How to hire a hospitality internship

How to hire a hospitality internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step hospitality internship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a hospitality internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new hospitality internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a hospitality internship do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The hospitality internship hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a hospitality internship to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a hospitality internship that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of hospitality internship salaries for various roles:

   Type of Hospitality Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Hospitality Internship	Nursing assistants, sometimes called nursing aides, help provide basic care for patients in hospitals and residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. Orderlies transport patients and clean treatment areas... Show more	$12-17
   PRN	A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations... Show more	$8-42
   Medication Aide	A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them... Show more	$15-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Patient Care
   • Front Desk
   • Vital Signs
   • Physical Therapy
   • EKG
   • Guest Service
   • Direct Supervision
   • IV
   • CPR
   • Surgery
   • Acute Care
   • Data Collection

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage POS system while opening up drawer and entering data within system to remain compliant with owner's expectations.
   • Provide treatment, under supervision, of acute care patients with post-orthopedic surgery, general debilitation, and other conditions
   • Observe EKG's, process paperwork, and transport patients to departments via wheelchair.
   • Verify diet orders and allergies in Carelink to ensure diet is correct and food is allowed.
   • Establish relationships with clinical staff in ICU and round on patients as part of comprehensive care team.
   • Create a standardize evaluation form to be complete by patients to analyze quality of care within radiology.

   More hospitality internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your hospitality internship job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A hospitality internship can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, hospitality interns' average salary in mississippi is 39% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level hospitality interns 31% less than senior-level hospitality interns.
   • Certifications. A hospitality internship with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a hospitality internship's salary.

   Average hospitality internship salary

   $14.83hourly

   $30,846 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level hospitality internship salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average hospitality internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$34,633	$17
   2	Massachusetts	$34,210	$16
   3	Wisconsin	$32,964	$16
   4	Michigan	$32,714	$16
   5	Illinois	$31,671	$15
   6	Minnesota	$30,935	$15
   7	Oregon	$29,874	$14
   8	Kansas	$29,549	$14
   9	Utah	$27,872	$13
   10	Colorado	$27,697	$13
   11	Ohio	$27,105	$13
   12	New York	$26,602	$13
   13	Florida	$26,164	$13
   14	North Carolina	$26,014	$13
   15	Missouri	$25,846	$12
   16	Arizona	$25,019	$12
   17	Pennsylvania	$24,816	$12
   18	Texas	$23,398	$11
   19	Mississippi	$22,245	$11

   Average hospitality internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Massachusetts General Hospital	$38,467	$18.49
   2	Chandon USA	$36,744	$17.67
   3	University of Michigan Health System	$36,719	$17.65
   4	Legends Hospitality	$34,692	$16.68
   5	Saint Luke's Health System	$33,265	$15.99
   6	UofL Hospital	$33,138	$15.93	1
   7	Sharp HealthCare	$32,849	$15.79	1
   8	Aspirus	$32,737	$15.74	1
   9	BayCare Health System	$32,643	$15.69	1
   10	BJC HealthCare	$32,526	$15.64
   11	Live Nation Entertainment	$32,417	$15.59	2
   12	House of Blues	$32,114	$15.44
   13	Spectrum Health	$32,107	$15.44
   14	Mercy Health	$31,997	$15.38	8
   15	Allina Health	$31,980	$15.38
   16	Colonial Williamsburg Foundation	$31,952	$15.36
   17	Trinity Health	$31,861	$15.32	24
   18	University of Michigan	$31,597	$15.19
   19	Fairmont Schools	$31,583	$15.18
   20	City of Collinsville	$31,547	$15.17

4. Writing a hospitality internship job description

   A hospitality internship job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a hospitality internship job description:

   Hospitality internship job description example

   The Respiratory Care Student Practitioner possesses working knowledge of routine respiratory care and has displayed age-specific competence in his/her educational program for pediatric (ages 13 months to 11 years), adolescent (ages 12 to 17), adult (ages 18 to 65) and geriatric (ages 66 and over) patients. The incumbent conducts himself/herself in a professional manner and is courteous to patients, physicians, visitors, members of the department and all other healthcare personnel. The incumbent supports and contributes to departmental productivity and organizational objectives by functioning as an integrated member of the respiratory care team and performs services consistent with his/her scope of licensure. The incumbent supports and exhibits behaviors consistent with the organization's mission and values in offering hope and healing to all.
   Responsibilities 1. Administers non-medicated aerosol and humidity therapy.
   2. Administers oxygen therapy (including implementation of oxygen therapy protocol where appropriate).
   3. Administers aerosolized medication.
   4. Administers incentive spirometry.
   5. Cleans and reprocesses respiratory therapy equipment.
   6. Administers bronchial hygiene and performs chest physiotherapy (including implementation of bronchial hygiene protocol where appropriate).
   7. Performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation during resuscitation attempts and aides in rapid response calls when appropriate.
   8. Provides patient, family, staff and physician education.
   9. Performs other duties, with the scope of licensure, as assigned. Qualifications Education & Training: The incumbent shall have completed the equivalent of one year of an accredited respiratory therapy educational program with a minimum GPA of 2.0. Further, the incumbent shall remain enrolled in said accredited respiratory therapy educational program while maintaining a minimum GPA of 2.0 throughout his/her employment as a Respiratory Care Student Practitioner.
   Note: Educational programs that are eligible for accreditation but have not yet achieved accreditation status meet the educational program standard.
   Experience: No prior experience in respiratory care is required (other than that which has been achieved from clinical rotations in the incumbent's educational program).
   License & Certification: The incumbent shall hold a Limited Mandatory Certificate (license) issued by the Kentucky Board of Respiratory Care; licensure must be maintained throughout employment as a Respiratory Care Student Practitioner. BLS required.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find hospitality interns for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any hospitality interns they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level hospitality interns with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find hospitality internship candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit hospitality interns, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new hospitality internship

   Once you have selected a candidate for the hospitality internship position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new hospitality internship. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a hospitality internship?