisions or tightening leaky sinks, but another part of the job is fielding frequent oddball problems: like a family that locks their kid in the bathroom or a husband who drops his keys down the elevator shaft. Plus, the maintenance shop in many of these hotels is a hardware enthusiasts’ dream, so you get to play with all the cool tools. But watch out if you are thin-skinned: word is there’s a healthy amount of ribbing that goes on between the ‘guys back in maintenance.’
Sidebar: How to Find An Entry-Level Hotel Job
To find a job in this field check hotels in your area and see if they need any extra help. The best thing to do is to ask at the front desk. Don’t just say: “Are you hiring?” but state the field you are interested in: “Are you currently hiring any maintenance employees?” Also, check the website of the hotel chain near you, such as Marriott or Hilton. They always have jobs posted on their official Web sites. Good luck and remember: hotel employees always point with two fingers.