How to Use the Hotel Receptionist Onboarding Template

Why structured hotel receptionist onboarding matters

The front desk is the first and last impression a guest has of your hotel. A receptionist who fumbles through the PMS during check-in, gives wrong directions to the restaurant, or freezes when a guest complains about their room does more damage to your reputation in five minutes than a marketing campaign can fix in five months.

Yet receptionist onboarding in many hotels amounts to a morning with the training manual, a few shadowed check-ins, and then being left alone on the desk for the evening shift. The result is anxious new starters, frustrated guests, and experienced staff who end up doing two jobs because the new person can't handle the pace.

This template structures the first week into five progressive days that build competence and confidence in the right order — property knowledge and team relationships first, then core systems and processes, then guest handling and problem solving, then advanced operations, and finally upselling and administrative skills. Each day includes assessment questions and success indicators, so you know whether your new receptionist is ready for the next stage or needs more time on the current one.

Day 1: Foundation and Property Familiarisation

The first day is about orientation — to the building, the people, the systems, and the service culture. A receptionist who knows the property inside out can answer guest questions confidently, and one who feels welcomed by the team performs better from day one.

Hotel Systems and Property Orientation

Why this matters: Guests expect the receptionist to know everything about the hotel. Where's the gym? What time does breakfast finish? Is there parking? A receptionist who has to say "I don't know" repeatedly in their first week loses credibility with guests and confidence in themselves.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk the entire property together: public areas, every room type (open a door to each category so they can describe them to guests), restaurants, bars, spa, gym, meeting rooms, and back-of-house areas
• Introduce the key people they'll interact with: housekeeping supervisors, maintenance, F&B managers, duty managers, and the reservations team
• Set up their PMS login and walk through the basic navigation — don't try to teach everything on day one, just enough to find a booking, check room status, and navigate the main screens
• Walk the guest journey from arrival to departure, explaining what happens at each stage and where the receptionist fits in

Customisation tips:

• Larger properties should provide a printed or digital property map the receptionist can refer to during their first few shifts
• If your hotel has unusual features (a rooftop bar, an underground car park, a heritage wing), make sure these are covered — guests will ask about them

Team Integration and Role Clarification

Why this matters: Receptionists interact with every department in the hotel. Knowing who to call, how to communicate, and what each department expects from reception prevents delays and mistakes during busy periods.

How to deliver this training:

• Arrange brief introductions with each department head, focusing on how reception works with their department — what information housekeeping needs, how maintenance requests get logged, how F&B handles room service orders
• Have the new starter shadow an experienced receptionist for at least two hours, observing real check-ins, phone calls, and guest interactions
• Walk through hotel policies together: security procedures, data protection rules, guest privacy requirements, and service standards
• Set up handover procedures: how the logbook works, what information gets passed between shifts, and how to use internal communication systems

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with night audit should explain how the receptionist's work connects to the night audit process, even if they won't be working nights initially
• Properties with a concierge team should clarify the boundary between reception and concierge responsibilities

Basic Guest Service Principles

Why this matters: Service skills can be taught, but the fundamentals need to be established on day one. How you greet a guest, how you stand, how you make eye contact — these set the tone for every interaction that follows.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss the importance of first impressions specifically — what guests see and feel when they approach the desk, and how the receptionist can control that experience
• Walk through different guest types: business travellers who want speed, families who need information, international guests who may not speak English confidently, and guests with accessibility needs
• Practise greeting protocols: the words to use, when to stand, how to make eye contact, and how to manage the queue when multiple guests arrive at once
• Discuss non-verbal communication: posture, facial expressions, hand gestures, and the difference between looking welcoming and looking bored

Customisation tips:

• Luxury hotels should spend more time on language and formality — the specific phrases and tone that match the brand
• Budget and mid-market hotels can focus on warmth, efficiency, and making the check-in feel personal even when it's quick

Assessment Questions

Use these questions to check understanding at the end of Day 1. Have a quick conversation with your new starter — this isn't a formal exam, but a chance to identify gaps and reinforce key learning.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask practical questions: "A guest asks where the nearest pharmacy is — what would you say?" reveals more than "Do you understand the local area?"
• Check PMS comfort by asking them to look up a booking while you watch
• Note areas where additional support is needed and plan to revisit them on Day 2

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 1, your new hotel receptionist should be demonstrating these behaviours. If any are missing, revisit the relevant training section before moving to Day 2.

