Who we are

Wivenhoe House is a four star country house hotel on the outskirts of Colchester. The hotel has 40 bedrooms, conference and event facilities for up to 120 guests and a 100 seater brasserie restaurant. The Hotel is also home to the Edge Hotel School. The first hotel school of its kind in the UK, the Edge Hotel School, equips its Hotel Management and Events Management degree students with the professional and managerial skills, as well as the academic theory, to prepare them for their future career as leaders in the industry.

Why work for us?

• We offer competitive salaries
• We are committed to providing excellent training and development for all staff
• Generous holiday allowance of up to 36 days depending on grade
• Discount of 50% on overnight stays and food and 20% on beverages
• Free overnight stay for two people including dinner for every year of service
• Dry cleaning service for staff uniform
• Monthly employee recognition programme
• Employee discounts on retail items, sports centre and day nursery through the University of Essex

CURRENT VACANCIES

Lecturer in Hospitality and Events Management, Edge Hotel School

The successful candidate will be expected to engage effectively in substantive teaching and learning support roles in the School; design, plan and deliver learning across a range of modules in creative and innovative ways appropriate to the subject area and level and to participate in knowledge exchange activity. You will act as a personal tutor and join a team of motivated lecturers who are engaged in bringing commercial experiences from the hospitality industry to student education as well as the opportunity to undertake research within an operational hotel.

In addition, you will engage with the Wivenhoe House Hotel to assist and support student learning as well as their commercial and practical experience.

A full list of key responsibilities and main duties (Education, Leadership and Citizenship and Scholarship and Practice) can be found within the job pack.

To apply visit the University of Essex website.

Receptionist/Reservationist

The main duties will include responding to enquiries, taking reservations and checking guests in and out. Previous experience within the hospitality industry is essential and you will need to be highly organised with a smart and professional demeanour. You will need to be IT literate and have experience of working with booking systems.  You will also have past experience of training staff and be enthusiastic about working with the students of Edge Hotel School.

Duties of the Post:

• Ensure that guests are greeted, checked in and allocated rooms promptly and courteously
• Follow Company check-in procedures and ensure that the correct details are taken from each guest
• Deliver excellent customer service at all times, face to face, over the telephone and via email
• Show guests to their bedrooms and the facilities of the hotel, upselling hotel products and services when appropriate
• Maintain up to date guest history, profiles and marketing databases
• Liaise with Housekeeping to ensure that rooms have been serviced and are ready for arriving guests in a timely manner
• Respond to guests enquiries
• Take reservations correctly adhering to the company guidelines and policy
• Liaise with all other departments in the hotel, building good working relationships with colleagues and ensuring relevant information is communicated in a timely manner.
• Ensure that all charges are correctly entered on the guest’s bill and that this is up to date at all times
• Adhere to credit control procedures
• Check out guests effectively following the hotels procedure
• Ensure that all enquiries, messages and concierge enquiries are dealt with courteously and efficiently
• Mentor and coach Edge Hotel School students to ensure they maximise their training in Front of House
• Administer all reservations, cancellations and no-shows, in line with company policy
• Keep up to date with current promotions and hotel pricing, to provide information to guests, on request, while maximising bedroom sales opportunities
• Fulfil all reasonable requests from guests to ensure their comfort, satisfaction and safety
• Report any maintenance issues immediately to line manager, including all furniture, fittings and equipment
• Provide systems reports, as required, for housekeepers and management
• Keep Front of House areas tidy at all times
• Ensure that newspapers and deliveries are delivered to rooms without delay
• Manage all telephone calls coming into the hotel
• Ensure that the hotel entrance is easily accessible to cars and taxis at all times
• Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the General Manager or his/her nominee.

Skills/Experience Required:

•  Previous experience in the hospitality industry
•  Previous guest services, reception or concierge experience
•  IT literate with experience of using computerised booking systems
•  Experience of working in a 4 or 5 star establishment
•  Experience of training/coaching new staff
•  Ability to convey information effectively both orally and in writing to guests, colleagues and students
•  Good sales and negotiation skills – ability to up-sell
•  Professional demeanour and the ability to engage effectively with customers and students
•  Highly organised with a flexible approach to work

Application Information:

• Closing Date: 28 April 2019
• Job Type; Full Time/Permanent
• Salary £17,635 per annum plus a full range of staff benefits
• This role is shift based on a notional 40 hours per week (worked 5 over 7) and includes some late finishes and weekend work.
• Please apply with full CV and covering letter. Applications without full detail may not be considered

(Please note that although this post has a closing date of  28 April 2019, we reserve the right to close the post for applications and withdraw it from the website at any time).

Please see www.wivenhoehouse.co.uk/careers further information.