6 FREE Hospitality Resume Templates & Example

Hospitality is a competitive industry due to the wide range of professions that can be categorized under this trade. Some of the occupations that belong under it include front desk clerks, housekeeping jobs, tour guides, ushers, concierges, ticket takers, hosts/hostesses, hotel workers such as chefs, waiting staff, food servers, bellhops, first-line supervisors of personal service workers and hotel managers.

This article provides an extensive guide on writing a professional resume that job applicants can use to apply for various hospitality positions. It also provides examples of how to write its different sections and tips to add substance to your application. 

Given below are hospitality resume templates:

What is a Hospitality Resume? 

A hospitality resume is a document used to showcase your qualifications for a position in the respective field. It highlights your professional experience, academic qualifications, skills, and other qualities, such as interests and hobbies, that make you a suitable candidate for the position you are applying for.

It communicates to the recruiters your value as an employee. The information included in the document is used to gauge your suitability for the job you are applying for. Therefore, it is an effective tool for marketing yourself to prospective employers. This, in turn, increases your chances of securing an interview with a prospective employer.

Statistical Insight: According to the US Bureau of Statistics, the average annual income (salary, overtime, bonus, and tips) of a hospitality manager is $50,548). These earnings span across the different levels as follows – entry-level ($46,781), early-career ($46,348), mid-career ($53,982), late-career ($54,286), and experienced ($57,104).  

Which Resume Format is Best for a Hospitality Job? 

Formatting is key in any professional resume. It implies the arrangement of information in the document. The format influences its legibility and presentability. There are three formats to choose from, including:

Chronological or reverse-chronological format

A chronological format emphasizes your experience or work history in hospitality. Your experience is a viable criterion for determining your suitability for the position. This is because it highlights your progression throughout the years.

Functional format

The primary focus of a functional format is your skill set. As a result, you can only briefly outline your experience or work history. 

Combination format

A combination format combines the strengths of both chronological and functional formats. This format may be suited for experienced candidates with extensive technical skills.

The most suitable structure for a resume in hospitality is the reverse-chronological format. This is because recruiters often prefer it as it is easy to scan on Applicant Tracking Systems. Also, it is preferred as it focuses on your experience, which is a primary consideration by most hiring managers during recruitment.

Statistical Insight: The hospitality industry is projected to grow tremendously before 2028. Growth is expected as follows; hosts/hostesses, lounge, restaurant and coffee shops (faster than average – 11% or higher), food servers and non-restaurant (faster than average – 7-10%), concierges (average growth – 4-6%) and lodging managers (little to none – 1-1%).

A well-written resume creates a positive first impression on your potential employer, thus boosting your chances of getting an interview. Below is a procedural guide for preparing it by creating a template for applying for different hospitality positions:

Include your contact details 

The first part of the resume is the header which contains contact details. They include your name, address (mail address, city, or residence), phone number, email address, and digital portfolio, which can be a link to a professional website. Your name can be written in bold and with a larger font. The section should be written in one-inch margins on all sides. 

For example:

Bill Adams
San Francisco, CA | [email protected] | (202) 555-555
linkedIn.com/page/Bill.M.Adams

Write a resume summary/objective 

The next section can be a professional objective or summary. A summary is meant to summarize your suitability for the position you are applying for and the value to the application by highlighting your professional qualifications, noteworthy experience, and key achievements. Contrary to it, an objective highlights what you are looking for in your job research or a specific goal in your career. They should be brief, two or three sentences long.

The summary or objective should be placed immediately beneath the header at the top of the document. You should strategically include keywords derived from the application description. Keywords are terms used to refer to the experience, education, and skills required for the position. This section of your resume is meant to persuade the hiring manager to read your entire document.

Below is an example of how to write a summary and objective whenever either is needed:

Professional Summary:

Professional receptionist with more than 6 years in the hotel and restaurant industries. Conversant with ASI FrontDesk and proficient in German and Spanish. Excellent in conflict resolution, reservation scheduling, and facilitating guest interactions.

Career Objective:

Ambitious hospitality graduate from the Ohio Institute of Business. Excellent communicator and effective in scheduling meetings and conferences. 3 years experience at Hammond hotel as the staff supervisor. My goal is to learn about the hotel industry and eventually become a hotelier, and a job as a hotel manager would propel me in the right direction.

Pro-tip: When writing your summary, highlight the career accomplishments you have attained throughout your experience in hospitality. 

Include your work experience 

Experience is a vital criterion that recruiters use to evaluate your suitability for the hospitality job position. It is advisable to start with relevant professional experience. This section is meant to enlist your work history, starting with the current or most recent position followed by the previous one.

For each position, indicate the title/designation, company name, tenure duration, and location. If you have held multiple positions in different industries, including those with skills such as customer service and experience relevant to hospitality is crucial. This implies that you can include transferrable skills obtained from jobs outside this industry.

For example:

Hotel Assistant Manager
Crenshaw Hotels,
Charleston, NC                                                                                                 2021-Present
–Supervised a team of 30 part-time and full-time waiters, waitresses, and housekeeping staff.
–Organized and facilitated weekly and monthly strategic meetings.
–Scheduled conference meetings for principal business clients and oversaw the planning stages to ensure our customers received premium customer service.
–Prepared annual reports on team achievements and conducted bi-annual employee performance evaluations. 

