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Hospitality CV Examples & Templates

Updated 25 June 2026

A strong hospitality CV proves you can deliver excellent service under pressure, handle the systems and compliance that underpin safe operations, and contribute to revenue. Whether you are applying for your first front-of-house role or a senior management position, the examples and step-by-step guidance below will help you write a CV that gets interviews in 2026.

Hospitality CV examples

Entry-Level Hospitality Assistant

entry

Leads with Food Hygiene certification and transferable customer-facing experience, then quantifies reliability and cash-handling accuracy to offset limited direct hospitality experience.

Hospitality Supervisor

mid

Quantifies guest satisfaction, upselling revenue and team performance across two distinct venue types, and names the specific PMS and POS systems used to demonstrate operational fluency.

Senior Hospitality Manager

senior

Demonstrates multi-site leadership, revenue growth and team development at scale, with hard metrics on occupancy, RevPAR, staff retention and guest satisfaction across diverse venue types.

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How to write a hospitality CV

CV format and length

Use reverse-chronological order: most recent role first. Keep your CV to two pages. Hospitality recruiters move quickly, so clarity and scannability matter more than exhaustive detail.

Section order

  1. Contact details and personal statement at the top.
  2. Key skills (systems, certifications, languages).
  3. Work experience (most recent first).
  4. Education and qualifications.
  5. Additional information (languages, interests, availability) if relevant.

Personal statement

Two to three sentences. State your experience level, the type of venue you have worked in (or want to work in), one or two standout results, and the systems or certifications that make you credible. If you have no experience, lead with your Food Hygiene cert, transferable skills and availability.

Work experience

Frame each role with venue context first: establishment type, guest profile, service level (e.g. "120-cover fine-dining restaurant", "60-room boutique hotel", "high-volume airport lounge"). Then list three to four achievement bullets, each with a metric. Quantify guest satisfaction, revenue impact, covers/check-ins handled, complaint resolution, or staff retention.

Skills

Name the systems you operate: PMS (Opera, Cloudbeds, Fidelio), POS/till platforms, reservation tools (OpenTable, ResDiary). List Food Hygiene Level 2+ and any licences (Personal Licence, allergen training). Add languages with proficiency level.

Education and certifications

List degrees and vocational qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Put compliance certifications (Food Hygiene, allergen awareness, Personal Licence) in a separate Achievements or Certifications section so they stand out.

Additional information

State shift-pattern flexibility explicitly ("Available for evenings, weekends, split shifts and bank holidays"). If you speak other languages, list them with proficiency. Proofread ruthlessly: a single typo signals carelessness in a detail-driven sector.

Personal statement examples

Strong

Customer-focused hospitality supervisor with five years of experience across boutique hotels and high-volume restaurants. Skilled in leading front-of-house teams, driving upselling revenue and maintaining guest satisfaction above 95%. Proficient in Opera PMS, OpenTable and multi-line reservation systems.

Weak

Hard-working and reliable person looking for a hospitality role to use my skills and grow. A good team player who is passionate about delivering excellent customer service and making guests happy.

Writing your experience

The result-plus-metric pattern

Hospitality recruiters want evidence of impact, not a list of duties. Every bullet should follow the pattern: action verb + what you did + measurable result.

Weak (duty-focused)Strong (result-focused)
Responsible for checking guests in and out.Reduced guest check-in times by 30% by streamlining the Opera PMS workflow and training staff on express procedures for repeat guests.
Handled customer complaints.Resolved 95% of guest complaints on first contact, turning three negative online reviews into positive follow-up testimonials through proactive service recovery.
Upsold room upgrades and packages.Increased ancillary revenue by £18,000 per quarter through targeted upselling of room upgrades, spa packages and late check-outs, raising average booking value by 22%.

Quantify scale and pace

Show recruiters the volume and tempo you have worked to: covers served per shift, tables/sections managed, room occupancy handled, or check-ins processed during peak. For example:

  • "Managed a 12-table section in a 120-cover fine-dining restaurant, serving up to 180 covers per evening during peak service."
  • "Supervised front-of-house operations in a 60-room boutique hotel, handling up to 85 check-ins per week during summer season."

Frame the venue context

Start each role with the establishment type, guest profile and service level so recruiters can gauge the standard and pace you have worked to. For example:

  • "Led a team of 12 front-of-house staff in a 120-cover fine-dining restaurant…"
  • "Supervised reception and concierge operations across a 60-room boutique hotel…"
  • "Managed bar service in a high-volume city-centre venue serving 800+ customers per weekend night…"

Action verbs for hospitality

Led, supervised, trained, resolved, increased, reduced, achieved, boosted, streamlined, managed, coordinated, delivered, maintained, implemented, improved.

