How to List Hospitality Skills on a Resume: Best Skills and Examples

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Hospitality skills are important for service-related jobs because they apply to any job that involves customer service in hotels, resorts, restaurants, maintenance and cleaning businesses. Employers look for friendly candidates who can help customers each day and contribute to their positive experience. In this article, you can learn about the best hospitality skills to include on your resume.

Why employers want to see hospitality skills on your resume

Hospitality employees may work in direct contact with clients, at front desks or other positions where they will need customer service and interpersonal skills. They may also work behind the scenes, preparing food or ensuring that amenities are clean and ready to receive clients. Attention to detail, industry awareness and experience with job-specific equipment is important for these types of positions. Employers also want to ensure you can manage the fast-paced workload of the hospitality industry.

How to list hospitality skills on a resume

You can follow these steps to list your hospitality skills:

1. First, gather information about the position and the company 

Read the job description carefully and inform yourself about the company. You can find information on the industry, company culture and facility on their website.

2. Second, find out what skills the employer is looking for

While you read the job description, review the skills the employer is looking for in the candidate. Write down your qualifications, and select those that are matching the job requirements.

3. Third, list your relevant skills on your resume

List your hospitality skills in a separate section. It will help your resume to be easier to scan or read when a hiring manager is verifying that you have the necessary skills. 

Best hospitality skills to add to a resume

Here are the top skills to include in your hospitality resume:

Interpersonal skills

Some hospitality jobs require daily interactions with clients. For example, positions like front desk staff, concierge, porters in hotels or coffee baristas and bartenders in restaurants interact daily with clients. They need social skills like patience, negotiation, tolerance and empathy to ensure clients feel valued and satisfied.

Multitasking 

Careers in hospitality require staff to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously. Employees also need to adapt quickly to guests’ needs. For example, a hotel manager may have to find solutions for a guest, fill out paperwork for an employee matter, negotiate a contract with a vendor and greet new guests courteously, all in the course of a few hours.

Be sure to highlight your multitasking skills to show employers you can handle the varied workload of the hospitality industry. You can use keywords like organizational skills, proven time management expertise and mention that you can manage simultaneous projects.

Attention to detail

Attention to detail helps make a guest’s experience exceptional. For example, ensuring staff is wearing impeccable uniforms, presenting fresh flowers at the front desk or remembering a customer’s preference can help the hospitality employee create that extraordinary experience. 

To highlight these skills and show the employer you are invested in your role, you can use key phrases like the ability to focus on crucial guest details to exceed guests’ expectations.

Communication

Communication skills are essential in hospitality to ensure that customers are pleased. Given the number of people encountered every day in hotels, restaurants and events, hospitality jobs require excellent listening skills and a polite demeanor.  

Building connections

The ability to build positive relations with clients, guests, vendors and other employees can help you succeed in any hospitality position. Developing relationships that last can encourage clients to come back to the hotel, restaurant, venue or other hospitality business because they will feel comfortable. 

To let employers know that you can create connections, you can use these keywords: client management, team leadership, relationship building, guest relations or vendor management.

Problem-solving

Hospitality staff must handle multiple challenges every day. It is essential in a customer-service environment. Problem-solving is also necessary in order to manage your time. As you find solutions faster, you can focus on your other tasks.

Teamwork

Teamwork is essential to provide excellent service to customers. A successful hospitality staff needs to collaborate and communicate. 

Language skills

The knowledge of a foreign language can help your hospitality resume stand out from the rest. As hotels and restaurant staff are in contact with travelers, their ability to understand multiple languages is an advantage. It can improve the customer’s experience. When you highlight this quality in your resume, indicate whether your language skills are fluent, basic or conversational.

Industry awareness

Hospitality employees work under industry standards and procedures. Health and safety regulations must be followed by all members of the staff. Restaurant employees need to know about food safety procedures. It is also beneficial to learn about hospitality trends. You can learn more by reading hospitality news and by registering for specialized training.

Computer skills

Hospitality jobs often require the use of computers and specific software programs. Make sure you highlight your technical expertise or any specialized training received previously on your resume. 

How to improve hospitality skills

You can use these tips to improve your hospitality skills:

1. First, practice active listening

Listen carefully when others speak to you. Maintain eye contact and consider their body language. Not only will it help you to understand your clients’ needs and find solutions, but it will also give them a sense of being valued and cultivate loyalty.

2. Second, stay positive

Being positive impacts all aspects of your work. Your good mood can uplift your colleagues and your clients. To develop your positivity, you can write down a list of things that you are grateful for and carry it with you. You can also practice resilience and move forward in another direction when things don’t work as expected.

3. Third, accept feedback

Hospitality is one of many sectors clients review publicly, and some reviews might not be positive. Stay open, take in all feedback in and learn from it.