Day 1 Notes

Record observations about how Day 1 went — what the new starter picked up quickly, areas needing extra support, and any adjustments to the remaining training days.

Day 2: Reservation Management and Check-in Procedures

Day 2 is where the technical training begins. Reservations and check-in are the core technical skills of the role, and your new receptionist needs to be competent with these before they can handle anything more complex.

Reservation System Mastery

Why this matters: Every error in a reservation — wrong dates, wrong room type, missed special request — creates a problem that someone has to fix later, usually in front of the guest. Getting reservations right at the point of entry saves time, prevents complaints, and protects revenue.

How to deliver this training:

• Have the receptionist create reservations from scratch using different scenarios: a phone booking, an OTA reservation that needs modifying, a group block, and a direct walk-in
• Walk through modification procedures step by step — changing dates, switching room types, adding special requests — and have them practise each one
• Demonstrate availability checking across date ranges, including how to handle sold-out dates, waitlists, and alternative suggestions
• Explain how different booking channels interact with inventory — why an OTA booking reduces availability across all channels and what rate parity means in practice

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with a central reservations team can focus the receptionist on modifications and queries rather than creation
• Properties that take a high volume of phone bookings should include telephone reservation practice with script guidance

Check-in Process and Documentation

Why this matters: Check-in is the moment of truth. It's the guest's first face-to-face experience with the hotel, and it needs to be smooth, warm, and accurate. A fumbled check-in — wrong room, missing booking, slow system — starts the stay on the wrong foot.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through pre-arrival preparation: reviewing the arrivals list, pre-blocking rooms based on preferences and requests, and preparing VIP welcome amenities
• Demonstrate ID verification procedures, covering legal requirements, what documents are acceptable, and how records are kept in compliance with data protection regulations
• Practise registration card completion — including how to explain terms and conditions without reading them out verbatim
• Train on strategic room assignment: how to allocate rooms based on guest preferences, stay length, loyalty status, and the potential for upselling

Customisation tips:

• Hotels using digital check-in or kiosk systems should include training on how to support guests who prefer or struggle with self-service
• Properties with a high percentage of international guests should cover passport scanning procedures and visa documentation

Payment Handling and Security

Why this matters: Handling money and card details carries both financial and legal responsibility. A receptionist who processes payments incorrectly or handles card data carelessly creates liability for the hotel and risk for the guest.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through each payment method the hotel accepts: credit and debit cards, cash, prepaid vouchers, corporate billing, and any digital payment options
• Explain pre-authorisation procedures clearly — when to take a pre-auth, how much to pre-authorise, and how to explain the process to guests who question the hold on their card
• Demonstrate folio management: how charges post to the guest's bill, how to explain a folio to a guest who queries it, and how to make adjustments when errors occur
• Cover cash handling procedures: float management, cash drops, reconciliation at end of shift, and what to do if the till doesn't balance

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with a high proportion of corporate billing should spend more time on company account procedures and purchase order requirements
• Properties in tourist areas may handle multiple currencies — include currency conversion and foreign cash procedures if applicable

Assessment Questions

Check these at the end of Day 2. By now your receptionist should be able to handle a straightforward reservation and check-in without assistance.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have the receptionist process a complete check-in from greeting to key handover while you observe
• Test reservation skills by giving them a phone booking scenario and watching them create it in the PMS
• Check payment knowledge by presenting a billing query and seeing how they explain it

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 2, your receptionist should be handling core front desk tasks with growing confidence. If they're still hesitant with the PMS or nervous about guest interactions, schedule extra practice before moving to Day 3.

Day 2 Notes

Record how your receptionist handled the technical training — speed of learning, accuracy with the PMS, and confidence level during simulated guest interactions.