Key skills & ATS keywords

Hard skills

Opera PMSCloudbedsFidelioMaestro PMSOpenTableResDiaryLightspeed POSSquare POSCash handling & till reconciliationFood Hygiene Level 2/3/4Allergen managementHACCP awarenessPersonal Licence (England & Wales)Multi-line phone systemsRevenue management & yield optimisation

Soft skills

Guest service excellenceComplaint resolution & service recoveryTeam leadership & trainingUpselling & revenue generationCalm under pressureAttention to detailShift flexibilityConflict resolutionTime managementMultilingual communication

ATS keywords

Opera PMSCloudbedsOpenTableResDiaryFood Hygiene Level 2Food Hygiene Level 3Personal Licenceallergen awarenessHACCPPOS systemsguest satisfactionupsellingrevenue managementcash handlingfront of housereceptionconciergefine diningboutique hotelshift flexibility

Education & certifications

Education

List your qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Include degree title, institution, dates and any honours or distinctions. If you completed an industry placement or final-year project relevant to hospitality, add a bullet noting it.

For entry-level candidates, GCSEs and A-Levels (or equivalents) are worth listing if you have limited work experience. Once you have a few years in the industry, you can drop school qualifications unless they include relevant subjects (e.g. Hospitality & Catering BTEC).

Certifications that matter

Food Hygiene Level 2 is the baseline for most front-of-house and F&B roles in the UK. If you have Level 3 or 4, put it in a separate Achievements or Certifications section so it stands out. Also highlight:

  • Allergen Awareness for Catering (often a legal requirement).
  • Personal Licence (England & Wales) if you work in licensed premises.
  • WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) qualifications for fine-dining or sommelier roles.
  • First Aid at Work for senior or supervisory positions.

How to present certifications

Use a dedicated section titled "Certifications" or "Achievements" and list each cert with the issuing body:

  • Food Hygiene Level 3 Certificate, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
  • Personal Licence (England & Wales), Westminster City Council
  • WSET Level 2 Award in Wines, Wine & Spirit Education Trust

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Listing duties instead of impact (e.g. "Responsible for greeting guests and taking bookings").

    Show outcomes with numbers: "Managed reservations for a 120-cover restaurant, reducing no-shows by 18% through confirmation calls and SMS reminders."

  • Writing "computer literate" or "good with technology" instead of naming systems.

    List the exact platforms you operate: Opera PMS, OpenTable, Lightspeed POS, Cloudbeds. Recruiters search CVs for these keywords.

  • Burying Food Hygiene certification in the Education section or omitting it entirely.

    Put it in a standalone Certifications or Achievements section at the top of page two so it is immediately visible. It is a compliance signal, not just a course.

  • Vague claims about "excellent customer service" or "good communication" without evidence.

    Quantify guest satisfaction ("Achieved a 98% guest satisfaction score") or describe a specific complaint you resolved and the outcome ("Turned a dissatisfied guest into a repeat booking by upgrading their room and offering a complimentary dinner").

  • Failing to state shift-pattern flexibility, leaving recruiters to guess whether you can cover evenings, weekends or split shifts.

    Add a line in Additional Information: "Full flexibility for evenings, weekends, split shifts and bank holidays." Unsocial-hours availability is a genuine hiring factor.

  • Submitting a CV with spelling or grammar errors.

    Proofread three times, then ask someone else to read it. In a detail-oriented, presentation-driven sector, a single typo reads as carelessness and can sink your application.

Junior vs senior: what changes

AspectJuniorSenior
Personal statementLeads with Food Hygiene cert, transferable customer-facing experience and availability for unsocial hours.Leads with years of experience, venue types managed, revenue/satisfaction metrics and systems expertise (Opera, Cloudbeds).
Work experience bulletsFocuses on reliability, cash accuracy, volume handled ("Served 120 customers per shift") and any complaint-resolution wins.Quantifies revenue growth, team leadership, multi-site operations, staff retention improvements and strategic initiatives (e.g. dynamic pricing, service-recovery programmes).
Systems and certificationsFood Hygiene Level 2, basic POS/till experience, maybe one reservation platform (OpenTable). Languages if any.Food Hygiene Level 3/4, Personal Licence, advanced PMS (Opera, Cloudbeds), revenue-management tools, WSET qualifications. Fluency in multiple languages common.
Metrics and scaleCovers served, till accuracy, customer volume. Transferable evidence from retail, events or volunteering.RevPAR growth, occupancy rates, P&L ownership, team size managed, staff retention percentages, multi-site guest satisfaction scores.
EducationBTEC, A-Levels or GCSEs. Industry placement or volunteering highlighted. Food Hygiene cert as a quick credibility win.Degree in Hospitality Management or equivalent. Professional development (WSET, revenue-management courses). Education section shorter; experience does the talking.
Additional informationShift flexibility, languages (even basic), interests that show teamwork or customer focus (e.g. volunteering, team sports).Languages at conversational/fluent level, industry mentoring, professional memberships (e.g. Institute of Hospitality), awards or finalist positions.

Frequently asked questions