Hotel porter

Hotel porters welcome guests to accommodation facilities, help them carry their luggage, answer their questions and provide services such as occasional cleaning.

Hotel porters typically do the following duties:

• 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

Hotel porters spend most of your their time on their feet, both indoors and outside. Their work is quite physical, as they need to lift and carry heavy or awkward loads such as luggage and other equipment.

The following job titles also refer to hotel porter:

bellboy
baggage carrier
bellhop
porter
carrier
bellman

No formal educational credential is required to work as hotel porter. However, a high school diploma at least is often preferred by employers, who generally offer on-the-job training.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Hotel porter is a Skill level 1 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to hotel porter.

doorman/doorwoman
linen room attendant
room attendant
toilet attendant
cloak room attendant

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of hotel porter. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of hotel porter with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

hotel butler
hotel concierge
night auditor
camping ground operative
hospitality establishment receptionist

These skills are necessary for the role of hotel porter.

• Comply with food safety and hygiene: Respect optimal food safety and hygiene during preparation, manufacturing, processing, storage, distribution and delivery of food products.
• Greet guests: Welcome guests in a friendly manner in a certain place.
• Maintain customer service: Keep the highest possible customer service and make sure that the customer service is at all times performed in a professional way. Help customers or participants feel at ease and support special requirements.
• Assist clients with special needs: Aid clients with special needs following relevant guidelines and special standards. Recognise their needs and accurately respond to them if needed.
• Handle delivered packages: Administer delivered packages and ensure that they reach their destination on time.
• Handle guest luggage: Manage, pack, unpack and store guest luggage on request.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of hotel porter. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Explain features in accommodation venue: Clarify guests’ accommodation facilities and demonstrate and show how to use them.
• Implement marketing strategies: Implement strategies which aim to promote a specific product or service, using the developed marketing strategies.
• Handle customer complaints: Administer complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.
• Provide tourism related information: Give customers relevant information about historical and cultural locations and events while conveying this information in an entertaining and informative manner.
• Provide door security: Spot and monitor individuals or groups of people at the door who intend to enter the premises unlawfully or have potential for causing threats.
• Handle chemical cleaning agents: Ensure proper handling, storage and disposal of cleaning chemicals in accordance with regulations.
• Clean public areas: Disinfect the areas to which the public has access.
• Park guest’s vehicle: Line up guests’ vehicles safely and efficiently and retrieve the vehicle at the end of their stay.
• Run errands on behalf of customers: Take orders and follow requests on behalf of a client, such as go shopping or pick up dry cleaning.
• Implement sales strategies: Carry out the plan to gain competitive advantage on the market by positioning the company’s brand or product and by targeting the right audience to sell this brand or product to.
• Take room service orders: Accept room service orders and redirect them to the responsible employees.
• Detect drug abuse: Identify people under excessive use of alcohol and drugs inside a facility, effectively deal with these people and supervise customers own safety while applying relevant regulations.

9621 – Messengers, package deliverers and luggage porters

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References

1. ESCO
2. Hotel porter | Explore careers | National Career Service
3. Hotel porter | My World of Work
4. Featured image: By Helloahappysa – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0