Common Interview Questions and Answers for hotel jobs for getting dream job in 2021

Interview skills are very essential for all people in today’s competitive world. The competition for hotel jobs & vacancies is increasing day by day by applying for the same jobs. candidates can standout from competition by crafting unique answers to common interview questions.

If you fail at your interview or fail to make a good impression, you may not get a job you want and miss the opportunity.

So, Interviewing may be the most important skill to get a good job. The company decides who to hire based on the interviews. During the interview, you have the opportunity to talk directly to the hiring manager, and make sure that motivates the company to hire you.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail – Benjamin Franklin

If you want to do well in your interview, you may have to prepare before the interview. Here are some common interview questions and sample answers for the hospitality industry. If you have planned to work at a hospitality industry, this will help you to succeed in your interview and get your dream job.

1. First interview question for hotel jobs is – Please tell me a little about yourself.

This is the first question in every interview. It looks simple but quite important because it gives the first impression to your employer. Sometimes,  many job seekers don’t take the question seriously, thinking it’s just an icebreaker meant to put them at ease. But in most cases, when hiring managers pose this open-ended question, they’re hoping candidates will offer insight about their goals and priorities, which gives them a better sense of who each job candidate really is.

Moreover, interviewers also ask this question to evaluate how confident interviewees are, which in turn gives them a view of how new hires might present themselves to customers, clients and colleagues if they get the job.

How to answer it

The employer asks the question in order to know if you are suitable or not to this position. So, make sure that your answer will be professional not personal.

Be to the point and tailor your answer to the job you are applying for. The recruiters want to know about you, your interests and your background to check if you would be the right fit for the role you are applying for. One important tip is be concise. Don’t take up too much time with your response. You can share your passion about hotel management, how and why you pursue the customer service industry. If you are being interviewed for customer facing roles, you need to highlight your qualities through stories, which prompts you to serve the customers. Key here is to highlight your strengths (without referring to them as strength).

2.Most tricky interview question for hotel jobs is – Why are you interested in this position?

This is a common hotel interview question because the interviewer will want to know why you applied.The employer would like to see your enthusiasm here and not the details. 

The answer would show if you are a keen learner, enthusiastic and positive in your attitude. 

Most importantly, the interviewer will be looking for staff who are interested in working with them for the long term. Managers want hotel staff who want to grow with the company.

How to answer it

1.Tailor your answer to show that the role is well suited for you

2.Show your passion for this job and how that job aligns with your long term career growth objective. For example if you are being interviewed for front office reception. You can always say that being a receptionist will help you to grow as front office manager or rooms director and connect with customers.

3.Highlight your connection to the hotel’s future development, you should however study the hotel’s environment first by connecting to a few people who might be working in that hotel. (through Linked in or FB). you may want to ask what kind of work environment hotel has so that you can use them in your answer.

4.Avoid general answers, don’t be generic and short. This question is the best chance to sell your skills and passion. 

5.Avoid answers that emphasize the job’s salary, as it would mean you are looking for short term gains, which might not be in interest of employers.

Show your enthusiasm, preparation regarding the culture of your hotel employer, your possible contribution and so on.

3. Do you have any experience working in a hotel?

The hotel employer already has your CV but they want to hear from you on how you can take out positives from whatever experience you have and that too in a nutshell. IT doesn’t matter if you have experiences or not, they want to know how you respond to them. If the employer has called you for an interview despite looking at your CV that you don’t have experience, it means that you feel your other skills are important. So by this question they would want to understand if you have any imagination of the hotel industry.

How to answer it

If you have any prior experience, talk about it in your interview, tell them what roles you’ve worked in and how long you were there for.

 If you don’t have any work experience in a hotel, refer to any jobs where you’ve had to work with customers. You can even use your general knowledge about hotels, how they function and what’s your understanding. It would always be useful to read and watch online videos to get a basic understanding of the hospitality industry.

Example Answer: I have never worked in a hotel before but I worked as a waitress for three years at a restaurant. It was very busy and we had to be dressed smartly and provide a high quality service at all times. From this experience, I believe I am able to communicate and work with customers. As I am used to dealing with unhappy customers, I know how to stay professional and help fix a customer’s problem.

As a fresher, mention that while you have not worked in a hotel, you have gained some experience working as an intern or in a restaurant.

4.Have you been on our hotel’s website? What do you think?

 Your interviewer will likely use this question to see if you have made the effort to search for them online and spent time navigating through the website. If you get this question, it’s worthwhile to have a list of things you liked and didn’t like. You should however be not making personal attacks, such as, the developer has used the wrong color or spelling is wrong etc. You may want to show this as points of improvement. 

How to answer it

To be able to answer it very well, you have to research and analyze the company’s website before the interview. And figure out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that you can get a higher impression from your employer. To be better, you can suggest some meaningful advice to the company. You may also mention a few things that you may not like personally, however qualify the sentence “in my personal opinion…” instead of sounding critical.

5.What are your strengths?

The main reason interviewers ask this question is to identify whether your strengths align with the needs of the hotel and the job’s responsibilities.  

Don’t forget that the interviewer is looking for a job and hotel-related strength. Your response will help the employer decide whether or not you are the strongest applicant for the position. 

How to answer it

Be prepared to answer by making a list of the criteria mentioned in the job posting and list your skills that match those the employer is seeking. This list can include education or training, soft skills, hard skills, or past work experiences. For example, communication skills, negotiations skills, problem solving skills, like that hotel related strengths.

