A hotel receptionist is part of the front desk team that answers phones, welcomes guests and processes their reservations when they check in. To apply for this type of job, your hotel receptionist resume should include relevant education and prior experience in the hospitality industry. It should also highlight any formal customer service training you may have had or experiences where you worked extensively with the public. You should also indicate any proficiency with the reservation system software programs that are commonly used in the hotel industry in the special skills section of your resume.
Jobs in hotel reception can be defined differently, depending upon the way a particular hotel structures its front-of-the-house interface with the public; often, the size of the hotel is a key factor. Smaller hotels may allocate a broader range of customer service duties to a receptionist, including check-in, telephones and administrative tasks. Larger hotels may narrowly define the receptionist job as a greeter or concierge who provides information and routes guests to the proper service once they enter the hotel lobby.
The most inclusive job description for a hotel receptionist places you at the front desk to make reservations, handle check-in for guests, answer phones and provide information. A hotel receptionist resume that would be suitable for this position should address your educational background. Although reception is not a job that specifically requires a certain level of education, the bigger hotels will often prefer someone with a bachelor's degree in virtually any major or someone who has an associate's degree or trade education in the hospitality industry specifically. It is possible to obtain a hotel receptionist job out of high school, but you would likely have to start at a small hotel and work your way to a larger hotel through experience.
Your hotel receptionist resume should highlight your work experience, with a special emphasis on prior experience in the hospitality industry. You should also focus on any experience, education or training you have in customer service, including volunteer activities where you worked directly with the public. A receptionist is the face of the hotel to the guest, and most hotels will target resumes that convey the candidate's customer service acumen.
If you have any special skills that are specifically relevant to hotel work, you should highlight them on your hotel receptionist resume. This could include foreign language proficiency or familiarity with the hotel reservation software systems that are most commonly used in the hotel industry. These sorts of special skills can bump your resume to the top of the pile.