guest service agent

housekeeper

front desk agent

night auditor

room attendant

Holiday Inn Express and Suites

I was scheduled to work 4 days a week, one of which would be an evening shift. High turnover rates and scheduling issues relied on me as being call working from 5-7 8/hr shifts a week, varying from evening to daytime with no regards for end time/next day start time. 
I was more than happy, punctual and prepared and attempted to help each time I could as I lived in the vicinity. 
The general manager can be very condescending in terms of trying to educate while training new staff and has no qualms doing so infromt of guests and in fact, will frustatedly take over. The General manager asked me if I was on some sort of medication for mental health as I was beginning to become flustered with the series of opposing instructions. I asked for direction as the training process was not sufficient. Not the manager, GM, any senior employee, any training materials are all outdated and contradictory towards one another. The struggles became a house issue with our GM and AM including miscommunications with other departments lacking support such as kitchen and housekeeping, promotimg myself and other wonderful staff to assist each time. Between this and the high turnover rates, it simply demonstrates just how disorganized the environment is. Having worked at another holiday Inn and a series of other high end restaurants- there is a very clear difference in professionalism and respect among the two hotels. 
New employees such as myself will be pressured into being verbally informed they are extending their probationary period. To clarify: There was a minimum of hours you had to work and a final performance evaluation in order to complete the probation period. This means you can be fired for no reason, and they aren't required to list it. Benefits and other company perks would kick in typically only at the time the probationary period was completed. 
For myself: This was already completed in 1.5-2 months which prompted a. assessment. This was all positive information with few helpful criticisms and tips to help improve my performance. The probationary meeting following the assessment was successful, after positive performance reviews, minimum requirement of hours served in person in writing due to my working 33-39 hrs weekly though I was being paid minimum wage with no benefits due to my "probationary period") After 8 months of exceptional guest reviews, reliable, punctual and proffessional services. They learned of my plan to move back to Ottawa and let me go 2 weeks before my due to "undisclosed reasons" which was no longer covered by my probation. I loved the job and would have loved to have stayed. The disorganized and chaotic environment is just difficult to navigate.
The staff themselves who were tenured for years had either quit or were unreasonably fired for requesting updated standards and rules, bereavement leave, understaffing, blatant accusations to employees with no evidence as well as a variety of additional interpersonal problems 
Causing employees to leave and resulting again, in an incredibly high turnover rate.

Holiday Express is an exceptional company that truly values its employees. From the moment I joined the team, I felt welcomed and supported by both management and my colleagues. The positive and inclusive work environment at Holiday Express is truly refreshing.

The management team at Holiday Express is outstanding. They are approachable, supportive, and always willing to listen to the needs and concerns of their employees. They provide clear guidance and direction, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal. Their leadership skills create a sense of trust and collaboration among the team.

The workplace culture at Holiday Express is one of teamwork and camaraderie. There is a strong sense of unity among colleagues, and everyone is willing to go above and beyond to help each other succeed. The company values diversity and promotes a respectful and inclusive environment where everyone's contributions are recognized and appreciated.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of working at Holiday Express is the positive and friendly atmosphere. The team is always ready to celebrate successes and milestones, creating a sense of joy and fulfillment. 

While the salary at Holiday Express may be lower than some other companies in the industry, the overall benefits and positive work environment make up for it. The company recognizes the hard work and dedication of its employees and provides opportunities for growth and advancement. However, it would be beneficial for the company to consider adjusting the salary to better align with industry standards.

In conclusion, Holiday Express is an outstanding company that values its employees and fosters a positive work environment. The management team is supportive, the workplace culture is inclusive, and the opportunities for growth and development are abundant. While the salary may be a consideration, the overall experience at Holiday Express is highly rewarding. I am grateful for the experiences and skills I have gained during my time at Holiday Express, and I highly recommend it as an employer of choice.

