Best Hospitality Resume Examples - Ultimate Writing Guide

hospitality resume
Created by Cake

In the hospitality industry, the main aim is to satisfy customers by providing them with the best service possible. Achieving customer satisfaction and earning their loyalty is the end goal, and jobs in the hospitality industry will involve:

  • Provide services to guests and ensure customer satisfaction
  • Ensure customer complaints are dealt with efficiently
  • Ensure customer safety and needs are met

Landing a great job in the hospitality industry is not easy because of how competitive the field is. The chances can be increased dramatically though if you were to submit an outstanding hospitality resume.

Step 1: Pick the best layout for your hospitality resume

📝 How long should a hospitality resume be?

As with most resumes, keep your hospitality resume within a page to two long. Any longer than that might discourage recruiters from reading through your entire resume because of how lengthy and time-consuming it is.

📝 What is the best font to use in a hospitality resume?

Classic and non-overused fonts (such as Calibri, Cambria, Helvetica, Garamond, and Palatino) are the most ideal fonts to implement in your hospitality resume to ensure that it looks neat and professional.

📝 What is the standard margin for a hospitality resume?

To balance out the content and the white spacing within your hospitality resume, opt to use a one-inch margin.

📝 What spacing should a hospitality CV be in?

A 1.15 spacing is recommended for your hospitality CV to ensure that enough space is left between the contents and spaces.

📝 What file format should a resume for the hospitality industry be in, Word or PDF?

The PDF format would be recommended to submit your CV for the hospitality industry because it’s more robust and won’t have its content shift around when opened in a different device. So, unless asked otherwise, save and submit your hospitality resume/CV in PDF format.

Step 2: Choose the right hospitality resume format

Your hospitality resume format will not only affect its readability but can also highlight your strong points properly to make your candidacy look more attractive to recruiters.

There are three common formats that you can choose to implement on your CV for the hospitality industry:

  • Chronological resume format

Focuses on your working experience, listed in reverse-chronological order. As a universally implemented format, this is a safe choice to use for your own hospitality CV. However, it may fail to make you memorable because of how common this format is.

  • Functional resume format

The focal point of this format would be the hospitality skills in your resume and can be advantageous for those who may possess a wide array of skills but little to no experience.

  • Combinational resume format

The combinational format integrates the chronological format and the functional format. List out the relevant hospitality skills in your resume, and finish by listing your previous employment history in a reverse-chronological manner. This format can complement your skills and experience and provide proof of your abilities.

Step 3: Start with contact information and basic personal details

Since your hospitality CV/resume is meant to inform recruiters of who you are as a candidate, it should include your basic information and contact details so they can reach out to you.

Here, you…

Must include basic details: 

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number

May include additional details:

  • Address
  • LinkedIn URL
  • Personal website

Exclude unnecessary details:

  • Date of birth
  • Sexual orientation
  • Religion or belief
  • Marital status and dependency
  • Expected/Current salary

💁‍♀️ Note: Including your current or expected salary is unprofessional and could also backfire by decreasing your bargaining power when negotiating your salary.

Step 4: Create an intriguing hospitality resume title

Your resume for the hospitality industry needs a title to quickly grab the attention of recruiters to coax them to go through your entire hospitality resume. To do so, you need to include your relevant strengths, skills, and/or achievements.

Using strong catchwords can also increase your resume title’s effectiveness. Implementing keywords from the job ad can increase your hospitality resume’s relevance and effectiveness too.

Hospitality resume title examples:

  • Friendly and Adaptable Hostess with 7+ Years of Experiences
  • Customer-Focused Hotel Manager with Proven Delegation Ability
  • Creative Sous Chef Specializing in French and Italian Cuisine and Menu Design

Step 5: Craft a professional hospitality resume statement

Because of how concise your hospitality resume title will be, you need to elaborate on them further in your hospitality resume summary or statement. Ensure that your hospitality resume summary will relate to your resume title.

It should describe who you are, including your previous experiences and skills. A professional summary for a hospitality resume should be within a sentence or two to avoid taking up too much space.

✅ Reminder: A hospitality resume summary will differ from a hospitality resume objective; the latter will focus on your career aspirations and will be more suitable for an entry-level hospitality resume.

Hospitality resume summary examples:

  • Meticulous and neat housekeeper with high standards of cleanliness. Proven ability to multitask and has been commended by guests for room cleanliness and cleaning speed.
  • Goal-driven catering manager with more than 5 years of experience in wedding catering. Implemented food safety and training procedures and increased food hygiene standards.
  • Flexible and versatile front desk clerk with 8 years of experience in international hotel chains. Repeatedly commended by guests for check-in and check-out speed, friendliness, and knowledge of hotel areas.

Step 6: Include hospitality skills related to the job

For your hospitality resume skills section, possessing the relevant skills is one thing, properly structuring them is another.

4 ways to structure your hospitality resume skills:

  • Simple bullet lists
  • Expanded bullet list
    simple bulleted list with explanations of your skills
  • Integrated with work experience
    requires prior extensive experience to complement your hospitality skills, not recommended for an entry-level hospitality resume or any other kind of hospitality CV lacking in experience
  • Categorized skills section
    similar to the integrated with work experience, this format requires you to possess a wide range of skills and is therefore unsuitable for an entry-level hospitality resume and other hospitality resumes with little to no experience

Hospitality skills for resume examples:

Hard skills

  • Central Reservations System (CRS)
  • Accounting
  • Group reservations
  • Spanish (fluent)
  • Italian cuisine
  • Local resources knowledge
  • Food service management
  • Kitchen management
  • Inventory management
  • Baking
  • Pastry-making

Soft skills

  • Attention to detail
  • Active listening
  • Customer service
  • Problem-solving
  • Leadership
  • Time management
  • Decision-making
  • Delegating
  • Patience
  • Communication

Others

  • Physical fitness
  • Presentation
  • E-mail
  • Expense tracking
  • Reporting & writing
  • Spreadsheets
  • Microsoft Office
  • Proposal writing
  • Research
  • Passion

Step 7: Highlight your best accomplishments

Your employment history in your hospitality resume is proof of your skills, abilities, industry knowledge, and potential fit.

