17 Reservations Supervisor Interview Questions and Answers

A reservations supervisor is responsible for managing the reservations department of a hotel, airline, or cruise ship. The supervisor ensures that the department runs smoothly and that customers are satisfied with the service they receive.

If you’re interested in becoming a reservations supervisor, you’ll need to have strong customer service skills and experience working in the hospitality industry. You’ll also need to be able to effectively manage a team of reservations agents.

When you go to a job interview for a reservations supervisor position, you can expect to be asked a variety of questions about your customer service experience, your management style, and your knowledge of the hospitality industry. We’ve compiled a list of sample interview questions and answers to help you prepare for your interview.

Are you comfortable working with a team of employees to manage the day-to-day operations of a reservation center?

The interviewer may ask this question to assess your ability to work with a team of employees and how you might contribute to the success of their organization. Use your answer to highlight your teamwork skills, communication abilities and problem-solving skills.

Example: “I have worked in reservation centers for several years now, so I am quite comfortable working with a team of employees to manage day-to-day operations. In my previous role, I was responsible for managing a team of five employees who were all tasked with answering incoming calls from customers. I also had some managerial responsibilities that included training new employees and ensuring our department met company goals.”

What are some of the strategies you use to motivate your team and ensure that they are working effectively?

A reservations supervisor needs to be able to motivate their team and ensure that they are working effectively. Employers ask this question to learn more about your leadership skills and how you can help them achieve success in the workplace. In your answer, explain what motivates you and what strategies you use to motivate others.

Example: “I am motivated by seeing my coworkers succeed. I believe that everyone has a lot of potential and it’s my job as a leader to help them reach that potential. To do this, I try to make sure that my employees feel appreciated for their work. I also encourage open communication so that we can all understand each other better. This helps me learn what motivates each person and allows me to create an environment where people want to work hard.”

How would you handle a situation where an employee was not meeting your standards of performance?

An interviewer may ask this question to assess your leadership skills and how you would handle a situation where an employee was not meeting the standards of performance for their position. In your answer, try to show that you can be firm but fair when addressing employees who are underperforming or exhibiting unprofessional behavior.

Example: “If I encountered an employee who wasn’t meeting my standards of performance, I would first meet with them privately to discuss what they were doing wrong and offer suggestions on how they could improve. If the employee continued to perform poorly after our discussion, I would consider placing them on probation so that we could monitor their progress more closely. If the employee still didn’t improve after being placed on probation, I would terminate their employment.”

What is your process for evaluating the success of your team’s work and making adjustments if necessary?

An interviewer may ask this question to understand how you use your leadership skills to evaluate the success of a team’s work and make adjustments as needed. Use examples from past experiences where you used your critical thinking skills to analyze data, identify problems or challenges and implement solutions that helped improve your team’s performance.

Example: “I regularly review my team’s call logs to ensure we are answering calls in a timely manner. If I notice an increase in hold times or unanswered calls, I will meet with my team to discuss possible reasons for the change and brainstorm ways to resolve the issue. For example, if I noticed an increase in hold time due to our wait staff taking longer than usual to deliver food to tables, I would talk to my team about strategies they can use to reduce their delivery times so we can answer more calls per hour.”

Provide an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer and describe what you did to resolve the situation.

Interviewers may ask this question to assess your customer service skills. They want to know how you would handle a challenging situation and if you have the ability to resolve it quickly. In your answer, try to describe what steps you took to solve the problem and highlight any specific skills or techniques that helped you in the process.

Example: “In my previous role as reservations supervisor, I had a customer who was upset because they couldn’t get a table for their party of six at our restaurant on Valentine’s Day. The restaurant was fully booked, but we did offer them a table for two instead. The customer didn’t like this option and wanted us to find another place for their group.

I spoke with the manager about the situation and he suggested that we could seat the couple at one table and put four chairs around it so that they could still be together. We also offered to give them a free dessert for their inconvenience. The customer agreed to these terms and left happy.”

If you had to choose one skill that is essential for a reservations supervisor, what would it be and why?

This question is a great way to determine what skills the interviewer values most in their employees. It also gives you an opportunity to show how your chosen skill can benefit the company and its customers. When answering this question, think about which skill you feel would be most beneficial for a reservations supervisor to have and explain why it’s important.

