Hospitality Internships

Having relevant work experience is a critical factor in finding the best possible role after graduation. That’s why many hospitality degrees incorporate professional internships.

Hospitality management internships

In an academic context, an internship is defined as a temporary period of work usually attached to a degree program, which is designed to give a student some relevant experience in the field they’ve chosen to study.

For hospitality business students, this usually involves time spent working in a hotel, restaurant or similar premises.

Where your hospitality degree offers more than one internship, it can be an opportunity to try out other sectors that may be of interest, such as travel and tourism, luxury management, finance, event management, sports, or sustainability.

Ultimately, this experience can play a major part in determining your career path after graduation.

Why intern in hospitality?: benefits of hospitality internships

There are many benefits to a hospitality internship program, but the most important is the work experience itself – no matter how hands-on and business focused your education, there is simply nothing to match having the opportunity to put what you’ve learned into practice in a real-world professional setting.

And not just any setting. Study with a highly regarded and well-connected hospitality school and you will have privileged access to internship opportunities at prestigious brands. These are rarely advertised to the general public; instead, brands come direct to the top schools, because they trust the knowledge, professional polish and work ethic of the students they’ll encounter.

It doesn’t mean securing your dream job posting is easy – you still have to shine at your interview – but don’t underestimate the value of a ‘foot in the door’.

Let’s take a look at some of the main ways that internships for hospitality students can help set you up for a successful career in the industry.

What do hospitality interns do?

The answer to this question largely depends on the number of internship programs that are built into the degree course. At Glion, our hospitality degree at Bachelor’s level involves two separate internships, in semesters two and five.

This creates a natural progression: for the first internship, you will be placed within an operational environment, giving you a fully grounded, everyday context in which to deploy the skills and competencies you learned in your first, operations-focused semester of study.

When it comes to your second internship, with a year of academic study behind you, it’s an opportunity (and a requirement) to take on a more senior position in the hotel management chain of command; or in the industry sector which you are targeting for your future career.

Examples of internships recently taken by our students include:

Skills learned on hospitality internships

Internships for hospitality students offer plenty of skill-building opportunities. Working on your professional skills is vital to help you succeed in the industry and to help you advance your career. Here’s a look at some of the key skills that this on-the-job training can help you build:

Communication skills

Internships in the hotel industry serve as immersive environments where you’ll refine both verbal and written communication skills through interactions with guests, colleagues, and supervisors. Effective communication lies at the heart of seamless guest experiences and collaborative teamwork, making it a cornerstone skill in hospitality.

Critical thinking skills

The fast-paced nature of hospitality presents a range of challenges that demand sharp analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Through your hotel management internship, you’ll develop a knack for evaluating situations, assessing options, and making informed decisions in real-time, bolstering your critical thinking prowess.

Interpersonal skills

Hospitality thrives on positive relationships and cohesive teamwork. Internships in the hospitality industry provide solid ground for honing interpersonal skills like empathy, active listening, and conflict resolution, building harmonious interactions with individuals across all levels of the company.

Adaptability

Flexibility is key in an industry characterized by ever-changing demands and environments. Internships for hospitality students offer firsthand experiences that nurture adaptability, enabling you to seamlessly adjust to evolving circumstances, roles, and responsibilities, and thrive amidst dynamic challenges

Cultural sensitivity

With a global clientele and multicultural workforce, cultural sensitivity is paramount in hospitality. Internships afford opportunities to engage with individuals from varied cultural backgrounds, fostering an appreciation for different customs, traditions, and perspectives, and enhancing your ability to provide inclusive and culturally competent service.

Time management

Juggling multiple tasks and priorities is a hallmark of hospitality internships. You’ll refine your time management skills as you learn to prioritize tasks, allocate resources efficiently, and meet deadlines, ensuring smooth operations and exceptional guest experiences.

Attention to detail

Meticulous attention to detail is essential in delivering impeccable service across all facets of hospitality. Internships instill a keen eye for detail, ensuring that every aspect of the guest experience, from room preparations to food presentation, is executed flawlessly to exceed expectations.

