The tasks of a hotel internship
The hotel receptionist’s mission is to welcome international travelers from different cultures. He ensures that their stay takes place in the best conditions. First contact with the customers, he makes sure that his trip went well and welcomes him. Then, throughout the stay, he is his privileged interlocutor. This experience is therefore ideal for students looking for a language internship.
Hospitality internships are extremely important to turn theoretical knowledge into practical work.
The tasks of a reception intern
Here are the different tasks that can be performed by a hotel receptionist:
- Participate in the customer reception and inform tourists about the conditions of stay: services offered by the hotel, rates of different activities, events etc …
- Assist in the management of reservations: record arrivals and departures.
- Maintain relevant information available to customers and sometimes play the role of tourist advisor on the potential places in the region to visit.
- Promote the activities offered by the hotel to tourists for commercial purposes.
- Establish invoices at the customer’s departure: price of the stay, meals, minibar consumption, excursions, hotel services … and manage payments.
- Calculate, analyze and communicate the reservation rate of the hotel to the managers.
Available internships
Education
Several types of training are valued to access a receptionist internship abroad. It depends a lot on the hosting structure.
In general, hotels look for people with certain skills rather than hotel training. Thus, this position is accessible to students in business school or university. In short, you are motivated, you speak English, you can apply!
On the other hand, hotels in the luxury industry are more selective because they offer impeccable customer service. Difficult to access without a first successful experience in this field or specialized training. In the second case, it is necessary to prepare or have validated a CAP, BTS, License or Master in the hotel sector.
Qualities & Skills
The reception course may seem affordable for a large part of the students. Nevertheless, certain skills will be essential.
First, your presentation must be perfect because you will be the first contact with the customer. It is obvious to favor sobriety and professionalism. A hotel receptionist is always an essential component of the hotel as their reflect the brand of the hotel.
Then, it is necessary that you have the sense of the service: it is the base of the trade. In particular, help and inform customers in all circumstances and in any condition.
The organization is also an important asset since the receptionist’s position is versatile. You must be able to juggle reservations, hospitality and customer queries. All this smiling and courteously. If you are not organized, you will be quickly overwhelmed by events and the customer will feel it.
Your goal is to develop the hotel’s sales and the number of rooms occupied. That’s why a certain commercial sense is essential. In addition, you are occasionally required to promote the services of the hotel. We must make them attractive through a speech conveying the benefits of these services.
In general, being dynamic will make it much easier to assume a versatile and rigorous job.
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English
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Local language
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Sales
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Booking
Developed skills during an internship abroad in reception
If you are studying in hospitality you will have the opportunity to acquire technical skills specific to this sector. Like, calculate occupancy rates then involving the manipulation of sales figures. Indeed, you will assimilate its codes through your learning to apply them to customers. As a result, you will be able to greet them with courtesy, check in and check out the rules of the art and manipulate hotel software. Thanks to your privileged contacts with your guardian, you will be able to have a first approach of the managerial practices in the hotel industry.
The internship being abroad, you will have the opportunity to progress in languages. English, Spanish, German … everything will depend on your destination. Today, it is important to master English fluently, or even a second living language. Working in a team and in contact with customers will allow you to exchange regularly with international contacts. In total immersion, your oral fluency should evolve rapidly. Of course, it will also allow you to add another facet to your resume. Companies are becoming more international and their targets are from all walks of life. Even in France, it is an essential skill in the job market.
Finally, you will be able to develop a whole range of transversal skills for your professional success. Adaptability because you will evolve in a country where the culture and the working methods are different. But also the sense of service, professional presentation, rigor … to name a few. All these values will be useful to you in the future, both professionally and personally.
A hotel reception internship will definitely increase your skills and way of approach to customers.
Available internships
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- For European cities, the best season to do an internship as a receptionist is summer. This is the holiday season par excellence and many European hotels are recruiting international trainees over this period. Thus, the months when your application will have the best chance of being accepted, no matter the place, will spread from May to August. Of course, this is only a recommendation, it is quite possible to find an internship in Spain in winter for example.
- It is necessary to apply at least 2 months before the beginning of the internship. Ideally 3. The goal is to have a maximum choice of destinations.
- An internship in reception can last from 2 to 6 months or more. The longer the internship, the more the company will appreciate your application.
- We have many hotel internships available for you, send your resume now !
In any case, the best way to find out more is to contact a consultant directly [email protected]
Within PIC Management, we offer the following destinations for a hotel receptionist course: Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Maldives and Latin America. Discover all our front office internships abroad.