Hotel housekeeper

You could take a college course to get some of the skills needed in this job. Courses include:

• introduction to the hospitality industry
• hospitality and catering principles - housekeeping
• hospitality supervision and leadership principles

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

You can apply to do a Hospitality Accommodation Team Member Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship with a hotel group.

You might also apply to do a Hospitality Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship if you're already working in the industry.

You can complete a Hospitality Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, if you want to become a housekeeping manager.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

More Information

• equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
• guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide

You may be able to start as a hotel cleaner, porter or kitchen staff and become a room attendant or housekeeper through company training and promotion.

You can apply directly if you have experience of working in other roles in the hospitality industry, such as customer service.

Employers will be interested in your personal qualities and will expect you to be hardworking, honest and a reliable timekeeper.

Career Tips

You can find work with large hotel groups or chains, and independent hotels, guesthouses and holiday parks.

Further Information

You can find out more about how to become a hotel housekeeper from Caterer.com .

You can get more information about careers in the wider tourism industry from Take Off in Travel .

As a hotel housekeeper, you would:

• clean guests' rooms, make beds and replace linen and towels
• restock food and drink items, and bathroom supplies
• take laundry away for cleaning
• deal with general customer requests or pass on messages to your supervisor
• clean corridors and communal areas
• report damage or maintenance issues

If you work as a supervisor or manager, you could:

• prepare shift rotas and allocate daily cleaning duties to staff
• inspect rooms to make sure that standards have been met
• recruit and train staff
• work closely with other department heads and the hotel general manager

You could work in a hotel, in holiday accomodation or on a cruise ship.

Your working environment may be physically demanding.