Leadership skills

As you grow in confidence and competence, internships may present opportunities to step into leadership roles. You’ll learn to inspire and motivate team members, delegate responsibilities effectively, and make strategic decisions that contribute to the overall success and growth of the hospitality establishment.

Hotel internships

If you’ve been fortunate enough to stay in a luxury hotel, one of the things you will surely have noticed is how things are just so. The bed is perfectly made; the bathroom is spotless and every complimentary amenity is neatly arranged; you are greeted warmly on arrival, perhaps even using your name.

None of this happens by accident. These hotels are finely-tuned machines, and if you want to be in control of the machine you have to understand exactly how it works – from the ground up. That’s why degree courses will give you skills training as well as a great hospitality management internship.

For Bachelor students, most hospitality degrees – including Glion’s – kick-off this learning process with a first semester devoted to the practical skills (housekeeping, front desk, F&B service, etc.) that add up to a top quality guest experience.

It’s the internship in hotel management where that process goes up a gear. As an intern you are out in the real world of hospitality; facing actual customers and experiencing real-life situations where your actions (or inactions) can influence guest loyalty and ultimately the reputation of the hotel!

What can you learn from a hotel internship?

For many hospitality degree students, a hotel internship represents their first actual work experience in the hospitality industry – that makes it an incredibly important rite of passage, as well as an excellent addition to your resume when the time comes to forge your hospitality career.

What you learn in terms of operational skills depends on your choice of role. An internship in a restaurant within a hotel will teach you more about food service, while a general internship for hospitality management will have you oversee staff from a wider range of roles. But in all situations you will enhance your soft skills, such as communication, teamworking and problem solving.

Hospitality internships are also a chance to experience life in different countries. We encourage – where possible – our students to choose internships away from their home country and campus location, because we believe that experiencing different environments is the best way to gain the intercultural fluency and language skills which are highly prized within the global hospitality business.

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“My first internship was as a sommelier in a gastronomic restaurant. The position was challenging and helped me grow. I learnt many skills I could not live without and that help me today in my new internship, such as patience and flexibility. I believe this first practical arts internship is a necessary step to create a ladder that helps you reach the top.”

By Orsola Tringali

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How do I get an internship at a hotel?

If you are not too choosy about your brand or location, it’s possible to secure an internship in a hotel by simply approaching the hotel or resort directly.
However, there are plenty of good reasons to intern as part of a hospitality degree at a leading school. These include:

★ Boosting your options – the top hospitality schools have dedicated internship teams that can deliver multiple opportunities for students to pick from. For example, Glion Bachelor students have an average of 5.7 internship offers each, meaning that you can pick the best hospitality management internship to suit your career goals.

★ Access to the most prestigious brands – high end hotel operators live or die by the quality of service they offer, so naturally they target the best schools when searching for suitable interns. These hospitality companies will often only accept interns from the top schools because they know they can get interns who can hit the ground running.

★ Being better prepared – the world of work is tough and challenging, especially for a young person fresh from high school. With a typical hospitality degree curriculum, you are given a strong grounding in operational processes before you begin your internship. This can help you make the most of the hospitality industry experience when you start as an intern.

Our Hospitality internship programs

At Glion, we have close ties to a lot of the top hospitality employers in the world. This helps us ensure that we get the best internships in the hospitality industry for our students. We have designed each course so that the internships help to reinforce the skills and knowledge you have gained in the theoretical portions of the course. Our two bachelor’s degrees both offer three internships spaced throughout the course.

Bachelor’s in international hospitality business:

Semester 2: Hospitality operations practice
Semester 5: Management practice
Semester 8: On-the-job experience & research project.

Bachelor’s in luxury business:

Semester 2: Professional immersion
Semester 5: management practice
Semester 8: On-the-job experience & research project

Our master’s degrees all offer you a six-month-long internship in hospitality at the end of your course. This will help you learn how to apply your skills and know-how. Some of our MSc courses also offer an optional hospitality immersion program at the start of the course to help you find your feet ready for study.

We have over 350 recruiters visit our campus every year, meaning that we have access to a wide range of great hotel management internships open to us.