What to Know About Guest Service Agent Interview at a Hotel?

A guest service agent is often the main representative of a hotel or convention center. As the smiling and personable person behind the hotel desk, a guest service agent communicates with guests and helps make their hotel stays comfortable and enjoyable. When you interview for a guest service agent position at a hotel, brush up on your technique to ensure that you offer the effective and impressive answers that an interviewer desires.

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     Dress in business attire for the interview, including a two-piece business suit for both men and women. Men should wear a conservative dress shirt and tie and women should wear a coordinating blouse. Keep color choices and jewelry conservative and basic.
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     Respond to the questions that cover the technical skills required for the position. These skills may include typing, computer expertise, handling cash, office duties, room allocation and telephone skills. Provide examples of your skills and knowledge in response to specific interview questions.
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     Field questions pertaining to your experience. Give details about prior guest service agent experience, if possible, to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the position.
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     Expect questions that pertain to “soft skills.” Soft skills are the behavioral and personality skills that you must possess to serve customers properly and work with others effectively. You may hear questions such as: “Tell me about a problem you faced with a hotel guest and how you solved it,” or, “How do you handle difficult guests,” or, “What do you consider your most challenging personality trait for working in the hotel industry?”
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     Prepare answers to the soft skill questions to demonstrate an impressive personality, the ability to handle guest issues and the capacity to work well with others. The most impressive answers to these questions involve describing an applicable situation you've experienced, explaining what you had to do, detailing your actions in the situation and finishing with a positive result. For example, if an interviewer asks about a difficult guest, you might describe a challenging guest situation, what you knew you had to do to solve the problem, the steps you took and the positive outcome, resulting in a happy guest.
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     Ask questions of the interviewer when invited. For example, you might ask about the position's daily responsibilities, formal training programs, performance evaluations and possibilities for professional advancement.
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     Maintain confident eye contact throughout the interview, speak clearly and give complete answers. Smile warmly to demonstrate your ability to connect with people -- this can help the interviewer imagine how friendly and personable you'll be as you work behind the hotel desk. Shake hands at the beginning and end of the interview and thank the interviewer for taking the time to speak with you.
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     Follow up with a personal thank you note to the interviewer the next day. Call the company the following week to inquire about a hiring decision, if necessary.

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Posted in: Employment,Hotels and Restaurants

How to Warm Food in Hotel Room?

While the idea of cooking while traveling is hardly ever an appetizing one, it is sometimes necessary to reheat your own food in a hotel room. Particularly on business trips, which can sometimes mean staying in a hotel room for days or weeks at a time. Investments in travel-size appliances are one option for reheating food, though, you can also utilize the appliances found in hotel closets for reheating food quickly and easily.

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     Book a hotel room that features a microwave for easy re-heating options. Hotels generally list amenities on their websites by type of room, allowing you to browse for the best room option for you that also features this appliance. While a room with a microwave may cost more than a standard hotel room, it is worth the investment if you are on an extended business trip or other vacation in which will be doing a fair amount of cooking and reheating in your room.
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     Invest in a travel-size microwave, particularly if you go on frequent business trips and do not want to have to rely on take-out and restaurant food. Such models are portable and save you money in the long run as you will not have to constantly book rooms that feature microwaves or other cooking appliances. Travel-size microwaves allow you to cook as well as reheat food.
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     Use an iron to reheat your food. Wrap items such as vegetables, chicken, fish and even fried foods in one to three layers of foil and place the wrapped food on the hotel ironing board. Turn the iron to its highest setting and place the iron over the foil-wrapped food for three to five minutes depending on what you are reheating. Be careful not to let any juices from the food seep out of the foil and onto the iron, which can stain and damage the appliance.

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Posted in: Hotels and Restaurants