The secret to a successful hotel business is all about effective management. A hotel manager overseeing all the hotel operations, including monitoring staff, checking for check inns, and check-outs, ensuring the rooms are in good condition, and general maintenance of the hotel. Here are 25 hotel management interview questions and answers that you need to practice to get hired for the hotel manager position.
1. What are The Different Types of Linens Used in Hotel Management?
The linens used are tablecloths, Moulton, cloth napkins, and slip cloths. Moulton refers to a thick fabric with lint to which the hotel workers lay on the table surface with a pin underneath. Its primary function is to hold table cloth. On the other hand, the workers lay slip cloths over the table on top of the table cloth and protect it from spillage.
2. Explain the Terms Spillage, Cutlery, Hollowware, Flatware, and Sommelier
Sommelier refers to a person whose responsibility is to serve wine in a restaurant. Hollowwares are items designed in a manner to hold something and are made in china. Flatwares are forks and spoons, while cutlery refers to knives and any other equipment used for cutting. Lastly, spillage is a liquid that drops by mistake.
3. What is Continuously Rendered Services?
Continuously rendered services refer to the services that hotel managers offer to the customers who are physically in the hotel. It’s a form of face-face interaction, and they include reservation services, massage, restaurant services, etc. This service takes time to end.
4. What’s the Meaning of Dining and The Different Types of Dining Available
Dining refers to the process of eating a meal or the venue where the waitress serves the guests food. There are two types of dining: pre-plated dining and fine dining restaurants. Pre-plated dining is where the waitress and waiters serve you food on the plate from the kitchen, whereas fine dining restaurants offer high-class services and facilities. Its main target is to ensure fantastic food and services in good ambiance and décor.
5. What is Adding value?
Adding value is the act of incorporating more items, products, images, and services that increase the value of a product. An example is a clean, punctual, and good-looking receptionist. He/she will add value to the hotel. Additionally, garnish on food increases the value of the food. A travel agency also increases the value of the hotel. It can be images of the chef or owner, environment, service staff, etc.
6. What are Adventure Tourism, Attraction, Back of The House, and Amenities?
Adventure tourism is where the business converts adventure into pleasure, while attraction is any attached activity or object that attracts the tourists. Amenities are additional services or facilities that a company adds with accessibility, attraction, and accommodation to facilitate tourism. These may include hospitality, trust, and friendship.
7. Mention The Different Types of Accommodation
There are two types of accommodation: service accommodation and supplementary accommodation. Service accommodation is where a hotel offers accommodation and housekeeping services. They intend to earn profits from these services. Supplementary accommodation is the accommodation that isn’t in line with tourism, and the company isn’t registered as a business organization. They only offer accommodation but don’t provide a housekeeping facility and don’t sell their services.
8. What is The Difference Between Check Inn and Check-Out?
Check-in refers to the time a person arrives in a hotel and registers at the reception desk. While checking in, the formalities that take place include allocating room, noting the guest’s name, signing the hotel register, etc. Check-out is when the guest signs out of the hotel, and the formalities involved are presenting the bill and ensuring the guest pays, taking the room keys, etc.
9. What are The Roles of a Hotel Manager?
Hotel managers recruit, train, and monitors the staff. They are responsible for managing the budget of the hotel and keeps the financial and statistical records. They arrange for maintenance work, events and ensure guests are offered excellent services. The hotel managers also promote and markets the business on different platforms and effectively handle customer complaints and queries. Additionally, they ensure the hotel complies with the health and safety legislation.
10. What are The Qualities That a Hotel Manager Should Poses to Be Effective?
An excellent hotel manager should have good communication and interpersonal skills. They should communicate effectively with customers and the workers to ensure enhanced customer service. They should also strive to improve the quality of services and food the hotel offers by working as a team with other workers.
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11. Describe Your Daily Routine as Hotel Manager
I start my day by checking all the guest rooms to ensure they are clean and well organized. I also go through the budget and statistics while analyzing the items that have run out and order for their purchase. I also manage all the maintenance work that needs to take place in the hotel. I then train the new workers on the hotel practices and monitor them as they perform their duties.
12. Why are You Interested in This Role
I have all the skills and experience in hotel management and I always work towards the success of an organization. I have excellent communication skills, time management, problem-solving, and leadership skills. I effectively mobilize the workers to work as a team, and together we achieve impressive results. I love the support you give your employees, and I saw this as an opportunity to showcase my skills and improve the standards of your organization.
13. Describe a Time You Failed in This Role and The Lessons You Learned
While working in my previous hotel, I encountered a very rude and selfish guest. She just arrived at the hotel, and I led her to the room she had booked. While in the room, she ordered food to which I delivered to her, and she complained it wasn’t cooked well. I returned the food to the kitchen, and the chef prepared another meal for her. Again she wasn’t satisfied, this annoyed me, and I decided not to serve her. She filed a complaint about me, and the manager summoned me. I explained what happened, and the manager reminded me of the rules of hotel management. He gave me a second chance, and I learned to always exercise patience while dealing with customers.
