Job Discussion Forums

[blsolar]

I don't find many jobs posted on ESL sites for teaching Tourism/Hospitality English. Is there another way to go about finding this kind of work? Should I be going around to major hotels (online? in person?) and asking if they need such a teacher? How do I find a list of schools that, for example, train flight attendants? Anything that can get me headed in the right direction is much appreciated!

By the way, I have no degree, but I have taught ESL before, I will have a TEFL certificate in a matter of weeks and I have a certificate in Travel from a college in LA. Is that generally sufficient enough to find an English for Tourism job, or does it just depend on the company/country?

Thanks!

[naturegirl321]

The people I konw who do it either have connections or simply go around to the hotels. The yellow pages, for the country where you're heading is a good �place to start.

Good luck

[blsolar]

Thank you for your suggestion. Do you know what size hotel is more likely to be hiring such a position? Is it generally only the larger, upscale hotels?

[Guy Courchesne]

Any hotel of any size will only contract staff that already speak English. Hotels of any heft are usually in zones where if people don't speak English, they don't bother even trying to apply for a job. If you do find something, it won't be a larger hotel, but something really small. Like naturegirl says, you need a connection, such as being married to an owner of said small place.

Forgive me if I'm being presumptive, but the Teach on the Beach thing simply doesn't exist. Best look at it from another point of view.

[blsolar]

Oh no, feel free to be as presumptive as you'd like. But, I certainly don't care about "teaching on the beach" (not that I'm really sure what that means). I'll teach in a cave if need be (actually, I DO have a connection with someone teaching at a gold mine). I am simply looking for a situation that isn't necessarily the typical university or private language school setting, and because I have a certificate in Tourism & Hospitality (an actual college non-TEFL certificate), I am most interested in teaching English that is related to that field. I am very open-minded about this; I don't have to teach at a hotel at all. I'm just trying to get a feel for what is available.

[Guy Courchesne]

Sorry, I jumped the gun based on something I've seen a lot of.

I think you'll have to network a bit or get in with a language school that has a contract within the hospitality industry. I'll bet it's something you should seek not in resort areas, but in places where head office is located. I'm using Mexico as my example, so while it would seem Cancun is the best place to start, I would think Mexico City the better option, somewhat counter intuitively.

Beyond that, I would guess looking at colleges or universities that offer hospitality programs and seeing if there is an ESL/EFL component to teach.

[blsolar]

No problem. I appreciate the input! The headquaters idea does make sense.

[Marcoregano]

In Hong Kong a few of the top hotels hire English teachers for staff training, but as you can imagine, not that many posts come up. Probably best to contact their HR sections direct and see if they have any vacancies. Another employer in this field is the Vocational Training Institute, which runs courses in tourism, food and beverage etc. - they advertise from time to time.

[Stephen Jones]

There is a tourism college in Saudi. If your tourism qualification is kosher, then you will probably find it more profitable to apply to these kind of training institutes then to hotels direct.

[denise]

Actually, private language schools may not be such a bad idea for you, since many of them offer business English classes. I actually taught a group of waiters in a hotel in Chile. It only added up to a few hours in my weekly schedule, though.

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