Hotel porter

Hotel porters help hotel guests with their luggage and show them to their rooms. They might also run errands and deal with enquiries from guests. Some porters work at night and are responsible for late arrivals and security.

Also known as:

Hall porter
Concierge

Work activities

There are two main kinds of porter – day porter and night porter. In some hotels, a person might do day shifts and night shifts, but it’s more normal for night porters to do only night shifts. The tasks that porters do depend on the size and type of hotel that they work in.

Day porters work in the public areas of hotels and have a lot of contact with the guests. In a large hotel, there could be a small team of porters. As well as carrying luggage, porters might:

Park guests’ cars.
Advise guests about the local area and tourist attractions.
Book tickets, taxis and restaurant tables for guests.
Drive staff to and from work, at the start and end of shifts.
Run errands for guests, for example, taking clothes for dry cleaning.
Set up conference or function rooms.
Sort the post.
Keep public areas clean and tidy.
Take meals and newspapers to guests’ bedrooms.

Night porters usually work alone or with one other person. Because they work from late at night (usually around 11pm), to early morning (around 7am), they have less contact with guests than the day porters do. They also do more work in the non-public areas of the hotel. For example, a night porter will do security checks. They also check that fire escapes are clear.

Night porters also do things like:

Help guests who are arriving late.
Receive and move deliveries to the hotel.
Help bar staff to close up and put the takings in the safe.
Check newspaper deliveries and put the right papers outside guests’ rooms.
Take meals up to guests’ rooms.
Set up function rooms for conferences or meetings.
Keep the reception area/lobby clean and tidy.
If there is something wrong with a person’s room, the night porter will have to move them to a different room and make sure the reception staff know about it in the morning.

Large hotels employ a head porter who supervises a team of porters, arranging shifts and generally seeing that guests receive the best possible service. Porters sometimes live in the hotel where they work, so they can be on-call at all times. Most porters wear uniforms. They need to be aware of hotel security procedures and have a smart appearance.

Being able to read, write and speak Welsh may be an advantage when you’re looking for work in Wales.

Personal qualities and skills

As a hotel porter, you need:

A smart appearance; you are part of the hotel’s public image.
To speak clearly.
To be polite, friendly and helpful.
To be happy following instructions; other people will tell you what to do a lot of the time.
The ability to lift and carry things.
Not to mind working shifts.
Stamina; you could be on your feet a lot.

It’s useful to have knowledge of the local area, or a foreign language to help guests from overseas.

Pay and opportunities

The pay rates given are approximate. Hotel porters earn in the range of £14,000 per year, rising to £19,000 with experience. Higher salaries are possible for the most senior positions in five-star hotels.

Hotel porters usually work 37-39 hours a week. Day porters usually work shifts, including weekends. Some porters work day and night shifts on a rota basis. There are opportunities for part-time work.

Hotel porters work in hotels of all sizes. Opportunities for hotel porters occur throughout the UK in towns, cities, and rural and coastal areas.

What’s happening in this work area?

Large numbers of employees in this sector are looking for part-time or temporary work. Employers are keen, however, to attract committed full-time, permanent staff, and opportunities to progress for these employees are considerable. There is a demand for new workers to replace those who have changed jobs or left the industry. Promotion prospects are better with the larger hotels and hotel chains.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in local newspapers, in trade magazines such as The Caterer, and on the Government’s Find a Job service. Vacancies can also be found through specialist recruitment agencies and on internet job boards such as Caterer.com. Many of the larger hotels have their own website, and usually advertise vacancies as they arise.

Entry routes and training

You don’t need any qualifications to do this job, though good standards of English and maths are useful. You could enter this profession by doing an level 2 (intermediate) apprenticeship in the role of hospitality team member.

Training is mostly on-the-job and covers hotel policies, setting up function rooms, preparing and serving snacks and drinks, and room service techniques.

With training and experience, it might be possible to move into head porter positions, or to move into other departments. Larger hotels and chains are more likely to offer wider scope for career Progression. “Concierge” might mean the same as “head porter” in some hotels.

Qualifications

If you wish to enter this career through an intermediate apprenticeship, you will need GCSEs in English and maths, although you may be able to complete these alongside your programme.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Some entrants have relevant skills and abilities gained in hotel work, or in an area such as customer service or retail. Others have skills gained in areas that involve using their hands, such as lifting, carrying and transporting.

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