For this section, you should include:

  • (Previous) organizations or employers names
  • State of the organizations
  • Titles you’ve previously held
  • Employment period
  • Brief description of your responsibilities and achievements (if applicable)

Exclude working experiences or any other hospitality job descriptions in your resume that are irrelevant to the position, as it will only take up space. Try to quantify your past achievements and results as this can make them look more convincing and apparent when recruiters read through your hospitality CV/resume.

Finally, use action verbs to provide a clearer description of yourself to recruiters.

Hospitality resume work experience and accomplishments examples:

Front desk clerk

XYZ Resort
Jul. 2013 – Present

  • Greeted and helped check-in guests at a 1,500-room resort.
  • Key accomplishment: Commended by guests and managers for friendliness and check-in/check-out speed.

Front desk clerk
ABC Hotels

Feb. 2011 - Feb. 2013 

  • Trained new hires in POS terminal, check-in/check-out procedures, and guest services.
  • Key accomplishment: Implemented changes in check-in/check-out procedure that increases speed by 10%.

Cake provides the right hospitality resume templates & formats for you to showcase your skills and experiences. Sign up to create and download the best hospitality resume now for FREE!

Step 8: List educational qualifications 

Though not all hospitality jobs require post-secondary education, if you happen to have one, always put it in your hospitality resume/CV.

For the educational section, you should include…

  • Educational institution
  • Degree(s)
  • Major(s)
  • Year of graduation
  • Honors, awards, and extracurricular activities (if applicable)

💡 Reminder: An entry-level hospitality resume and an experienced hospitality resume will not place the education section in the same way.

For the former, position this section right after your hospitality resume objective. For the latter type, position your education section after your employment history portion, as the skills and qualifications gained through your working history will still be more important.

Hospitality educational qualifications examples:

1. High school (can be omitted if you have a higher education degree)

Carnegie Vanguard High School (TX, USA)
2012-2016

GPA: 3.6/4.3
Extracurricular activities: Class Vice President (2013-2014)

2. In progress

B.S. in Tourism Development and Management (in progress)
Arizona State University

3. Incomplete

Arizona State University
2017-2019: Completed 70 credits towards B.S. in Tourism Development and Management

Step 9: Add an extra section to highlight achievements

Adding an extra section for your hobbies, interests, certifications, etc. in your hospitality resume/CV can be beneficial especially if they are relevant to the job context and/or to the position that you’re applying for.

For this section, you can include…

  • Hobbies and interests
  • Volunteer work experience
  • Certifications and awards
    Add the ones that can highlight valuable skills within the hospitality industry (e.g., Certified Culinarian for chefs, ServSafe Alcohol for waiters).
  • Projects
    Compile an online portfolio of your past, relevant projects to show to recruiters.
  • References
    A recommendation letter or testimony from your past employers or clients can strengthen your position and serve as a verification of your skills, abilities, and qualifications in your hospitality resume.

Step 10: Craft a convincing hospitality cover letter

In your hospitality cover letter, you should introduce yourself and include your contact details. Next, you should delve deeper into your background, relevant qualifications, your motivations for applying, and why you are the perfect fit for the position. Lastly, close off your hospitality cover letter in a polite note and thank the recruiters for their time.

🔖 A hospitality cover letter should be within a page long and contain content that you can’t fit in your hospitality CV because of its page limit.

A job in the hospitality industry can be fun because of how dynamic it is. However, it is not easy to find a great job in the industry due to the high level of competition between candidates. This might sound disheartening, but knowing how to craft a stellar hospitality resume/CV can be beneficial for your job search (and in the long run, your career) in the hospitality industry.

Hospitality resume sample

Carolyn Newton 

Front Desk Clerk with 4+ Years of Experience in 5 Star Hotels and Resorts

+1- 415-234-9723

[email protected]
linkedin.com/in/carolynnewton

Professional Summary

Front desk clerk with more than 4 years of experience in 5-star hotels and resorts. Awarded employee of the month for 5 consecutive months and Commended by guests and managers to be helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable about local area resources.

Work Experience

Front Desk Clerk

Royal Villa Resorts

Jan. 2018 – Present     

  • Provided guests with information about the resort facilities and amenities, nearby attractions, and local restaurants.
  • Confirmed large group reservations and was in charge of arranging customized services for VIPs.
  • Commended by guests and managers for fast check-in/check-out speed, helpfulness, and knowledge of the local area.

Front Desk Clerk

Goldfinch Hotels


June 2015 – Jan. 2018

  • Greeted guests and responded to any inquiries or questions they may have.
  • Trained new hires on check-in/check-out procedures and guest complaints resolution.
  • Awarded as the “Employee of the Month” for 5 consecutive months (Jan. 2016 – May 2016). 

Education

2011– 2015, B.S. in Tourism Development and Management
Arizona State University (ASU)

GPA: 3.90/4.3

Skills

  • Property Management System (PMS)
  • Data Entry
  • Guest Reservation System
  • Customer Service
  • Upselling & Promotion
  • Communication
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Patience
  • Multitasking

--- Originally written by Patricia Rosita ---

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