14. What Kind of Strategy and Mindset is Required for This Role
A housekeeper needs to be passionate about their work, perform all the duties effectively and ensure everything is in order. He should have a positive attitude towards the workers, guests, and everyone working in the hotel. There are different types of people who visit the hotel. Some are highly welcoming, while others tend to be rude and abusive. The hotel manager needs to learn to deal with them and never to answer back a customer. He should always apologize for any inconvenience that has upset the customer and ensure they are okay.
15. How Do You Stay Motivated at Work?
I enjoy serving people, and thus, I do it to the best of my ability. My greatest motivation is when I see customers satisfied with my services. Besides, I get motivated when my colleagues collaborate and work together with no disputes, and in case disagreements arise, we solve them amicably and maintain a positive working environment.
16. What is The Biggest Challenge That You Foresee in This Job?
A hotel accommodates people from all kinds of races with different behaviors and characters. Some customers are always unsatisfied with the services you offer and even abuse you to lower your self-esteem. Throughout my working experience, I have encountered such customers. Thus I always use my communication skills to communicate with them effectively and ensure they are satisfied.
17. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Handle It?
The management of the hotel was so good, and I enjoyed working there. However, the only challenge was with the workers. They were uncooperative and would always dispute over their tasks. The disputes and lack of cooperation delayed some services. I thought about the issue, called a staff meeting where I gave everyone a chance to state their complaints. I analyzed the complaints, solved them, and redistributed the roles, ensuring that each worker is content with his/her task.
18.Describe Briefly About Your Hotel Management Experience
I started my career as a hotel manager immediately after college. I have served in this position for over ten years, and I have relevant skills and experience. I possess excellent communication skills, thus I communicate with the guests effectively and ensure they are happy with the services. I solve disputes within the workers and ensure they are on good terms with one another, and cooperate to ensure the success of the hotel.
19. Explain The Terms Excursion, Front Office Staff, High Touch Services
Excursion refers to temporary guests who don’t stay up to twenty-four hours in a hotel. The front office staff are workers who offer services to the guests directly in the hotel, and they include bellboys, receptionists, gatekeepers, etc. High-touch services are the readily available services that the hotel offers to customers whenever they want and include room reservations, housekeeping services, fast foods, and printed information.
20. Define The Terms Intangibility, Perishability, Inseparability, and Point of Contact in Hotel Management
Intangibility is the services that the guests can’t feel, hear, see, or test before they get them. They include trust, hospitality, confidence, satisfaction, and travel experience. Perishability is the service that you can’t store for a long time. Inseparability means that a customer needs to be present at the point of delivery (POD) to receive their services. Point of contact refers to the place, item, staff, or products to which customers contact the hotel manager to receive them.
21. What is Product Formation, Service Brigade, and The Moment of Truth?
Product formation is where the hotel manager combines different products and services to form a product that will satisfy the customers. An example is hospitality, which is a product formation made from different items. Service brigade refers to a group of staff that offer services in a hotel. The moment of truth entails the actual time when the service staff interacts with customers. The management has no control over this moment, and the motivation, expectation, tools of the services, and behavior play a role in the quality of the services.
22. How Will You Handle Negative Feedback from an Irritated Customer?
Customers are never similar. Some are very understanding, social, and friendly, while others get irritated easily. I handle all the customers evenly, but I am always extra cautious and careful for angry customers. In case of an inconvenience, I apologize and deliver the services they want without compromising quality. I don’t take their abuses to a personal level. Instead, I ignore the negative feedback and stay happy as I serve the customers.
23. Has a Guest Ever Approached You About Uncleanliness in Their Rooms? How Did You Solve?
Since I started working as a housekeeper, I have never received a complaint about an unclean room. I am always organized and I ensure every room is clean and organized before the guest enters the room. Additionally, I always train my team to perform their duties effectively, and they are very organized, and each of them never disappoints.
24. How Do You Deal with a Customer Who Claims That an Employee Has Stolen from Them?
Theft is usually a very grave issue as it can ruin the reputation of a hotel. In this situation, I will calm the guest, then call the employee in charge of the guest room and conduct a thorough search in the room. If we fail to find the stolen items, I will summon all the employees to find out if they took the item by mistake. If none of them admits having taken the item, then I will check on the CCTV camera to see who stole the item. From there, I will see the thief and handle the case. But first, I will apologize for the inconvenience and promise that it won’t happen again.
25. What Strategy Would You Use to Instill Trust and Comradery Among the Staff and Yourself
I would hold a meeting every early morning before everyone starts their duties. During the session, I will address any concerns and solve any disputes that arose the previous day. I will remind the staff of the importance of living in peace and encourage them to collaborate. Additionally, I will recognize the employees who had exemplary work and gift them to encourage others to work hard.
Conclusion
While going for a hotel manager interview, you are sure to find other competitors who are also aiming for the position. To outdo all of them, you need to practice these questions and have a solution to each of them. Additionally, you need to dress decently since the interviewers want a competent hotel manager to attract customers. You should
