Resort Host

Job Introduction

Saga is Britain’s most experienced specialist Tour Operator for holidaymakers who are aged 50 years and over. 

Our holidays range from Long-Haul, European tours, Tailormade Holidays, hosted resort stays and Ocean & River Cruising. We also have several Special Interest programmes that operate from our Hosted Stays, such as Walking, Singles, Archaeology, Art Appreciation, Gardens Music, Gastronomy and Astronomy. 

As a Host in one of our Resort Stay Hotels, you will ensure that all Saga guests enjoy a pleasurable and memorable holiday by creating and delivering exceptional guest service. Having a passion for people - you will engage with the guests every day, ensuring they receive a warm welcome and a personal dedicated service throughout their stay - arriving as a guest and leaving us as a friend. 

As a Saga Host, you will be responsible for delivering an excellent guest experience. You will not only be the face of Saga but will be an integral part of our guests’ holidays – ensuring that we are offer an exciting and diverse range of activities throughout their stay, and providing authentic experiences that allow guests to culturally immerse themselves into their chosen destination as little or as much as they want. 

You will be the local expert – sharing your local knowledgeable about the areas and on hand for our guests with everything they may possibly need. 

You will be a strong communicator with first class interpersonal skills, and the ability to interact with our guests, listening to them, advising and supporting them to ensure they have exceptional experiences as guests of Saga. As such you must have a firm grasp of written and spoken English.

The successful individual must be eligible to work in the EU / hold a EU passport.

Role Responsibility

Customer Experience:

• Your role as our dedicated in-house Host is to enhance the holiday experience by providing a unique and exclusive guest service.   Ensuring all guests have a truly memorable holiday. 
• Be proactive in facilitating a social atmosphere throughout the guests’ holiday.
• Be the specialist of your area – organise and run local authentic experience programmes for your guests – building local relationships and using the local community and culture available.     
• Create an exciting and original weekly activity planner for guests in order to maximise their holiday experience.
• To host activities and games during the day as required – finding new ways to incorporate the local area into the guests’ holiday experience.
• To produce and distribute a daily quizzes and information.
• Ensure the programme runs as advertised in the brochure and detailed in the customer itinerary.
• To offer a full personalised concierge service to our guests in house – using your expert knowledge – you will tailor-make this service for our guests to enjoy.

Customer Care & Quality:

• Handle guests’ complaints – if a guest has cause to complain during their holiday - you must take ownership of the guest complaints, act promptly and take all reasonable steps to rectify matters.    All issues must be followed up with the guest until the problem is resolved to the guest’s satisfaction.  
• Ensuring the guest is put at the forefront of every decision-making process and maximise every opportunity to retain and recover guests through first contact resolution actively using compensation in resort.  
• Ensuring our guests receive a First Impression Survey and that all issues are recorded and acted on accordingly whilst identifying reoccurring themes.
• Provide detailed written reports in response to customer complaints as required.
• Assist and provide full support with guest illness, accident, death, repatriation and liaise with insurance company and head office.
• Throughout the season ensure the hotel is maintained, cleaned, fully equipped, ready for guests use.   Liaise with Management as necessary and follow up until resolved satisfactorily.  Persistent or recurrent issues must be escalated to your Manager.
• To complete monthly checks - all measures must be taken to ensure issues identified are rectified promptly to pre-empt / prevent guest issues.
• Conduct all pre-season, end of season checks as and when required to ensure the level of quality is maintained ensuring that brochures are accurate.
• Ensure that yearly Q rating documents are completed accurately and in a timely manner.

Operational:

• Ensure the hotel is ready for our guests’ arrival – ensuring that everything is in place - including specific requests.   
• Ensure that all transfers are operated using the most cost-effective method.
• Meet and greet customers at airport arrivals and departures – where required.
• See in new arrivals to your hotel seamlessly and ensure that guests’ departure runs smoothly ensuring all details are taken care of.
• Prepare and present the welcome meeting ensuring that all aspects of the guests’ holiday are covered.
• Achieve optional excursion sales and service targets.
• Lead an orientation walk of the local area.
• Confirm coaches, guides and bookings for included excursions.
• Complete all reports in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensure the programme runs as advertised in the brochure and detailed in the guest itinerary.

• Maintain strong relationships with the hotel to ensure good service levels are maintained.
• Guiding excursions where necessary.
• Keeping your Saga lounge tidy and welcoming for all guests - ensuring that all social activities are clearly displayed for guests.
• Ensure all Saga branding is up-to-date at all times.
• Adhere to all company policies, procedures and guidelines as directed by your Manager and in the Manual.
• To work within an assigned budget for sourcing local gifts / prizes.
• To ensure all weekly accounting paperwork is completed in a timely and accurate manner.
• To encourage the booking of future holidays in resort.

The Ideal Candidate

• Ability to identify potential issues and resolve any problems before the guest is even aware.
• Can work as a member of a team but has the ability to work on their own initiative.
• Decision-making skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent social skills. 
• Ability to efficiently look after guests and promote an unforgettable experience.
• Ability to communicate in local language.
• Proven customer service experience.
• Presenting skills – public speaking experience.
• Previous work as a Resort Representative preferred.
• Caring nature.
• Innovative – always looking for new ways to improve.
• Flexible approach to work.
• Organised.
• Able to facilitate friendships.
• Confident.
• Sense of humour.

The duties listed are not exhaustive. Additional hours of work may be required, as determined by the needs of the business. Managers and staff may be required to undertake additional duties, responsibilities and projects as appropriate.

Our Saga Values:

• Precision Pace - Always owning and making things happen. 
• Empathy – Always aware of others. 
• Curiosity – Always asking why.
• Collaboration – Always one team, the Saga team!

Package Description

Full board accommodation will be provided in the resort, and Saga Travel & Holidays Ltd will be responsible for all arrangements and costs for travel between the United Kingdom and the resort.

Transportation will be public.    

A float for all company expenses such as communication costs, entrance fees, prizes etc, where necessary, will be issued.  

We are offering flexible contracts in which employment terms will be discussed depending on your status.

About the Company

At Saga Travel Group, we’re driven by the aim of creating a place where older people are valued for their experiences. We’re a dynamic and forward-looking business with a clear, single-minded purpose: to deliver exceptional experiences every day for our colleagues and customers.

Our values underpin our approach and help guide us. We work with precision, pace, curiosity, empathy and collaboration to create a unique environment for our teams.

The vision for the Saga Travel Group is to build the travel company for the experienced traveller. We already have world-class escorted Saga and Titan touring businesses and now building a new dynamic, digital travel business that will deliver fresh, innovative product.

When you join Saga Travel Group you will work across two leading brands and play a vital role not only in our growth but in our mission to deliver lasting memories for our customers seeing them return again and again.

As an STG colleague you will see that we are committed to treating all employees fairly and to offering equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and advancement.

We value diversity not just because it is the right thing to do, but because diverse teams perform better. Creating a culture in which everyone feels welcome and offering equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and advancement is incredibly important to us.

We are an official Disability Confident employer and ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible and we will make reasonable adjustments as required.

We are a member of the 30% Club and partner with Moving Ahead which offers us a fantastic opportunity to take part in a leading, global, cross-company, leadership mentoring scheme to champion female talent.

We are a signatory of the Armed Services Covenant and have received a Silver Award from the Employer Recognition Scheme. 

To all recruitment agencies: Saga does not accept agency CVs unless specifically engaged on the role by the Talent Acquisition Team. Please do not forward CVs to our recruiters, employees or any other company location. Any engagement with employees or provision of CVs to employees within Saga where you have not engaged with the Talent Acquisition Team will be considered speculative and Saga will not be responsible for any fees related to CVs received in this unsolicited manner.

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Saga Group