Hospitality Internship- Housekeeping

A housekeeping internship abroad is a very versatile position. Tasks include everything that can help the hotel’s governor in his/her duties. Given that the main objective is to provide the best service possible to customers and the hotel guests, missions may vary. From the front office to the cleaning service, the housekeeper has to interact and connect with all hotel’s actors. A housekeeper internship will show you how important it is to take care of even the smallest details to satisfy customers.

Education

To access an internship in housekeeping abroad, you need to know the basics of hospitality. This means having a first successful experience in room service or a specific education. In this case, a high school degree in hospitality or studies in this domain would be the minimum requirement. Usually, people from business schools or universities willing to go abroad choose internships in front office or food and beverage.

Summer internships are very common in this specific field, host companies search for a lot of interns starting from many months in advance !

Skills and Qualities

A housekeeping intern in a hotel should present various qualities.

Firstly, you should have an innate sense for service. Being constantly in contact with customers and answering their requests and expectations, you would have to be patient and diplomatic. Indeed, the housekeeper may have to give information and advise customers on the hotel and its services. This means you also should be able to memorize information.

Then, as the position is very versatile, you will have to be resourceful if you want to get successfully absolve this internship. You must be adaptable to give support on different departments on the hotel. For instance, helping the front office team during rush hours, helping the luggage staff when a customer has a lot of suitcases, welcoming customers at the restaurant…

Finally, you need a strong sense of perfection. Everything should be perfectly executed to create an unforgettable customer experience. Taking initiative is also an important aspect of the job. Your ability to identify and solve problems is determining.

Skills developed during a Housekeeping Internship abroad

An internship abroad in housekeeping in hospitality will allow you to develop many competencies and qualities.

First, you will master hospitality standards. You will apply them to different aspects such as cleaning, security, outfit… You will know how to identify and solve problems efficiently. This kind of skills are very useful and not only in the housekeeping department. Finally, this internship will allow you to discover rules and codes applicable in a hotel as well as the way other departments work.

Given that the internship will be abroad, you will have the opportunity to improve your language skills. English, Spanish, German… it will depend on your destination. Nowadays, it is important to fluently master English, or even a second language. Working in a team will allow you to exchange and interact with foreign people daily. In the field, your ability to speak would improve rapidly. Of course, it will also allow you to add a new asset to your CV. Companies are more and more internationalized and their target markets are spread worldwide. Even in France, it is a mandatory competency on the job market.

Finally, you will be able to develop a whole new set of cross-disciplinary skills for your future career. Adaptability, as you will live in a country with a different culture and working methods. But also, your rigorousness, sense of observation and service… just to mention a few. All these values will be useful for your future, professionally as well as personally.

More Information

• If you want to get an internship abroad in housekeeping in a European hotel, demand is higher during the summer. Vacationers are looking for accommodation abroad and hotels are trying to meet their expectations. Thus, the energy you could bring would surely interest them!
• If you are more interested in an internship outside of Europe, the high season can differ. Each destination has its own characteristics concerning tourism. The best option is to find information on when tourists are visiting the country considered. In general, hotels from sunny places are open all year long!
• It is better to apply around 2 months before the beginning of your internship. The idea is to have as many internship positions and destination to choose from as possible.
• The housekeeping internship can last from 2 to 6 months. It depends on our partner company and their requirements. In Europe, it is quite hard to find an internship for a duration of less than 3 months.
• Among hospitality internships, the housekeeping ones are very indicated to anyone who has great organizational and timing skills.

Please, don’t forget that these are just trends and advice. The best thing to do is ask for information to one of our consultants: [email protected]