Working as a front desk agent is really easy if you are resourceful and good with your time. You go through and make sure there is always coffee, that the first floor and entrance are clean, and that you get all the paperwork done. Dealing with people can suck if they're not nice, but the current manager that works under hotel equities is the most reasonable, caring person that understands that everyone working under them are people too.  This person will always want the best outcome for everybody, genuinely.
The hardest part of the job is always the drama. Working so closely with everyone makes it so easy to get sucked into nasty comments and rumors. There are "sides" of people who start these things and the side that gets hit with them. BUT, if you can ignore the petty stuff, do your job, not get involved with the drama, and just do your job the best you can, you can stay out of the bad stuff.

Pros: Incredibly easy job, great management, easy to go above and beyond to be a great and valuable employee, meeting nice people, downtime is regulated by how quickly and efficient you are at your tasks, easy to make friends, working alone means you can create your own routine and it isn't based off anyone else.

Cons: Some employees are very petty and start unnecessary drama--which can cause lots of stress if you involve yourself, some guests are rude and hard to deal with, working alone can sometimes be dangerous if you cant keep calm and confident in situations where banned people or (potentially) aggressive people try to come in. (<-this happens once in a blue moon, almost every time you can ask them to leave and they will without problems), no breaks allotted (As you work alone, you get paid for breaks. If you are efficient at your job, this will not be a concern)

This hotel is a toxic environment with lots of gossip between departments. The staff know everyone’s business and name call gossip etc about other staff between themselves. When bringing problems up to management you are told to just take a picture of the staff member next time and having nothing done about it. The supervisors and management are vindictive and lack the ability to communicate mistakes the staff or a staff member has made and instead run to management right away to get you written up for any small mistake. They also plan and set up staff members to get them fired. The manager takes no accountability for anything that goes on in this hotel and turns a blind eye instead then acts surprised when finding out the truth. They lack enough supplies and linens to do your job properly and often do not have gloves to supply and don’t enforce staff to wear gloves when cleaning. A typical day at work is extremely slow during the week with no 8 hr shifts and no extra work being given after your done your work and being sent home resulting in poor pay. The weekends are busy only and if you ask them to send up help nobody comes. They are short staffed. Hardest part of my job was the immaturity of the staff and being told that I simply didn’t like my job just for making a mistake that I wasn’t even told about beforehand. The most enjoyable part of the job is working independently and going home at the end of the day. 

A typical day at work is being thrown into a shift and then being expected to start work early without pay -- which, for the record, is minimum wage or just barely above. 

The Front Desk was a revolving door and usually through no fault of the employees. Management was fickle with people based on their personality and how personally threatened they felt by you, or how many questions you asked. There was literally no training with new management and they actually wondered why nobody was good at their job. I actually had to set up my own accounts when I first got hired because apparently I was not good enough to be treated as an employee.

The moment you asked about things like when breaks were, you are magically unfit to work there because the guest comes first and how dare you ask about breaks. 

If you work evenings or nights, prepare to work by yourself. Hotel gets a lot of rowdy people and I have literally seen people have crying meltdowns over how unsafe they felt. Hotel didn't care. 

People's well-being and job security was almost always never cared about. They will dangle it over your heads if you're past probation -- if not, you won't know if you messed up (or just not a personal favourite) until you're unceremoniously let go without notice. Hotel management will just hide in their office until you go away.

Do yourself a favour and go to literally any other hotel.

A very busy Holiday Inn Express and Suites especially during the summer months and weekends, the housekeeping staff made sure they work was completed beautifully, I certainly learned a lot from the assistant manager  and G.M. that was covering until they hired the general manager I learned how to use different programs on the computer opera, etc. the work place had a diverse mixture of culture, I enjoyed my staff very much there was no hard parts in the job, my staff made everything seem so easy.  I enjoyed working with my staff, and a few other managers, within the office, front desk agents and one particular front office manger that worked evenings  who spend time teaching me a few more programs regarding the opera system, until another  change of G.M. when he started seemed 
so nice, making one feel like he is a leader that one can learn from and a team player
 I felt so comfortable until he decided to be cruel, by coming up along with the day time front office manager to firer me, because they planned to make this change and had already interviewed another Housekeeping Manager to replace me. It was a very sad evening that day without any warns or written complains from any of my staff or guest.

