Hotel Staff Training: Techniques and Best Practices

Does your hotel struggle with hiring and firing challenges? Every day, you come across a major challenge of how to retain hotel staff. After all, they’re unsung heroes and form the backbone of the hospitality industry.

A study states that the hospitality industry has the highest employee turnover rate because employees lack the necessary skills and knowledge to perform a desirable role.

Their training is neglected, which results in lower productivity, decreased employee morale, and a higher attrition rate.

Moreover, when hotel staff acquire the necessary skills and knowledge through hotel training programs, they can delight their guests. They can increase guest satisfaction as they’re familiar with the products/services that their organization deals in.

According to a report from a law firm, Schmidt and Clark,the hospitality industry has found the highest staff exit rates in the early months of 2024. Around 9 million people left their jobs in the hospitality sector in January-April.

This emphasizes the importance of training hotel staff for the long-term growth and success of the organization. 

In this blog, let’s discuss hotel staff training programs, the need for organizing such programs, and the best practices to make your training successful. 

What is hotel staff training?

Hotel training programs refers to training hotel staff so they can improve their knowledge, skills, and competencies to excel in their roles. However, training isn’t one-time task, it’s a continuous process.

Training your hotel staff empowers them to perform their best, they can be better able to handle guests. When employees gather new skills, their self-esteem increases.

With the right skill set and knowledge, employees can better contribute to your hospitality business.

The hospitality business is purely service-based, and guests intend to visit hotels that create unforgettable experiences for them. A well-trained staff can offer top-notch services to guests and enhance the guest experience.

That’s why training hotel staff is super important these days and it can be done in any of the following ways - 

• Annual refreshers 
• Workshops 
• External courses 

Why should you train your hotel staff?

A hotel staff training program is a game changer for your hospitality business. It not just makes your employees more efficient, rather it contributes to the growth of your hotel business. 

1. Enhances your customer experience

When hotel staff have requisite training skills and knowledge, they can serve their guests in a better fashion by greeting them with a warm and welcoming smile and solving their problems on time.

Regular training sessions make them aware of the hospitality products/services, and they can swiftly address guest queries and leave a lasting impression on them. 

2. Makes your employees more productive

Training programs enhance the skills of employees and make them more productive. A well-trained hotel staff feels more valued and can perform a better job role effectively and efficiently.

When employees are aware of their roles and updated with the latest technology trends, they require less time to complete their jobs. 

3. Reduces employee turnover rate

No matter how profitable your hotel or resort is, if it has a higher turnover rate, then it becomes a serious concern for hotel managers.  

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average turnover rate is 12-15% for all industries while for the hospitality industry, the average turnover rate on a routine basis is 150%. 

The only way to reduce the turnover rate is to set measurable training goals for each employee and train them so they’re likely to stay in their current job. Thus, it results in cost savings for the hotelier. 

4. Increase job satisfaction

Trained hotel staff are less likely to leave the organization, and they’ll be highly satisfied because of continuous learning opportunities, so they become more efficient in their job.

Trained hotel staff become more confident, empowered and do their best in providing better guest support.

As they become familiar with the latest technologies and trends in the hospitality industry, they can meet the demands of modern guests.

Better guest service = High guest satisfaction Also Read - Hotel Staff Appreciation Ideas

What are the different types of hotel staff training programs?

Let’s discuss a few types of training programs in hotels which are as given below-

1. Onboarding and Orientation

Hiring and retaining employees can be the trickiest job for hoteliers. If training sessions are not provided for hotel staff, they may prove to be a costly affair for your business. As a result, it might affect the quality of customer service. 

Employees are the face of the organization and if they’re well-trained, they can confidently leave a lasting impression on your guests. An onboarding training is given to employees about the procedures, policies, work culture, and job expectations. 

Onboarding training is important for a new joiner so they can kickstart their job on the fly and perform their role faster. The training involves familiarizing employees with the job requirements and what the hotel manager expects staff to do. 

Present them with onboard gifts or an employee handbook once the training is finished. 

Apart from that, talk about what etiquette they need to follow while dealing with guests, how to interact with them, how to resolve their disputes and create a personalized experience for them.

This training sets a clear foundation for them so they can settle down on their job speedily. 

2. Compliance training

Compliance training covers regulations and laws that hospitality staff must adhere to. While dealing with guests, they should be aware of the food handling practices and guidelines for serving alcohol.

The motto of this training is to create awareness among the hotel staff about workplace safety, harassment, and discrimination.

This type of training also sets benchmarks for hotel staff about adhering to policies set by employers such as customer relation strategies, dress code, and service standards. 

Moreover, employees become aware of their rights such as minimum wage law, overtime policies, or any labor law.

