Generally speaking, getting a job with hotels and beach resorts isn’t the most difficult task in the world. Most of these places struggle with staff, and if you show some motivation, and readiness to accept the employment conditions (which in many big resorts means doing long shifts, or having no days off in the main holiday season), they will hire you. However, the game changes when it comes to luxury resorts and five star places. Expectations are higher, you will earn more, and often many applicants compete for each vacancy. In this scenario, the hiring managers can choose. They often come up with creative questions, and one of them is “Describe your stay at a resort”.
Perhaps you’ve never stayed at one–and that’s a big hit to your chances of succeeding in the interview. But more likely than not you’ve already stayed at some resorts, either while working or vacationing, or perhaps both :). The hiring managers wonder what caught your eye, whether you noticed both good and bad things, areas for improvement. Needless to say, you should adjust your answer the position you apply for with a resort. If it is a job of a hotel manager or team leader, try to describe things from managerial perspective. When applying for a job of a maid, you should say what you liked and didn’t in the room, the cleanliness of the place. And if you apply for a job of a cook, food should be your main discussion point.
Anyway, let’s have a look at 7 sample answers to this interesting question. I tried to include on my list a variety of answers for a variety of situations. I hope at least one of them will fit your interview scenario, and the kind of experience you hope to share. Once you are done with the sample answers, do not forget to check also my final thoughts below the list. Enjoy!
7 sample answers to “Describe your stay at a resort” interview question
- I would describe it as pleasing in general. The place was well-managed, with great attention to detail. Staff had clear instructions, and they acted accordingly. Of course, I couldn’t help the manager inside me, and noticed some areas for improvement. For example, during breakfast I would assign more people to the dining room, since many times the staff didn’t manage to replenish the buffet tables. Or I would change the duration of the automatic lights on the corridors, since for older people they simply switched off too quickly, and sometimes they ended up stranded in the dark. To sum it up, my stay at the resort was great, but you can always improve something, and should strive for improvement, if you want to stay at the top of your game.
- I would describe my stay at ABC resort as an average experience. Rooms were great and so was the beach, but as a cook with high standards, I could not approve the food. The selection was pretty limited for a place with this price range, and tasting various menu items, I couldn’t help thinking they tried to save money everywhere, and the quality of ingredients was pretty low. If I get a chance to lead the kitchen at your hotel resort, you can be certain that I won’t allow such things to happen.
- Oh yeah, it was a holiday of my life. White sand, water had just an ideal temperature, and everyone treated my so nicely. What’s more, I met this woman who was also staying alone at a resort, and we had a little romance during the stay. I think I will cherish this stay for a long time, and it definitely motivates me to apply for a job with you, to work here and contribute to this amazing place. Having said that, I realize working at a resort and staying there as a guest are two different things. I know the workload will be hard, and we’ll work 7 days a week during the main season. But I am ready for it, and will enjoy every free minute I have here, to bring back my holiday memories.
- I was impressed with almost everything there. The cleanliness of the rooms was spotless. That’s something I always notice, because as a maid I have an eye for such things, and know where exactly to look to see whether the room really was cleaned properly. And I also liked the freshness of the blankets, the way the room smelled of flowers, and the balcony of course. My last stay as a beach resort was definitely worth it, and, just like all my previous stays, it helped me to learn more about my own profession, and how to do even a better job as a maid.
- While I prefer looking for positives, I cannot help criticizing the animators. They just didn’t try hard enough with us. What I noticed is that they followed a certain schedule, and activities, not paying attention to the preferences of the particular group. Individual approach was missing. As someone who also worked as an animator before, and who hopes to have such a job in your resort, I cannot help but criticizing both the managers and the animators for this. Having said that, I do not want to complain. I still feel very blessed for having some money and opportunity to stay at nice resorts once in a while. We should never take such things for granted, especially in this economy.
- This may surprise you, but I have never stayed in any beach resort. Hence I cannot really describe my stay in one. I have always lived frugally, from paycheck to paycheck. My only way of experiencing life in some resort is working there, and perhaps benefiting from the facilities once I have free time, if such luxuries are offered to the employees of the resort. If they are not it’s still fair enough, and I will simply do my best to learn from my colleagues, and to make sure I handle my working duties to the satisfaction of the managers.
- Well, how can I describe it? 7 nights, big breakfast every morning, lying on the beach reading books, then big lunch, some sightseeing, big dinner. God I gained five pounds during my short holiday at that resort! To tell you the truth, I have mixed feelings about my stay. Sure, you enjoy the attention of people and everything, but next time around I will look for a more active holiday. Having said that, we can perhaps try to make the stay at a resort such–offering more activities to the guests, such as guided biking tours, hiking, and so on. At the end of the day it will only help the reputation of the resort, and people who aren’t interested in such activities will simply skip them.
Final thoughts and next questions
Don’t be afraid of criticizing things, but try to balance things out with something positive. Remember that nobody wants to employ people who see only the bad things in life. Someone who always complains about something during their holiday has a tendency to do the same at work. And that’s not the impression you want to make in this interview.
And if you’ve never stayed at a resort before, admit it openly. Not everyone can afford such a luxury. Hotel chains and big beach resorts typically have excellent training program in place for new hires. You will learn how to take care of your duties, and excel in the job, even if you’ve never stayed at a similar place as a guest before…. I hope this helps, and wish you good luck in your interview!
Matthew
May also interest you: Hotel interview questions – 5 questions you will likely face while interviewing for any job in a hotel.
