What is a hotel porter?
A hotel porter is a hospitality professional who ensures that guests of a hotel receive services which make their stays more enjoyable. They are often the first people to greet guests at a hotel. They help guests in many different ways, including carrying guests’ luggage, fixing minor issues (like changing light bulbs) and cleaning hotel areas, including entrances.
How to become a hotel porter?
You can get into this job through a college course, an apprenticeship or applying directly. For college, you can take a course before you look for work, like:
- Level 1 Certificate in Introduction to the Hospitality Industry
- Level 1 Introduction to Customer Service
For apprenticeship, you can start by doing a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship. For the entry requirements, you’ll usually need some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship.
You can also apply directly to employers if you’ve got some of the relevant skills and knowledge needed for this job. Experience in customer service will be helpful though not essential.
Employers will be interested in your personal qualities and will expect you to be hardworking, honest and a reliable time-keeper.
Hotel porter duties
Hotel porter duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Ensure building entrance is free of clutter at all times
- Direct guests to the reception area or the appropriate office/room
- Arrange taxi services upon request
- Run errands for guests and employees
- Fix minor technical issues, like changing bulbs
- Report damages, call technicians and monitor repairs
- Maintain stock of cleaning supplies
Hotel porter skills
To be an effective hotel porter, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- Excellent time management skills
- Effective communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Ability to work unsupervised in a busy environment
- Fast learner
- Ability to work well with others
- Ability to stand for extended periods
Hotel Porter Job Titles
When you search for hotel porter jobs online, be aware that the jobs might be advertised using a different job title. Popular job titles for hotel porter jobs include;
- Hotel attendant
- Hotel helper
- Luggage porter
How to find a hotel porter job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the hotel porter jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for hotel porter jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
What does a hotel porter do?
The job of a hotel porter varies depending on the job role and the company you’re working for. Check the duties and responsibilities of hotel porter job advertisements to find jobs that best suit your skills and experience.
The day-to-day tasks of a hotel porter include;
- welcome guests to the hotel and carry their luggage
- answer queries about the hotel and make reservations
- arrange taxis and book tickets
- run errands, such as picking up dry cleaning
- take messages
- give directions
- move furniture or equipment to set up rooms for events
- respond to safety and security issues