Pro tip: You can improve the quality of your resume by quantifying your achievements and experience. This implies using figures and metrics such as percentages. Also, use bullet points in this section to make it more legible and easy to scan.

Include your qualifications/education 

Academic qualifications are significant in your resume when applying for any position in hospitality. This is because some positions, especially in management, require you to have special academic qualifications even though, in some cases, some skills can be learned on the job. This section should showcase your institution name, bachelor’s degree, and specialty. You can also include diplomas, certifications, and relevant courses. The qualifications should be ordered from the most recent and relevant going backward.

This section of the resume can be structured as follows:

Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management
Columbia Institute of Business,
Ontario, Canada
2020

Statistical Insight: The number of degrees granted in hospitality management varies as follows; bachelor’s degree (12638), associate degree (3663), less than one-year post-secondary certificate (2300) and one or two-year post-secondary certificate (1153). Also, the number of degrees awarded in it varies as follows across the different demographics; white (10501), Hispanic/Latino (2916), black/African (2355), non-resident alien (2189), and Asian (1298). 

Highlight your hospitality skills 

Your resume has to include your skill set to show you can perform your functions in the respective job position. You need to include soft and technical ones. You should be selective when incorporating them to ensure they align with the duties and responsibilities of the position you are applying for.

When inserting them, be sure to use industry-specific keywords. Using the right keywords helps your resume to rank higher should the employer use an ATS (applicant tracking system) to review your job application. Using an ATS-friendly application can help you secure employment in large companies such as restaurants and hotels, which are most likely to use ATS due to the multiple applications they have to review.

Soft skills
Customer service	Conflict management	Active listening
Communication skills (written and verbal)	Teamwork	Empathy
Positive attitude	Organization skills	Attention to detail
Multitasking	Interpersonal skills	Time management
Initiative	Emotional intelligence	Adaptability
Patience	Flexibility	Leadership skills

Technical Skills
POS (Point-of-sale) terminals	Computer skills	Accounting
Cash Control	MS Word and Excel	Hotel management software (ASI FrontDesk, InnQuest)
Upselling techniques	Reservations management	Conference and meeting scheduling and planning
Guest accommodations	Payroll operations	CRM systems
Sales and marketing	Food and beverage management	Risk management
Budgeting	Industry awareness	Wine knowledge
Business acumen	Financial management

Pro-tip: Ensure to provide a mixture of both soft and technical skills, as this portrays you as a more suitable candidate.

Specify your license and certifications

Licenses and certifications increase your marketability in hospitality. A ‘food handler’s certificate’ is an example of a credential that may appeal to recruiters in the respective industry. Other credentials are ‘responsible alcohol certificates’, which vary per region. For example, Ontario has SmartServe, while Alberta has ProServe certificates. Ensure to complete any mandatory certifications and licenses the prospective employer has requested. 

Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA)
American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI)
2021
Certified Hospitality Revenue Management Executive (CRME)
HSMAI (Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International)
McLean, VA
2021

Add an additional section 

Lastly, your resume can have an additional section to highlight any other relevant information that may interest the recruiter. In this section, you can mention any volunteer work you have done, interests, hobbies, and languages you are proficient in. Your passion in these areas adds some uniqueness to your resume. 

Hobbies and Interests
–Hiking
–Hunting
–Reading
–Kayaking
Volunteer Work
–Volunteered as a food server at the Brooklyn Eagles Shelter in 2020. 
Languages
–Proficient in Spanish
–Fluent in German

Do’s and Don’ts 

There are do’s and don’ts you can adopt to improve the quality of your resume. Below are several tips you should consider when writing and submitting it to a potential employer. 

Do’s

They include:

• One-page resume is typically enough to convey your value to the employer. A short document is more effective as it allows recruiters to quickly skim or scan through it in the initial review, thus ensuring you proceed to the next recruitment phase.  
• Bullet points are easy to read. So, it is advisable to bullet your achievements and responsibilities rather than providing detailed paragraphs. Bullet points also make it easy for recruiters to locate information. 
• The resume should reflect your personality because recruiters are interested in learning more about you other than your professional and academic qualifications. Since most hospitality positions require interpersonal skills, an attitude, and a personality that aligns with the associated duties and responsibilities that can boost your suitability for the position.
• It should align with the specific job you are applying for. So, always personalize it before submitting it. Personalization can be done by increasing the relevance of its content and incorporating keywords from the associated application description.
• The resume is an official document; therefore, it should be formatted as a business document. Use professional fonts such as Cambria, Arial, or Times New Roman and a font size of 10-12 points. Also, a 1-inch margin on all sides and left-justify the text.
• Action verbs are used to make it engaging. Therefore, active verbs should be used when detailing your responsibilities. Examples of action verbs include managed, prepared, organized, resolved, etc.

Don’ts

They include:

• Personal details are needed for identification and correspondence purposes. However, you should be cautious of adding details such as nationality, date of birth, or ethnicity, which can lead to bias or discrimination during selection.
• It is a lot of work to create a resume from scratch whenever applying for a job. Therefore, it is advisable to record your tasks, responsibilities, and achievements on a separate document and use a template so that it is easy for you to update the document whenever you need to apply for another position in hospitality.
• It should highlight any relevant training you have had in any hospitality field. However, it is important that the training be relevant to the position.
• Always proofread the document and edit any errors before submitting it. You can have a third party review it to identify any mistakes you may have missed. An error-filled resume lowers your chances of being considered for the position.