Day 3: Guest Services and Problem Resolution

Day 3 moves beyond standard procedures into the situations that test a receptionist's skills: guest requests that don't have a standard answer, complaints that need careful handling, and communication across multiple channels simultaneously.

Guest Request Management

Why this matters: The receptionist is the hotel's problem solver. Guests come to the desk with everything from "I need extra pillows" to "Can you recommend a restaurant for my anniversary?" The ability to handle requests efficiently and follow up reliably is what turns a stay into a positive review.

How to deliver this training:

• Work through common request scenarios together: extra amenities, room changes, restaurant bookings, taxi arrangements, luggage storage, and late check-out requests
• Demonstrate request tracking in the PMS — how to log a request, assign it to the right department, and follow up to confirm completion before the guest has to ask again
• Build local knowledge: compile a reference list of nearby restaurants, attractions, pharmacies, transport options, and emergency services. Have the receptionist visit or research the top five recommendations so they can speak from experience
• Practise providing personalised recommendations — not just reading from a list, but asking the guest what they're looking for and tailoring the suggestion

Customisation tips:

• City centre hotels should invest more time in local knowledge training, as guests expect detailed area expertise
• Resort properties can focus on internal facilities and activities, with less emphasis on external recommendations

Complaint Handling and Service Recovery

Why this matters: How a receptionist handles a complaint determines whether the guest leaves angry or becomes a repeat customer. Most complaints are predictable — noisy rooms, housekeeping issues, billing errors — and can be handled well if the receptionist has practised the responses.

How to deliver this training:

• Teach active listening as a specific skill: let the guest finish speaking, summarise what you've heard, and confirm you've understood before offering a solution
• Practise empathy and ownership: "I'm sorry this happened, let me sort this out for you" is more effective than "That's not my department"
• Walk through solution development for different complaint levels: a minor inconvenience (offer an apology and a small gesture), a significant failure (room move, complimentary service), and a serious issue (duty manager escalation, formal documentation)
• Discuss service recovery specifically — the goal isn't just to fix the problem, it's to leave the guest feeling better about the hotel than before the complaint

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with a formal compensation matrix should train receptionists on what they can offer at their level versus what needs manager approval
• Properties with a high volume of online reviews should discuss how in-person complaint resolution prevents negative reviews

Phone Skills and Communication Excellence

Why this matters: The phone rings constantly at a hotel front desk. A receptionist who answers professionally, handles the call efficiently, and manages multiple calls without losing composure keeps the operation moving. Poor phone skills — long hold times, forgotten messages, unprofessional greetings — frustrate guests and colleagues equally.

How to deliver this training:

• Practise the standard phone greeting until it sounds natural, not scripted — the words matter, but the tone matters more
• Work through multi-call scenarios: a guest on hold, an internal call from housekeeping, and a walk-up guest all arriving simultaneously. Discuss prioritisation and how to manage each without making anyone feel ignored
• Train on message accuracy: repeat names and numbers back, write messages down immediately, and confirm the delivery method
• Cover email communication standards: response times, professional tone, and how to handle requests that arrive by email versus phone

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with a PBX switchboard should include training on transferring calls, setting up wake-up calls, and managing the voicemail system
• Properties that handle a high volume of email enquiries should spend more time on written communication standards

Assessment Questions

Day 3 covers the interpersonal skills that separate a good receptionist from an average one. Use these questions to check whether your new starter can think on their feet.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Present a complaint scenario and evaluate their response — listen for empathy, ownership, and a clear resolution plan
• Test local knowledge by asking for three restaurant recommendations with different characteristics (fine dining, family-friendly, budget)
• Have them answer a practice phone call and assess their greeting, tone, and message-taking accuracy

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 3, your receptionist should be showing confidence in guest interactions beyond standard check-in and check-out. If they're still uncomfortable with complaints or phone calls, schedule additional role-play practice.

Day 3 Notes

Note which of the guest service skills your receptionist took to naturally and which need more practice. Complaint handling and phone skills often need reinforcement over the following weeks.

Day 4: Advanced Operations and Cross-Department Coordination

Day 4 introduces the more complex scenarios that receptionists encounter: group arrivals, VIP handling, housekeeping coordination, and managing guests through their full stay including departure. These situations require planning, communication, and the ability to juggle multiple priorities at once.

