Useful tips for landing an internship for hotel management students


Are you looking for a hotel management internship? Are you confused about the various departments and roles? This article explains in detail about different departments in the hotels from culinary to housekeeping along with the useful tips and application procedure.

Introduction

The hospitality industry is vast and is growing day by day. Thus, the scope to build a career in this industry is also enormous. Hotel management is one such topmost career option for the students. In India, tourism is flourishing. Thanks to its rich culture and heritage. Every year new establishments are made, and there is the opening of new restaurants and hotels. With the establishments, the demand for employment increases too. Thus, the younger generation is inclined to enter various courses in the hotel management sector. Internships in hotel management are necessary for students. It helps them to expose themselves to the practical side of the profession. Also, it is something that cannot be taken lightly. The experience and performance of the students matter in the exams of the final semester.

Application procedure

Hotel management students can apply for an internship in two different ways. One is through colleges. The college itself sends resumes of students to different hotels. In such cases, students can opt for internship their colleges are providing them. The students have to sit back and prepare themselves for performing well in an interview. Another way is not the easiest out of two, but of course the best one. In it, students have to send their resumes to different hotels where they wish to work as an intern. Students can either send resumes to HR or training department of the hotel. Or else first they can call them and ask if there is any vacancy and then send a resume. If everything goes well and a student is selected, he/she may have to impress the panel in the interview and secure their internship.

Different areas of hotels to expertise in

  • Accounting,
  • Lodging,
  • Housekeeping,
  • Culinary department,
  • Food and beverage department,
  • Human Resources


Who can apply?

There are numerous hotel management courses from certification to diploma and from bachelors to post-graduation. To secure an internship in hotels, students should have finished their Bachelor's or Master's hotel management course.

Commencement of the course

Usually, the internship begins in June/July and September/October. Students can choose to intern as per their convenience.

What is the role of hotel management interns?

Interns as per their area of choice will be assigned the work in that department. Hotel management students can concentrate only on one area of their interest. There are a few hotels which allow their students to train in different areas and gain more experience.

  • If a student opts to intern as a manager, there are many jobs for him/her. The student may be taught to work as front office manager, housekeeping manager or manager for the food and beverage department. The work is mainly about looking after the assigned department. Customer's satisfaction is a must in hotel management, and the manager's task is to take care that customer's needs are met satisfactorily.
  • Those who wish to work as an intern in the culinary department have to deal with cooking, catering and in the banquet area. Those who are good at cooking should work as an intern in this department. Students can work as chefs or bakers in the kitchen of the hotel they intern.
  • Housekeeping department makes sure everything is clean and well organized. They also have the inspecting duty. Interns will be given the responsibility related to cleaning the hotel rooms and taking care that room attendants have done their work properly. They have to do the laundry, landscaping, gardening and sometimes, aid in building maintenance.
  • Front office duty in the lodging division of the hotel management course is another interesting option for students. Interns in this department will be taught to carry out various tasks associated with reservations and reception area. Attending guests, reserving and cancelling as per the needs and hotel's policy and looking after the customer's basic requirements are some of the duties of front office intern. Experience as a porter or a concierge will also be provided.
  • Students who are specializing in food and beverage department may work as a bartender and maybe given responsibilities such as making stock purchases, receiving and storing the same, working as a wait staff/host in the dining room of the hotels.
  • Interning in the department of Human Resources allows interns to gain experience in training, recruitment and employee relations. On the other hand, those who become accounting interns gain experience in handling accounts related to the hotel. They learn to set the budgets.
  • Interns that work in the Sales and Marketing department of hotels learn everything about promotional events. They have to distribute the material that is related to promotion to set up a new business and will also be given experience on how to maintain a database of hotel guests.


Duration of internship and salary

The internship period is of short duration and is from three to six months. Payscale may vary from one hotel to another. Usually, it is around 5,000-8,000. However, in top luxury hotels, it can be high.

Why is hotel management internship necessary?

The internship is necessary to learn professional skills. In hotel management course, internship becomes essential and is very important. It is because customer satisfaction is the top priority in the hospitality sector. In the internship period, interns learn the skills of interacting with customers and also about everything that is required for providing the best service. All these skills can be read in the books but cannot be mastered without getting practical training in real life. Internships make the job easier for students. Also, interns are analyzed for their skills when they go out to seek a job after completing their internship. Thus, it is necessary to work as an intern in the best hotels in the country or abroad. Learning from the best will create a good resume, and securing a job becomes easy. Those who are pursuing a law degree should know useful tips for landing an internship.

Useful tips for hotel management interns

If the aim is to secure an internship in top hotels, every hotel management course student should keep the below-mentioned tips in the mind.

  • Right from an early age or while pursuing a hotel management course or any hospitality course, make sure to learn as many languages as possible. Take English lessons and build a command over the language. If possible, try to learn foreign languages. Though they are taught in the course but, try to learn as many as possible.
  • Before applying for an internship, every hotel management student should work on interaction skills. They cannot afford to lose an internship in top hotels for not having good communication skills.
  • In every exam, try to score good marks. Regularly attend the classes. Good performance and punctuality of the student will tell how good an intern he/she is going to be. Every hotel wants a punctual and dedicated intern to work for them. No one wants to appoint an intern who is hardly serious about the career.
  • Do not randomly apply to every hotel. Do a thorough research and narrow down the list. Geographical location, selection process, stipend, job guarantee are some of the factors that can be taken care of when trying to choose one.
  • Before attending an interview, make it a point to gather complete information about the hotel, staff, policies and management. It is for sure that they would like the reason why the applicant wants to work under them. When such questions are asked, the applicant will be able to answer them easily.


Comments

Author: Umesh20 Sep 2020 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 3

This is one very helpful article for the students interested to undergo an internship in the hotel industry. Hotel industry had boomed in the past few decades unprecedentedly. So, it makes sense for the students to apply and undergo the internship course or training in one of the selected skill area in hotel paraphernalia. Those who are having an interest in housekeeping side have the opportunity to attend many practical courses in it while others interested in cooking and bartending side have other courses to join. Managing the hotel counters from reception to back-office are other engagements which provide enough experience of the intricacies of running a hotel business and that learning can also be pursued through internship courses. Whatever be the course chosen by the students it would give practical knowledge of the trade and its subtleties and would be useful for job hunting in the industry.



  • Do not include your name, "with regards" etc in the comment. Write detailed comment, relevant to the topic.
  • No HTML formatting and links to other web sites are allowed.
  • This is a strictly moderated site. Absolutely no spam allowed.
  • Name:
    Email: