Front Desk Receptionist

The Hosteller; Karnataka; On-site; INR 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

The Hosteller, a leading hostel brand in India, seeks a front desk professional to manage guest lifecycle across pre-arrival to review. This role requires meticulous record-keeping, safety compliance, and strong customer service within a fast-paced hostel environment.

You will coordinate with housekeeping, F&B and maintenance while ensuring accurate documentation and adherence to SOPs. Experience in hospitality and PMS is essential, with flexibility for rotational shifts and relocation across

Qualifications

• Hospitality diploma or degree required.
• 1–5 years front desk or similar hotel/hostel experience.
• Proficiency with PMS and digital workflows; ability to read dashboards and trackers.
• Outstanding spoken and written communication; multilingual ability is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the guest lifecycle from pre-arrival to review.
• Ensure compliance, safety, and accurate documentation at the desk.
• Handle guest requests, complaints and service recovery with timely follow-up.
• Coordinate with housekeeping, F&B and maintenance to ensure readiness and smooth operations.
• Maintain cash/inventory integrity and support nightly audits as required.

Skills

Communication skills

Multilingual capability

Attention to detail

Shift-work readiness

Education

Hospitality diploma/degree

Tools

PMS software

Dashboards & trackers

Job description

Department: Hotel operations

Experience: 1 to 5 years

About The Hosteller

The Hosteller is India's largest self-operated backpacker hostel chain, with 70+ properties across North and South India. We are a people-first brand built around travel, community and shared experiences. We create spaces where travellers from across the world connect, stories are exchanged, and memories are made. At The Hosteller you'll be part of a fast-growing, entrepreneurial environment where ownership is encouraged and growth is real.

Role overview

The front desk is where The Hosteller either happens or doesn't. Every guest's first impression, every problem, every recovery, and every review comes through this desk.

This role runs the guest lifecycle end to end at a 35 to 50 key property: pre-arrival, check-in, in-stay, checkout, and review. It is not a reception job. Alongside the desk, the role carries visibility and accountability across housekeeping readiness, F&B and concierge fulfilment, repairs and maintenance, safety and security, cash and inventory integrity, and the property team itself. Everything runs on documented SOPs and the GO dashboard, so the job is as much about discipline and accurate record-keeping as it is about hospitality.

How the three levels differ?

The role is the same. The scope of judgement is not, and you'll be placed at the level you're ready for.

• Associate (FDA), 0 to 1 year. Executes the guest lifecycle under supervision. Handles standard check-ins, checkouts and requests. Refers exceptions up. Reports to the FDE or FDM.
• Executive (FDE), 1 to 3 years. Runs shifts independently and owns exceptions: complaints, refunds, room changes, upgrades. Decides within SOP limits and guides associates on shift. Reports to the FDM or AGM.
• Manager (FDM), 3 to 5 years. Owns the property's front office outcome. Handles escalations, blacklisting and legally sensitive cases. Rosters, trains and appraises the team. Decides, and defends the decision upward. Reports to the GM or AGM, dotted to the Area Manager.

Key responsibilities

• Own the guest lifecycle, all five stages (run pre-arrival, check-in, in-stay, checkout and review)
• Read the guest correctly and adapt the first move accordingly, whether that's a solo female traveller, a corporate group, a long-stay workation guest or a first-time backpacker. Never let the desk go unattended during peak arrival and departure windows.
• Compliance, safety and security at the desk Complete every compliance check without exception: valid government ID, verified phone number, and C-form filing for foreign nationals. Enforce property policy on underage bookings, parental consent, alcohol, drugs and substances, visitor hours and prohibited items. Log every incident the same day it occurs, with evidence.
• Requests, complaints and service recovery (receive, log and close guest requests across housekeeping, maintenance and other categories within their defined turnaround times)
• Rooms and housekeeping readiness (hold the property to its cleanliness and readiness standard, and inspect rather than assume. Coordinate room readiness against the day's arrivals, and block or unblock inventory for maintenance with accurate reasons. Escalate repeat maintenance failures rather than logging the same issue every week. Ensure linen, amenities and consumables are stocked before they run out.)
• F&B, concierge and ancillary revenue (drive and fulfil F&B orders, mobility, local experiences and other concierge bookings accurately and on time)
• Cash, inventory and data integrity (handle cash, digital collections, deposits and hostel essential charges with full accountability and daily reconciliation. Process upgrades, room changes, extensions, early check-ins and late checkouts strictly through the approval route. Mark no‑shows, cancellations and checkouts accurately and on time. Support the night audit. Understand that inaccurate entries cost the company more than most guest complaints do.)
• Team, roster and development (build and run the front office roster with adequate coverage, mandated rest gaps and fair distribution. Onboard new joiners, act as buddy where assigned, and run the induction to plan. Train the team on SOPs continuously rather than once. Coach on the floor, in the moment. Address performance and conduct issues early, and document them properly. Applies fully at FDM level, and progressively at FDE level.)
• Property, vendors and local liaison (maintain a cordial, professional relationship with local police, fire, health and municipal authorities, and keep statutory documentation current and accessible. Manage local vendors on quality, timeliness and cost. Coordinate with HO teams on reservations, revenue, transformation, HR and finance, and raise requests through the correct escalation route with the right supporting detail.)

What you'll be measured on

• Guest rating and review volume, and the trend rather than a single month
• Request TAT adherence and repeat-issue rate
• Refund and compensation value as a percentage of revenue
• Compliance closure: ID capture, C-form filing, incident reporting timeliness
• Ancillary revenue per occupied bed
• Cash and inventory variance
• Front office team attrition and shift coverage reliability

Qualifications

• Hospitality graduate, post-graduate or diploma; strong candidates from other backgrounds with proven front office experience will be considered
• 1 to 5 years in a hotel, hostel, resort or guest house, with hands-on front office exposure. FDM level requires prior supervisory experience
• Working knowledge of a PMS, plus comfort with dashboards, trackers and structured digital workflows. If you can't work a system accurately, this role won't work
• Outstanding spoken and written/oral communication in multiple languages (such as Kannada, Telugu, Malyalam, etc.) is a plus
• High attention to detail, particularly on documentation, compliance and money
• Willing to work rotational shifts, including nights, weekends and peak season
• Flexible to relocate anywhere across South India