6.What is your greatest weakness?

Hiring managers ask about your greatest weakness to evaluate your self-awareness. Can you assess your current talents and identify areas for improvement? Keep in mind that hiring managers are looking for two main insights: your weakness and the steps you’re taking to improve.

How to answer it

To answer this question,

• First, state your weakness. 
• Second, how you handle this weakness and 
• how it gives a positive effect in your professional life. 

This will give potential employers insight into your level of self-awareness and commitment to professional growth.

7.Why do you want to work at this hotel?

It’s a common interview question, but also everyone can be challenging to answer. Not preparing a solid response to this question is risky because it could make all the difference in whether a potential employer extends a job offer to you or not. Your interviewer will want to know why you’ve expressed interest in working with them. Is it because they’re a world renowned hotel chain? Do you like how it’s an independent hotel and has its own personal charm?

How to answer it

A good answer will demonstrate knowledge of the hotel industry. That means you must do your homework so that you can identify specific reasons for wanting to work for the firm. You need to connect with other employees of the hotel in advance via professional networks and reach out to them asking for advice and opinions about things which are good about the hotel and which may not be good.

Preparing for this question will also help you understand, if you really want to work in this hotel beforehand, rather than searching for another job after a short period of time.

These reasons could include one or several of the following:

• Hotel general reputation
• Reputation of key leaders
• Admiration of services
• Competitive advantage on other hotels
• Hotel culture and values
• Hotel growth/success

8.Have you dealt with an unhappy or difficult customer? If yes, how did you handle the situation?

Customer service is very important in every hotel business, and you may communicate with angry,happy, demanding customers. Service in the Hotel industry is the most important success factor.

The recruiter wants to know how you’ll turn the unhappy customer into a repeat customer. And also, the recruiter would like to know how you can handle pressure and how you can manipulate the situation to your advantage.

How to answer it

You need a lot of persuasive skills and positive attitude towards handling a difficult situation. Through this question, you are being assessed for the soft skills that you have or that can be owned in the future. Hence you should take the chance to really display your skills. However, don’t try to be overconfident and try to show there was no mistake from your side or guest always complaints etc. 

The interviewer here wants to know your learning abilities through the episode when you came across a really difficult customer. You can tell how you handle and take advantage of those circumstances. You should not seem to be defensive in your approach and feel like making excuses.

If you have not come across any such situation as you might be a hotel management fresher, you should not be afraid of speaking the truth. Simply mention that there is no such instance which is worth mentioning. 

However, you must support your answer with an instance that you saw someone else tackling an unhappy customer and what you were learning out of that situation. A vivid explanation of the same would definitely be helpful in showcasing you observation skills and ability to learn by watching others. 

9.Why should we hire you?

The employers usually ask this question to see how much you know about the role ,to see what makes you unique, to see whether you are confident in your skills and to see how you will develop in the role. This is your chance to wow them with your highlight strengths. This is an opportunity to reiterate your most impressive strengths and describe your most memorable selling points.

How to answer it

Make your answer all about the hotel. Share information that only meets all the criteria the hotel is looking for.

Speak about the tangibles and intangibles. Speak about how you would add value and what makes you the best fit for this hotel and this job.

Your 3-4 bullet points could include a combination of the following:

• Industry experience
• Experience in performing certain tasks or duties
• Technical skills
• Soft skills
• Key accomplishments
• Awards/accolades
• Education/training

Don’t try to be a superhero by making over reaching claims what you can do for the hotel. For example saying, i can double hotel sales or i will make the hotel No 1 in TripAdvisor etc. This shows that you give too much self importance to yourself rather than working in teams.

10.Do you have any questions?

One of the last questions you will be asked is, “Do you have any questions for me?” Be prepared to respond with some questions of your own.

You may want to know more about the job, the company, the shifts you’ll be working, or you may need additional information to determine if the position is a good fit for what you’re looking for.

How to answer it

Always say ‘Yes,’ when an interviewer asks if you have questions. 

Keep in mind that to always ask open-ended questions, and not questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no.”

Here’s the important thing to remember: It’s in your best interest to have at least one thoughtful question to ask. Not only does it show your level of engagement in the company and the hiring process, but it’ll also extend the conversation and give them something else they can remember you by.

“But, what sort of question am I supposed to ask?” you’re wondering now. Well, you knew your ideas about the hiring manager’s lunch or outfit choices weren’t great. So, instead, opt for one of these five questions.

1. What’s next in the hiring process?
2. What do you expect from team members in this position?
3. What is a typical day like at [company name]?
4. Why Is This Position Available?
5. What do you enjoy most about working here?

 

To sum up, the questions described above are some of the most common questions that you might be asked during your hotel interview. If you have no interview experience before, prepare these interview questions in order to do well in your first interview.

Prepare yourself well and get on with the interview with a clear head. Practice the most common hotel interview questions with your own answers that will indicate who you are.

 

When you have practiced those interview questions, you should also avoid these facts. (Don’t)

• Don’t be late.
• Think before you speak.
• If ladies, don’t wear make up heavily.
• Don’t be shy to answer questions.
• Make some research before the interview and don’t ask basic questions to the interviewers.

 

You should also keep in mind these tips to get a better first impression. (Dos)

• Research about the company.
• Wear as formal.
• Be on time.
• Always put a smile on your face.
• Keep confidence in yourself.
• Be Conscious of Your Body Language.
• Answer the questions honestly.
• Be yourself.

Wishing you to get your dream jobs!!

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