Hiring a receptionist in a hotel or guesthouse is a big step - you are putting in the hands of another person the contact with the guest, the handling of reservations and often the first impression of the entire establishment. A good staffing decision can improve the quality of service and relieve you of your day-to-day duties. A bad one - exposes you to complaints, chaos and loss of bookings.
1. recruitment criteria - who do you really need?
A receptionist is not just a "person who greets visitors" - it is a command centre Your facility. When selecting a candidate, pay attention to:
- Communication and foreign languages - especially if you have foreign guests.
- Accuracy and conscientiousness - entering a booking means there is zero room for error in dates or number of people.
- Resistance to stress - situations such as 'overbooking' or a disgruntled guest need to be managed.
- Computer and systems literacy - Reception is nowadays mainly working in PMS and OTA channels.
- Openness to learning - when implementing new tools or procedures.
💡 Tip: It is better to hire someone with less experience but a lot of potential and a willingness to learn, rather than a 'starter' who will resist change.
2 Recruitment questions to ask
In addition to the standard questions about experience and availability, weave in ones that show real competence:
- "What do you do if a guest arrives for 2 people and the system shows 1?" - data conflict response test.
- "How would you explain the cancellation policy to a guest to avoid misunderstandings?" - tests the ability to communicate clearly.
- "How do you behave if a guest is unhappy with the room and asks for a change and the hotel is fully occupied?"
- shows how the candidate copes with the lack of an obvious solution. - "How would you handle a situation where there is a queue of visitors at reception and the phone rings continuously?"
- checks the organisation of work under time pressure. - "Guest claims to have booked a sea view room, but you have a standard room recorded in the system - how do you resolve the situation?"
- tests the ability to negotiate and deal with contentious situations. - "Tell us about a situation when you made a mistake in working with a client. How did you correct it?"
- verifies responsibility and the ability to draw conclusions.
3. The most common mistakes owners make when hiring a receptionist for the first time
- Lack of precise responsibilities - the receptionist does not know whether he or she is supposed to deal only with guests or also, for example, with social media and accounting.
- Lack of procedures - every situation is 'played out' anew, which increases stress and the risk of mistakes.
- The belief that "a good employee will find himself" - Even the best needs tools and clear rules.
4. How a PMS can shorten and facilitate the implementation of a
This is where all the magic of technology comes in. Modern PMSsuch as mobile-calendar, can do half the work for you when training a new person:
- Intuitive calendar - The receptionist can see at a glance the occupancy, arrivals and departures of the day. No need to search through binders or compare notes - the information is always in one place.
- 1-click preview of booking details - without searching through papers or switching tabs.
- Automatic download of bookings from Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda and other channels - eliminates manual typing and errors.
- Notification system - reminds you of advance payments, pre-bookings or cancellations so that you don't miss anything.
- Offline access - even if the internet goes down, the receptionist can still see the calendar and booking details.
Hiring a receptionist is a time when you need to think not only about who you are hiring but what tools you give him. A good PMS system, like mobile-calendar, is not just a "booking programme" - it assistant, which:
- reduces the number of mistakes,
- speeds up guest services,
- reduces the time it takes to implement a new person,
- gives you the peace of mind that everything is under control.
Because even the best employee, without a good tool, will work below his or her potential.
Preparing the work environment and tools before the receptionist's first day:
There is nothing worse than a situation where a new employee does not have a login to the system on their first day. In the mobile-calendar, you can create an account with the appropriate access level:
- The receptionist sees only what is needed for the job,
- does not have access to administrative settings,
- from the first minute he can work 'clean' in the system, without combining.
The result? In the first hour of work, the receptionist adds reservations really, rather than 'pretending' on a piece of paper.
🚀 Register today and test the mobile-calendar application - see how simple it can be to implement a new receptionist and operate your facility.
