For almost all of us vacation means only one thing- lots and lots of travelling and seeing new places. As travelling is emerging as a new passion among youngsters, the tourism industry seems to reap heavy benefits from this trend. A major part of tourism industry is hospitality. Increasing opportunities in hospitality industry has made hotel management courses a hot career choice for students. With opening of new restaurants and hotels in every corner of the country, the demand for new professionals is increasing too. Internships are a crucial part of any hotel management course and are given considerable weight-age in the end semester exams too.
How can you apply for hotel management internships?
- Get in touch with the hotel: To apply for hotel management internships, the best way is to contact the training department directly and enquire if they have a vacancy in your course for internship. If there is vacancy, you’ll be required to submit your CV. Once your CV gets shortlisted, then you will be called for an interview.
- Through College: This is perhaps the easiest way to get hotel management internships. Most hotel management college sends their student’s resume to the hotel. Next, the student has to appear before an interview panel.
Internship duration:
Summer Batch: Session starts from June/July onwards.
Winter Batch: Session mostly starts from September/October onwards.
How to prepare for internships?
Both practical experience and classroom knowledge are important when considering a student for internships. You can increase your chances of securing an internship at good hotels if you maintain good grades and attendance.
As you prepare for the interview, make sure you have sound knowledge about hotel’s senior staff and management. Try to learn more about company’s events, achievements and awards. While you will mention these things during interview, do not forget to talk about what these things mean for you and what motivates you to work for the company. While answering, try to know what the company does when it comes to treating its guests and training its staff. Some of the most frequent questions that you can be asked during interview are:
- Why motivates you to work with us?
- Tell something about the company/hotel?
- How do you see your career in hospitality industry?
- What are your key strengths that you can offer in the hospitality industry?
- In case you get this job, how long are you going to stay with us?
These interactions are supposed to test your problem-solving skills as well as your sense of teamwork, diplomacy and tact. Show the interviewer that you are responsible for your own mistakes and you have the ability to learn from failed projects and wrong decisions.
These skills are considered crucial when closing up on a candidate for internships.
- Customer Service Skills- You must have the ability to perform under pressure and remain calm and organized on tasks at hand.
- Communication Skills- How well can you command both your regional and English language and familiarity with the industry?
Why go for Hotel management Internship?
It is the easiest way to secure a job at some of the leading hotel brands and chains. Your hotel management college will assist you in securing internships at such hotels. Interns get to learn how to treat one’s customer rights and interact properly with guests. One requires a lot of skills while working in a hotel like interpersonal communication, interaction with diverse cultures/groups, knowledge of community assets, research & planning and critical thinking. You might have learned all these skills in your hotel management college but you get a chance to implement them only during internship. One needs to have a friendly personality and desire to help in order to get going in hospitality industry.
Some helpful points:
Prepare your resume carefully- The hospitality industry is highly competitive in nature. In your resume, mention all the challenges that you overcame, the moments when you displayed leadership skills and the times when you acted as if company’s reputation is your own. Hospitality managers prefer candidates who take full responsibility of guest experience and those who take the issues like guest comfort personally and seriously.
The customer is always right- Walk that extra mile to turn an upset guest’s problem into a good experience that he/she would like to share with friends and family on how you went beyond duty lines for sake of their happiness. Take every complaint as a stepping stone to improve the way your hotel works.
Various work as a hotel management intern:
During their internship, students have to work in various departments of the hotel such as front office, housekeeping, food & beverage service, and kitchen. Some of the common jobs handled by interns are:
- Front Office Manager- Interns have to manage the front office staff whose responsibility is to welcome the guests and provide them room according to their needs.
- House Keeping Manager- Their work is to maintain proper hygiene, cleanliness and decoration of hotel rooms. At this position, you may bear the responsibility of hiring housekeepers and train them. You may also be needed to make schedule for workers so that there is no shortage of manpower in each shift.
- Food & Beverage Manager- They do the job of monitoring eateries and refreshments to make sure that the quality is kept up to the mark. This also involves placing orders for supplies, dealing with expenses and managing the kitchen.
Best hotels for completing your internship in India:
- Marriott Hotel- Marriott welcomes interns for duration of six months. Generally, they prefer candidates sent by the hotel management college. You can apply for internship for both summer and winter batches.
- Oberoi Hotel- Oberoi provides internships for both shorter and longer durations. Shorter duration internships are of 17 weeks whereas longer ones are for a period of six months.
- Leela Hotel- Leela provides internship for a period of 17 weeks to the students pursuing hotel management courses in IIHM and 22-week internship to students from other hotel management college.
- Taj mahal Hotel- This hotel offers internship to students at all departments related to hotel management for duration of four-and-a-half to six months.
- Westin Hotel- They provide six months internships to select applicants through college references only.
We hope that this article clears all the mist around hotel management internships and help you in your career.