Waiter/waitress to hospitality establishment receptionist
A waiter/waitress already meets 30% of what the hospitality establishment receptionist role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
71/ 100
1 How much of what a hospitality establishment receptionist is expected to do is already part of a waiter/waitress’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the hospitality establishment receptionist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A hospitality establishment receptionist role treats 6 of its required skills as things a waiter/waitress already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist clients with special needs
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- identify customer's needs
- maintain customer service
- maintain relationship with customers
- process payments
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hospitality establishment receptionist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a waiter/waitress background worth leading with.
- already held detect drug abuse assisting and caring
- already held maintain incident reporting records information skills
- already held process reservations information skills
- already held assist clients with special needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene assisting and caring
- already held process payments management skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 6 the hospitality establishment receptionist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assist at check-in required
- still to learn deal with departures in accommodation required
- still to learn explain features in accommodation venue required
- still to learn provide tourism related information required
- still to learn deal with arrivals in accommodation required
- still to learn greet guests required
- optional, not held ensure the privacy of guests optional
- still to learn implement sales strategies required
- still to learn handle customer complaints required
- still to learn implement marketing strategies required
- optional, not held distribute local information materials optional
- optional, not held take room service orders optional
- optional, not held train reception staff optional
- still to learn maintain customer records required
- still to learn process booking required
- optional, not held assess cleanliness of areas optional
- optional, not held carry out end of day accounts optional
- still to learn maintain reception area required
- still to learn handle financial transactions required
- still to learn handover the service area required
- optional, not held tend to clients' personal items optional
- optional, not held property management software optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a hospitality establishment receptionist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assist at check-in practise this
- 02 maintain reception area practise this
- 03 deal with departures in accommodation practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held assist clients with special needs skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held maintain relationship with customers skill
- already held process payments skill
- already held detect drug abuse skill
- already held maintain incident reporting records skill
- already held process reservations skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held distribute local information materials optional
- optional, not held property management software optional
- optional, not held take room service orders optional
- optional, not held tend to clients' personal items optional
- optional, not held train reception staff optional
- optional, not held assess cleanliness of areas optional
- optional, not held carry out end of day accounts optional
- optional, not held ensure the privacy of guests optional
34 held skills the hospitality establishment receptionist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise guests on menus for special events skill
- not needed by the target role alcoholic beverage products knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply foreign languages in hospitality skill
- not needed by the target role arrange tables skill
- not needed by the target role assist VIP guests skill
- not needed by the target role assist customers skill
- not needed by the target role attend to detail regarding food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role check dining room cleanliness skill
- not needed by the target role clean surfaces skill
- not needed by the target role decant wines skill
- not needed by the target role dietary regimes knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate customers on coffee varieties skill
- not needed by the target role educate customers on tea varieties skill
- not needed by the target role food and beverages on the menu knowledge
- not needed by the target role laws regulating serving alcoholic drinks knowledge
- not needed by the target role local area tourism industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain personal hygiene standards skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role prepare alcoholic beverages skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flambeed dishes skill
- not needed by the target role prepare hot drinks skill
- not needed by the target role prepare service trolleys skill
- not needed by the target role prepare the restaurant for service skill
- not needed by the target role present menus skill
- not needed by the target role recommend wines skill
- not needed by the target role serve beverages skill
- not needed by the target role serve food in table service skill
- not needed by the target role serve wines skill
- not needed by the target role sparkling wines knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise food quality skill
- not needed by the target role take food and beverage orders from customers skill
- not needed by the target role use food cutting tools skill
- not needed by the target role welcome restaurant guests skill
- not needed by the target role work in a hospitality team skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held property management software optional
Other moves recorded from waiter/waitress
- restaurant host/restaurant hostess 72% covered · adjacent
- sommelier 51% covered · moderate
- quick service restaurant crew member 46% covered · moderate
- hotel concierge 44% covered · moderate
- barista 40% covered · substantial
- club host/club hostess 40% covered · substantial
- bartender 38% covered · substantial
- hotel butler 36% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a waiter/waitress become a hospitality establishment receptionist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A waiter/waitress already covers 30% of what a hospitality establishment receptionist is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 6 of which the hospitality establishment receptionist role treats as required.
What skills does a waiter/waitress need to become a hospitality establishment receptionist?
14 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is assist at check-in.
How hard is the move from waiter/waitress to hospitality establishment receptionist?
Its learning distance is 71 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.