April 2009

We arranged some hotel visits

We got a lot of useful information about the hotels in our territory

Location: most hotels are situated along the coast

Size: the hotels usually have from 10 to 35/40 rooms. Few hotels have more than 40 rooms.

Required competence to work in a hotel: - 3-years/5-years vocational school qualification - Good knowledge of two foreign languages (first of all English), above all at the reception where you have to: talk directly to the customers, speak on the phone, write replies to enquiries/ offers/quotations, make and confirm bookings - Know-how in informatics (Excel, Word, Access, Outlook, Internet) and in the use of hotel computer programmes (for: check in, check out, bookings, bills, invoices, orders) - Availability to work in group and share tasks.

Number of staff: it depends on the size of the hotel. It generally ranges from 7/8 to 25/30.

Required staff during the tourist season (from April to September/October): - chefs, assistant chefs; - waiters/waitresses; - receptionists

Chacteristics: many hotels are familly-run (the owner’s relatives are in charge of the main tasks). Few facilities have professional figures such as hotel manager, personnel manager or maitre.

Job opportunities: hotels mainly search young people for the tourist season. Boys and girls with qualification have quite high chances to work in hotels. Even if it’s a temporary job (from April to September/October), they get a good salary and go through a significant work experience. Prof. Alberto Rappelli