Group Handling and Special Arrivals

Why this matters: A coach party of 40 guests arriving at 3pm while you're handling individual check-ins is one of the most stressful situations at the front desk. Without preparation and a clear process, it turns into chaos. Group handling is also where the hotel's reputation with corporate clients and tour operators gets built or destroyed.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through pre-arrival preparation for groups: pre-registration, key card programming, rooming list management, and welcome pack assembly
• Practise managing the flow of a large group arrival: where guests queue, how keys get distributed, how luggage gets coordinated, and how to handle the inevitable guest who isn't on the rooming list
• Review VIP protocols in detail: how VIPs are identified in the PMS, what amenities they receive, how their room gets prepared, and the level of personal attention expected during their stay
• Cover corporate account management: what company-specific arrangements look like, how direct billing works, and how to handle queries about corporate rates

Customisation tips:

• Conference hotels that handle groups daily should include live group arrival observation as part of the training
• Boutique hotels with fewer group bookings can focus more on VIP handling and personalised service

Housekeeping Coordination

Why this matters: The relationship between reception and housekeeping directly affects the guest experience. If room status isn't updated accurately, guests get told their room isn't ready when it is, or worse, get sent to a room that hasn't been cleaned.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through room status management in the PMS: how rooms move from dirty to clean to inspected, and how the receptionist updates and monitors this in real time
• Practise requesting priority cleaning for early arrivals — including how to communicate the request clearly and follow up without badgering the housekeeping team
• Work through special request coordination: extra beds, specific pillow types, cot setup, room configuration changes — how to log them, communicate them to housekeeping, and verify they've been completed
• Cover turndown service procedures if applicable: when it happens, how it's arranged, and what VIP-level turndown looks like

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with housekeeping app systems should train on both the app and the manual fallback process
• Properties with limited housekeeping staff should discuss prioritisation strategies for busy changeover days

Extended Stay and Departure Preparation

Why this matters: Managing guests during their stay — not just at arrival and departure — is what creates loyalty. Extension requests, room moves, billing queries, and departure preparation all need handling smoothly.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through stay extension and room move procedures: how to check availability, process the change in the PMS, coordinate with housekeeping, and communicate with the guest
• Demonstrate how to keep billing accurate during a stay: posting charges correctly, handling disputes before check-out, and coordinating with accounts for any manual adjustments
• Practise preparing pre-departure folios: how to generate and review a bill before the guest asks, identify potential queries, and set up express check-out options
• Cover late check-out handling: when to grant it, what to charge, how to communicate with housekeeping, and how to manage competing requests on a busy departure day

Customisation tips:

• Extended-stay hotels should spend more time on mid-stay guest management and the unique needs of long-stay guests
• Hotels with high weekend turnover should focus on efficient departure processing and the ability to handle multiple check-outs simultaneously

Assessment Questions

Day 4 checks whether your receptionist can handle the operational complexity of the role. These situations involve coordination, planning, and communication with multiple parties.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Present a group arrival scenario and ask them to walk you through their preparation checklist
• Test housekeeping coordination by asking how they'd handle a guest whose room isn't ready at 3pm
• Check departure knowledge by presenting a folio with a few line items and asking them to explain each charge to a "guest"

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 4, your receptionist should be comfortable with the wider operational demands of the role. If they're still focused only on individual check-ins, they need more exposure to group scenarios and cross-department communication.

Day 4 Notes

Record how your receptionist handled the advanced operations training. Note their communication skills with other departments and their ability to plan ahead for complex situations.

Day 5: Upselling, Reporting and Performance Review

The final day adds two important dimensions: revenue generation through upselling and the administrative responsibilities that keep the front desk running smoothly. It also sets expectations for ongoing development and performance.

Upselling and Revenue Opportunities

Why this matters: The front desk handles more guest interactions than any other department. Each one is a chance to increase revenue — a room upgrade, a spa booking, a loyalty programme enrolment. Receptionists who upsell naturally rather than robotically generate significant additional income for the hotel.