3. Hard skill training

This training is provided to hotel staff so they can improve their skills regarding software, foreign languages, and how operations are performed within the hospitality industry.

For Instance – The service staff should know about setting up tables and the front desk staff should know about building relationships with guests.

Hotel staff is an asset for the hospitality industry to stay competitive. 

When hoteliers have the know-how of how the software works such as property management systems, online reservation systems, or hotel management solutions, they can serve their guests in a better fashion.

If your hotel staff is not trained, it could make or break the hotel's performance. 

Another key area of hard skill training includes training employees to get familiar with foreign languages.

Once the staff knows how to deal with guests who come from varied cultural backgrounds, that increases customer satisfaction.

They should have requisite skills in how different departments of a hotel work or how they carry out their operations such as front desk services, housekeeping services, security procedures, etc. 

4. Soft skill training

Soft skill training involves training the personnel on how to interact with the guests or colleagues.

How can they create a positive and welcoming environment? How can they deepen their relationships with guests?

The agenda of this training program focuses on key aspects such as customer service, emotional intelligence, and multitasking capabilities.

Through emotional intelligence, hoteliers can empathize with guests and understand their needs to provide a comforting experience.

5. Product training

In this competitive hotel landscape, product knowledge training is important for hotel staff.

They should know about physical products such as food and beverages and at the same time should be well versed in other services such as entertainment and tourism packages.

Once the hotel staff know what they’re selling, they can effectively contribute to increasing your hotel’s revenue.

A well-trained hotel staff has a high level of knowledge of products and services, their features, prices, and availability which enhances the guest’s stay experience.

When they’re proficient in what the product is about, they can sell the products quickly and cross-sell and upsell the hotel services. That brings more revenue for the hotelier.

For Instance – Front desk staff should be trained enough that they know about all aspects of the hotel. While the housekeeping staff should be continually updated with the room features and amenities.

Best Practices for Implementing Hotel Staff Training Programs

Here are some best practices that hoteliers should adopt to train their staff-

1. Provide practical training to your staff

Often there are times when hotel staff feel that training is not just practical and later, they feel under pressure when dealing with guests. 

Virtual reality breaks the wall of theory and bridges the gap between expectations and reality. 

Virtual reality puts the staff in the shoes of guests, they can get the exact feel and handle the guests with empathy. They can understand how frustrated a guest feels if there is a long waiting queue at the front desk staff.  

Staff can feel the pressure that they deal with in real-life scenarios. 

VR puts the staff in the driver’s seat. Imagine a scenario where a new joiner was assigned the role of front desk staff.

They’re quite new to the systems and processes, and that’s where virtual reality does MAGIC.

They can get immersive experiences, perform the role of the virtual front desk, initiate the check-in process, deal with the guests, and process payments. 

Example

Inter-continental Hotels Group trained their hotel staff using virtual reality programs for enhancing guest experience from check-in to handling guest complaints. 

2. Set clear goals and objectives

Identify the training needs and what skillset employees lack, and then tailor those programs accordingly. 

Now, it’s your choice to fine-tune the existing training programs or launch a new training program.

Define the clear goals and objectives you want to achieve with the training program and then adopt the strategy that works and double down on that. 

Remember! Your employees remain the fundamental pillar in this service industry. So, always take their feedback and update your training module accordingly. 

3. Have consistency in your training formats and delivery style

Hotel training programs become effective when there’s a clear scope and consistency in delivery style. 

Make sure that the training methods you selected for hotel staff should be structured well.

See what training programs and methods work best for you such as in-video, booklet, or in-person talk.

Make sure to experiment with different training formats as you cater to both types of aural and visual learners.

4. Update training material regularly

As consumer preferences change, and technological advancements evolve, the training material should be updated regularly.

Updating your training program is important when you introduce new technology, when guests aren’t satisfied with the service. 

5. Offer training material in multiple languages

If you’re operating a global hospitality chain, you should offer multilingual training because not many have English as their native language.

A report from Forbes Insights shows that workers feel more productive when offered training content in their native language.

Wrapping Up

From the above guide, you now understand the importance of training hotel staff to survive and thrive in this competitive hotel landscape.  

Training should never be treated as a one-and-done process, it’s an ongoing process and employees should be trained regularly to reduce staff shortages.

Studies indicate that regular training programs lead to an increase in productivity. Every dollar the employer invests gets a $30 back in productivity. 

The only way to retain hotel staff is not by paying hefty monetary benefits, it’s also about valuing employee's efforts and caring about them by organizing training programs in the hotel.

When hotel staff feel appreciated and happy, they would delight guests. Thus, it enhances guest satisfaction which results in huge profits.