This month, the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Open Hotels Weekend programme returned for a second run with registration numbers soaring 50 per cent.
Over two weekends, 22 hotels opened their doors to jobseekers and the general public, offering a behind-the-scenes look at working in the hotel industry. Participating hotels include Amara Singapore, Hilton Singapore, Pan Pacific Singapore and Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.
Photo credits: Debbie Y Photography
Some 1,250 participants registered for these tours, 50 per cent more than the number of registrants in the first run of the programme in October last year.
“The hotel industry is a very dynamic and exciting one and the sense of satisfaction that one gets from working in this industry is like no other. By bringing jobseekers and the general public on a hotel tour, we hope to show first-hand the wide and diverse variety of roles in the hotel industry and hopefully generate interest in these roles,” said Ong Huey Hong, director, hotels and sector manpower, STB.
The tour itineraries varied from hotel to hotel, with some organising cocktail mixing masterclasses and tea appreciation sessions, and others showcasing their housekeeping robots and herb garden.
Networking sessions and on-the-spot job interviews were also available at most hotels, expediting the hiring process for hotels and jobseekers. More than 500 job vacancies are available, with over 100 roles ranging from front-of-house positions such as concierge, guest relations executive and restaurant manager, to back-of-house roles such as housekeeping coordinator, sales manager and communications executive.
The Open Hotels Weekend programme comes under the Hotel Careers Campaign that was launched in July 2017 by the STB, in partnership with the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA); Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union; and the hotel industry.
Also part of the three-year campaign, which seeks to create awareness and improve perceptions of careers in the hotel industry, is the 100 Ambassadors of Happiness initiative. The stories of 100 hotel employees – handpicked from front office operations, F&B, data analytics and revenue management roles, among other vocations – are currently shared on the campaign website and marketing materials, as well as with jobseekers during recruitment events. So far, about one-fifth of these ambassadors have been announced; the remaining ones will be rolled out progressively.
Another initiative is the Work-for-a-Stay training programme targeting millennials. First held between December last year and March this year, the training programme saw participants completing a 10-day stint at a hotel, and receiving allowance and a complimentary one-night hotel stay at the end of their stint.
