Hospitality positions are sensitive ones, where one is required to be constantly indulged in a customer service model.
But to err is human and mistakes do happen. Nonetheless, employers tend to hire people who they consider the best! And how do they find out if someone is the “best”? Through an interview!
Interviews are feared by many of us and that is not surprising. Sitting under the spotlight is uncomfortable and even the best of us can make terrible mistakes when being grilled in this state.
In a hotel, employers want to hire the best guest relations officer, the best manager, the best housekeeper, and especially the best receptionist!
So an interview conducted to determine who the best candidate is, is sure to be difficult!
Beware! Interviews are difficult to come by and when they do, they are not easy to ace.
So if you go prepared to answer questions such as the following, you are asking for trouble:
• Why do you want to become a receptionist?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
Standard questions do not tell anything about a candidate – so they are almost never asked anymore. Interview questions are more detailed now and aim to figure out what the candidate possesses in terms of skills and qualifications.
See also: Hotel Receptionist Cover Letter
What follows is a set of interview questions and answers for a hotel receptionist position:
Hotel Receptionist Interview Questions and Answers
1. Why do you feel that working as a hotel receptionist is the career for you?
I am one of those people who depend highly on my communication and people skills. I like interacting with people from different walks of life and there is no better place to meet them than at a hotel. Possessing good organizational skills and the confidence to handle the most irate of guests, I believe that this is the right career for me.
2. Speaking of adversities, tell us of a situation in which you came across a particularly problematic guest. How did you handle it?
A gentleman once insisted that he had a booking with us when I could not see him booked into our hotel. He was adamant that the hotel had confirmed his booking. After 20 minutes of constantly arguing, he threatened me with a lawsuit. I remained calm and after trying to determine how he could be so adamant, I figured out that he had actually booked in Ramada which sounded like Granada (the hotel that I was working for). I called Ramada to confirm his booking and he was quite apologetic after that.
3. What skill do you consider as the most important while working as a hotel receptionist?
There are many very important skills such as communication and interpersonal skills and dependability. However, above all, it is imperative to be polite and customer-oriented.
4. This job is repetitive. How would you motivate yourself to work regularly?
In fact, the job of a hotel receptionist is not repetitive at all! One meets so many different people in a day and there are different challenges to look forward to. All this is motivation in itself!