In this article, we would like to turn to the rudiments, what we consider a must-have in terms of characteristics and skills that hotel employees engaged in Event Management Division, Sales Department as well as the hotel staff should have or learn. The aim is to fulfill or even exceed the expectations of hotel guests or event attendees.

Personal characteristics

You should be communicative, yet skilful enough to listen and to understand what your guests want you to hear. The most important moment in this industry are relationships with people. It is necessary that you communicate on the level which is full of respect for all, and to provide clear and precise answers.

You must be able to stay calm when you are under pressure, the last thing that the guest wants to see is panic – there are no problems, only solutions. The swiftness of reaction is of a great significance, as well as the cleverness in solving of the problems which might occur. An extension cord is missing.

It must be there as soon as possible, and the client does not care whose responsibility that is, who should be blamed and what the solution of the problem is.

Kindness, temperance and pleasant face expression do not have to be considered as innate features, they can also be learned, but they must not be missing in contact with the guests.

Successful managers should be full of enthusiasm and should have passion for what they do, but that cannot be learned. Enthusiasm and passion bring creativity, and without them, no obstacle can be overcome and you cannot triumph when everything seems to be lost.

Knowledge and professional skills

What majority of people consider as necessary professional feature is organization. It is necessary to coordinate and manage your own time, and if you are on the senior position, it includes coordination and management of your team. One should set the priorities and properly estimate the time necessary for realization of each activity.

As the course of event can be changed within a minute, one should be ready for all planned and unplanned situations, to be flexible.

The basic general knowledge gives stability and confidence necessary for a good conversation with the guest. There are various questions for which you should either know the answer or be able to avoid the topic which is not the one you are competent in. The answers such as “I am doing my apprenticeship” or “I have just started to work here” must not be the answers for the guests. Additional confidence is provided with good expertness in work and good knowledge of all details related to your job position.

Further, being well informed, if we talk about the event taking place in the hotel, the number of people you expect, the organization of the conference room, the menu which will be served, the overall agenda, etc., that is something that each employee must be familiar with during the event.

In this part, we should also mention competence and education in the field of tourism and event organization. For example, CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) is one of the globally recognized certificates for professionals in the field of event industry. Another widely recognized certificate is CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional) but it is more focused on specific events. Both certificates require three years of experience in industry.

Another must-have in hotels is speaking foreign languages, particularly if we talk about hotels within international chains. Also, as this is the era of internet technologies and online business, the basics of the IT literacy is not enough anymore.

Professionalism

Although left for the end, professionalism is the most important must-have feature at work. We may have our personal problems, perhaps the weather makes us feel moody, or someone made us upset from the early morning, perhaps we have too much work to complete in a short period of time and tough deadlines, we may have a lot of pressure from our seniors, there might be some technical problems, or it is simply not our day… that is the moment when professional approach comes out, when everything stays aside and we are completely dedicated to our client.

S.G.