How to deliver this training:

• Teach room upgrade techniques: how to spot the opportunity (guest celebrating a special occasion, business traveller who might appreciate extra space), how to present the upgrade as a benefit rather than a cost, and how to process the upsell in the PMS
• Walk through ancillary service promotion: how to recommend the restaurant, spa, or other facilities in a way that feels helpful rather than salesy
• Practise loyalty programme enrolment: the receptionist should be able to explain the benefits in two sentences and make signing up feel easy, not like a hard sell
• Discuss extended stay incentives: when it's appropriate to offer a discounted rate for an extra night and how to frame it as a benefit to the guest

Customisation tips:

• Properties with upsell incentive programmes should explain how the commission or recognition works
• Hotels with limited ancillary facilities can focus on room upgrades and loyalty enrolment as the primary revenue opportunities

Administrative Duties and Reporting

Why this matters: The paperwork side of reception isn't exciting, but it keeps the operation running. Shift reports, banking, filing — getting these right protects the hotel financially and provides the data that management uses to make decisions.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through end-of-shift reporting: what information goes in the handover, how transaction summaries get compiled, and what the duty manager needs to see
• Demonstrate occupancy and revenue reporting: how to generate the key reports, what the numbers mean, and how they connect to staffing and operational decisions
• Cover banking procedures in detail: how cash drops work, what the reconciliation process looks like, and what to do when numbers don't balance
• Show the filing systems: where guest history records live, how incident reports are stored, and what the retention policies are for different document types

Customisation tips:

• Hotels with night audit should explain how the receptionist's end-of-shift work feeds into the night audit process
• Properties with paperless systems should focus on the digital filing and reporting tools

Ongoing Development and Performance Standards

Why this matters: Day 5 isn't the end of training — it's the start of development. Setting clear expectations now for how performance gets measured and how growth happens prevents the drift that occurs when new starters are left without direction after the first week.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through the KPIs that apply to reception staff: check-in times, upsell conversion rates, guest satisfaction scores, accuracy of transactions
• Set personal development goals together — specific, measurable targets for the first 30 and 90 days
• Explain how quality assurance works: mystery shopper programmes, guest feedback reviews, and how the receptionist's performance feeds into the hotel's overall service scores
• Discuss continuous improvement: how to suggest process improvements, what training opportunities are available, and how career progression works in the hotel

Customisation tips:

• Properties with a formal training academy or development programme should introduce it here
• Smaller hotels can focus on cross-training opportunities — concierge skills, reservations, events — as the development path

Assessment Questions

These final assessment questions check whether your receptionist is ready for independent work. Focus on the commercial and administrative skills alongside the service foundation built during the week.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have the receptionist practise an upsell conversation during a mock check-in
• Test administrative knowledge by asking them to complete an end-of-shift report
• Discuss their development goals and check whether they're specific and achievable

Success Indicators

These are the markers of a receptionist who's ready to work the desk with decreasing supervision. If all four are present, your onboarding has been successful. If any are missing, plan additional support in those areas.

Day 5 Notes

Record your final assessment of the onboarding period. Note strengths, development areas, and any agreed next steps for continued training.

Making the most of this template

Five days covers the essentials, but front desk competence takes weeks to fully develop. If your new receptionist works part-time or on rotating shifts, spread the programme so each training day gets proper attention. Cramming two training days into one shift doesn't work — the information doesn't stick and the practise time gets cut short.

Use the notes sections at the end of each day to track your receptionist's development. These records help with probation reviews, identify common training gaps across multiple hires, and demonstrate that you're investing properly in staff development.

The assessment questions and success indicators give structure to what can otherwise be a vague conversation about "how it's going." If a receptionist meets every success indicator, they're ready for more independence. If they're falling short in specific areas, you have clear data about what to work on rather than a general feeling that something isn't right.

Consider pairing your new receptionist with an experienced team member as a buddy for the first few weeks after formal onboarding ends. The buddy isn't responsible for training — they're a safe person to ask "silly" questions that the new starter might not want to ask their manager. This small investment in support makes a significant difference to how quickly people settle into the role.