Although the housekeepers are very nice. Theyre little too nice and be careful. The job culture here is disorganized, unprofessional, and they just want there work done. Being a new housekeeper of course I'm gonna obey the rules and do the extra work they ALWAYS asked me to do. But it got ridiculous when I noticed I was only one barely getting help and or always having to stay longer to help other girls. I'm not sure if all holiday inn hotels do this but it so unfair when your trying to stand out be the best cleaner this and that and then you get told that you don't get tips until 3 months ? And that all tips are split "equal"? Yeaa right the managers/supervisor probably take half of your tips. They seem like very suspicious people. Athough the hotel is nice looking maybe because it just got redone but take a closer look around.. the managers have there kids run around at the hotels on the weekends all the time.. always hear them yelling being a noise disturbance to the guest trying to enjoy their vacation or maybe trying to get their work done because of their for business..

IHG and Holiday Inn Express & Suites as brands have no issue. 

The concern lies specifically with the franchised hotel located in LANGLEY BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA. Although the property is operated by a different management company under franchise, the leadership at this location lacks professionalism, ethical standards, and proper nowadays  management knowledge. They fail to recognize and value employee loyalty and dedication. Staff membersss are laid off without following proper procedures or providing adequate advance notice. Despite team members consistently extending extra effort and showing extra commitment to their roles, they are treated as if they are disposable and unappreciated.

Even though the hotel is managed independently, its practices still reflect on the brand. Such management behavior creates a negative and demoralizing work environment, undermines staff morale, and ultimately damages the reputation associated with the IHG name. I strongly believe this matter deserves serious attention to ensure fair treatment of employees and to uphold the standards that guests and employees expect.

typical day you’d get around 10-15 rooms if you’re normal, less than 10 if you’re slow/new, 20+ if you’re working with someone or if they believe you’re fast enough to do them mostly alone, they don’t care how you get them done as long as they “appear” clean. hours are your typical 9-5, you only get a 30 minute lunch (no 15’s) 
there are training videos they don’t show you until after you’ve shadowed for a bit, the videos don’t matter though because they don’t clean that way anyways “it takes too much time” and it’s “too big of a process” to do in the little amount of time we have to be in each room(30 mins max) in order to get your list done

the housekeeping department is in charge of cleaning the entire inside of the hotel.

if there’s something wrong with your room, they may or may not tell you about it or even correct you about it, if a guest makes a complaint about it you get in trouble for it because the inspector is laid-back on having stains or marks on the stock, they may not even inspect your rooms to make sure it’s up to regulation

Hardest part of the job? feeling demoralized by your superiors
Most enjoyable? free breakfast sometimes, i guess the IHG benefits if you travel


I worked at the Holiday Inn by college drive briefly and had an overall great experience when it came to fellow workers and people. Most were understanding, the sports parents were as usual always the ones that expected more and would become enraged if they didn't get it. Management does not care about you in the slightest, favoritism for front desk. (Which is understandable, to a point) will abuse their own SOPs and state things don't count because this and this happened etc etc. Will retaliate if you call them out. Very conniving. Head engineer is a good guy, little out of touch but I understand where he came from. Excellent teacher, very impatient but you can learn a lot from him, only wish he was more open minded, ideas that you bring up take quite a while to go through his vision. Very easy job, simple; need customer service skills as theirs always that one. But changing lights and doing room maintenance is great. No money in it, don't make a career. Student based job. If you work here or are wanting to, keep your head up. Don't let the linebacker discourage you, and don't be fooled. They don't care about you, regardless of what you do. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Guest service agent 37 salaries reported	$18.81 per hour
Housekeeper 55 salaries reported	$17.67 per hour
Front desk agent 32 salaries reported	$17.97 per hour
Night auditor 34 salaries reported	$19.50 per hour
Room attendant 15 salaries reported	$18.22 per hour

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