A vague job ad brings in plenty of applications from people who do not fit, and few from people who do. Candidates for hotel roles mainly want to know when they work, how many hours, what it pays and when they can start. Read which facts belong in every ad, how to describe the work concretely and what to leave out.
8 October 2026
The job ad decides who applies. If it only says “enthusiastic colleague wanted for our hospitable team”, everyone applies and nobody knows what they are signing up for. If shifts, hours and pay are clear, people who cannot do it drop out beforehand and the candidates who can apply faster.
A good ad saves you interviews with candidates who later fall away on availability or pay.
• Role and department: a recognisable job title, such as receptionist, housekeeping room attendant or chef de partie, not an internal title.
• Shifts: early, late, night, weekend, split shifts. Name what happens most.
• Hours and contract: hours per week, permanent or temporary, and for seasonal work the period.
• Pay: the starting pay or the pay range, plus allowances or tip arrangements where they apply.
• Start date: from when you need someone.
• Languages: which languages the work really needs and at what level.
• Location and access: where the hotel is and whether it can be reached by public transport for early and late shifts.
• A normal shift: describe in three or four sentences how a shift goes, for example the number of rooms per shift in housekeeping or the number of covers in the kitchen.
• The type of hotel: number of rooms, type of guests (business, leisure, groups) and what that means for the pace.
• The team: how many people someone works with and who they report to.
• Requirements and nice-to-haves apart: list two or three real requirements separately from what would be nice to have. A long list of requirements puts off suitable candidates.
Hospitality candidates mainly compare on pay, hours and shifts. An ad without pay often gets fewer applications. In addition, the European pay transparency directive requires employers to inform applicants about the starting pay or pay range before the interview. Exactly how and when that applies depends on how your country has transposed it; check with your adviser or industry association.
Write the ad neutrally: no age, gender, origin or “young team” as a requirement. Ask for what the work needs, such as weekend availability or a second language at conversation level.
• Short form: name, phone number, availability and optionally a CV. A cover letter is not needed for most operational roles.
• Mobile: most candidates apply from their phone. Test the form yourself on a phone.
• What happens next: say when you will be in touch, for example within two working days, and whether a trial shift follows.
• The same ad for every role: a receptionist and a cook look for very different things. Adapt the ad per role.
• Only atmosphere, no facts: “dynamic working environment” says nothing. Shifts and hours say a lot.
• Reusing an old ad: hours, pay or shifts have often changed since last time. Read the ad again before you post it.
• Too many requirements: five years of experience and three languages for a role that does not need them shrinks your candidate pool for no reason.
• Does the ad state role, department, shifts, hours, contract and start date?
• Does it include the starting pay or pay range?
• Does it describe a normal shift in a few sentences?
• Are real requirements kept apart from nice-to-haves?
• Is it written neutrally and does it only ask for what the work needs?
• Can a candidate apply from a phone within a few minutes?
• Does it say when you will be in touch?
AXXAZ Hospitality places reliable hospitality professionals with hotels across Europe, including when an ad brings in few applications or you need someone quickly. A clear staffing brief (period, hours, shifts, languages, start date) is also the basis of a good job ad, whether you recruit in-house or book through a partner. Get in touch if you would like a placement or a brief for an open role.
Put the role, shifts, hours, pay, start date and languages in every job ad, describe a normal shift as it really is, keep requirements short and neutral and make applying from a phone easy.