Front Desk Receptionist interview questions for the first round

What this first round has to settle

A front desk receptionist first round has to find out whether the applicant has handled bookings, check-ins and billing rather than only answered phones, how they cope with a difficult arrival, and whether they can work morning, evening and overnight shifts. Your property system and standards are taught in training.

Check these before anything else

• Can you work morning, evening and overnight shifts, including weekends and public holidays?
• Can you speak with guests in the languages this role requires?
• Are you comfortable handling cash and card payments?
• Can you get to the property and home again for early and late shifts?

A candidate’s notice period decides their real start date. The notice period calculator works out the minimum under the Employment Act 1955 when a contract is silent.

Front Desk Receptionist interview questions for the first round

1. 1. “What front desk work have you done: hotel, serviced apartment, hostel or corporate reception, and what did check-in and check-out involve for you?”

   Why ask it. Hotel front desk work involves bookings, room billing and guest problems that office reception does not, so the setting matters.

   A good answer. Names the type of property and describes check-in, check-out, billing, handling guest requests and taking reservations.

   Red flag. Has only greeted visitors at an office and assumes it is the same job.

2. 2. “Which property management or booking system have you used, and what did you do in it every day?”

   Why ask it. Reservations, room status and billing all run through the system, and a candidate who has used one adapts to yours faster.

   A good answer. Describes tasks such as making and amending bookings, assigning rooms, posting charges and closing the shift in the system.

   Red flag. Has never made a booking or posted a charge, only looked things up.

3. 3. “A guest arrives late at night and the room type they booked is not available. How do you handle it?”

   Why ask it. Overbookings and room problems reach the desk when no manager is around, so the answer shows judgement and composure.

   A good answer. Apologises, explains honestly, offers the best available alternative, involves the duty manager if needed, and notes it for the morning team.

   Red flag. Blames the reservations team in front of the guest, or promises a free upgrade without the authority to give one.

4. 4. “How do you close your shift at the desk and hand over to the next person?”

   Why ask it. Cash, keys, pending arrivals and guest requests are what fall through the gaps at handover.

   A good answer. Balances the float, reports any discrepancy, lists pending arrivals and special requests, and passes on anything unresolved in writing.

   Red flag. Leaves a quick verbal note or nothing, assuming the next person will work it out.

5. 5. “The desk is staffed on morning, evening and night shifts, including weekends and public holidays. Which can you work, and are there any you cannot?”

   Why ask it. The desk never closes, and a receptionist who cannot take nights or weekends puts the load on the rest of the team.

   A good answer. Confirms the rotation, including night shifts, or names specific limits upfront.

   Red flag. Only wants morning shifts for a role that clearly rotates through nights.

6. 6. “What basic salary are you expecting? Separately, do you expect a fixed allowance, such as for night shifts or meals? Please leave service charge out.”

   Why ask it. Service charge varies with occupancy, so an expectation that includes it cannot be compared with a basic salary and fixed allowance.

   A good answer. Gives a basic figure and any fixed allowance separately, and mentions service charge only as a variable extra.

   Red flag. Includes service charge from a busy previous hotel in the basic salary they expect.

7. 7. “What notice do you need to give your current employer, and when could you realistically start?”

   Why ask it. Front desk rosters are planned weeks ahead, and a new receptionist also needs time on the system before working alone.

   A good answer. States their notice period and a start date that allows for it and for training.

   Red flag. Expects to start without serving notice, or cannot say what their notice period is.

8. 8. “Are you in other interview processes, perhaps with other hotels, and how far along are they?”

   Why ask it. Experienced front desk staff are often approached by nearby properties, so the answer tells you how fast to move.

   A good answer. Is open about other processes and what would make them choose this property.

   Red flag. Is waiting for a preferred hotel to call back and would leave if it did.

Questions to leave out of the first round

“What do you know about our property?” It rewards research over ability; guest handling and system experience matter far more in a short screen.

“How do you handle stress?” It invites a generic answer; the late-night room problem tests the same thing with real detail.

Why a first round should stay this short is in the questions a first round actually has to answer.

Front Desk Receptionist job description template

Welcome guests or visitors, handle check-in and enquiries, and keep the front desk running smoothly.

Responsibilities

• Welcome guests and visitors, and handle check-in, check-out or visitor registration
• Answer phone calls, emails and walk-in enquiries
• Manage bookings, appointments or reservations in the front desk system
• Take payments and deposits where the role requires it
• Resolve simple complaints, and pass the rest to the duty manager
• Keep the front desk tidy and hand over clearly at shift change

Requirements

• Clear, courteous communication in the languages your guests or visitors use
• Comfortable on a computer and a booking or visitor system
• Able to work the shift pattern, including weekends and public holidays where the desk is open
• Front desk or customer service experience is an advantage

A starting point to edit, not a description of your company. Add the pay, working hours and location, and copy the result, with the free job description generator.

Running this first round with Agentic Blue

Agentic Blue is an applicant tracking system. Applications arrive by themselves from Jobstreet application emails and the job’s own apply page, or as CVs you upload, in one list. AI reads every CV against the job’s must-haves and shows the CV line behind each one, the shortlist goes to the hiring manager as one link they answer, and everyone who applied stays in your talent pool for the next job.

Where a workspace switches on the AI Interviewer module, Blue runs the first-round interview in a typed chat by default, or by voice or video if the job is set that way. Each candidate gets a link: there is no account to create and no app to install, a phone is enough, and a candidate who closes the tab can reopen the link and carry on. Before the first question they are told they are talking to an AI, and they have to agree.

Blue asks about relevant experience, salary expectations, notice period and availability, and follows up when an answer is too vague to use. You get a scored profile with the reasoning and the full transcript underneath it. Blue does not reject anyone: the recruiter decides who moves forward.

What the candidate sees is on the page for candidates, what an AI interviewer is and is not allowed to decide is in what is an AI interviewer, and how Agentic Blue is priced is on the pricing page.

For software that screens front desk receptionist applicants at volume, see AI candidate screening software.

What the hiring team reads afterwards is set out in a complete example screening report.

Questions people ask