Example: “I believe that communication is essential for a reservations supervisor because it allows them to keep track of all incoming calls and messages from customers. This helps ensure that they are able to answer any questions or concerns that customers may have before they arrive at the hotel. I am very good at communicating with others, so I know that I could use my skills as a reservations supervisor to help improve customer service.”

What would you do if you noticed a pattern of mistakes on customer tickets?

This question can help interviewers understand how you handle mistakes and errors. Use your answer to highlight your ability to identify problems, solve them and learn from your mistakes.

Example: “If I noticed a pattern of mistakes on customer tickets, I would first try to find out why the mistake was happening. If it was due to my own error or lack of training for new employees, I would take steps to correct the issue immediately. If there were multiple instances of the same mistake, I would look at our overall process to see if there are any changes we could make to prevent this in the future.”

How well do you perform under pressure? Can you provide an example of a time when you had to meet a tight deadline?

When answering this question, it can be helpful to provide an example of a time when you had to meet a tight deadline and how you managed the situation. This can help interviewers understand your ability to work under pressure and manage multiple tasks at once.

Example: “I have experience working in a high-pressure environment as a reservations supervisor for my current company. I often have to handle many calls at once while also managing several employees who are helping customers on the phone. In these situations, I try to remain calm and delegate tasks to other employees so that we can all get through our calls quickly.”

Do you have experience using ticketing software to manage customer information?

The interviewer may ask you this question to determine if you have experience using specific software that the company uses. Use your answer to highlight any skills or knowledge you have with ticketing software and how it can benefit the company.

Example: “I’ve used several different types of ticketing software in my previous roles, including Front Desk Pro, Salesforce CPQ and Zendesk. I find these programs useful for managing customer information, such as their contact details, preferences and booking history. This helps me provide excellent service by remembering important details about customers so I can greet them by name when they call or visit our hotel.”

When would you reach out to a customer’s primary contact?

An interviewer may ask this question to assess your customer service skills. They want to know how you would handle a situation where the primary contact is not responding to your messages or calls. In your answer, explain that you will try to reach out to the primary contact at least three times before contacting someone else in their family or friend group.

Example: “I have had situations where I’ve reached out to a customer’s primary contact multiple times and they haven’t responded. If it has been more than two days since my last message, I would call another person in their family or friend group to see if they could get in touch with them. If there was no response after reaching out to multiple people, I would send an email to the customer letting them know we were trying to get in touch with them and asking for their preferred method of communication.

We want to improve our customer service ratings. What ideas do you have for doing so?

Customer service is an important part of the reservations supervisor’s job. The interviewer wants to know that you have ideas for improving customer satisfaction and increasing their ratings. Show them your ability to think critically about customer service and how you can improve it in your current or previous role.

Example: “I believe one way we could improve our customer service ratings is by making sure all employees are aware of what customers want when they call. I would hold weekly meetings with my team where we discuss common questions and concerns from customers. This way, everyone knows how to answer these questions and provide excellent customer service. Another idea is to make sure our staff has enough time to handle calls effectively. If there are too many calls coming in at once, it may be difficult for us to give each caller the attention they need.”

Describe your experience with performance management.

This question can help the interviewer understand your experience with employee performance reviews and how you’ve used them in the past. Use examples from your previous job to explain how you helped employees improve their performance or develop new skills.

Example: “In my last position, I was responsible for conducting annual performance reviews for all of my team members. During these meetings, I would discuss each employee’s strengths and weaknesses and offer suggestions on how they could improve their performance. For example, if an employee had a low customer service rating, I would ask them what they thought contributed to this score and then provide tips on how they could improve their communication style with customers.”

What makes you stand out from other candidates for this position?

Employers ask this question to learn more about your qualifications and how you can contribute to their team. When answering, it’s important to highlight the skills that make you a good fit for the position. You may also want to mention any transferable skills or experience that relates to the job.

Example: “I have several years of experience working in customer service roles, which has given me valuable communication and problem-solving skills. I’m also highly organized and detail-oriented, which makes me great at following procedures and ensuring reservations are made accurately. My ability to multitask is another skill that makes me an excellent candidate for this role.”

Which customer service skills do you find the most challenging to implement? How do you overcome that challenge?

This question can help the interviewer gain insight into how you handle challenges in your work. Your answer should include a specific skill and how you overcome that challenge to provide excellent customer service.

Example: “I find it challenging to remain calm when customers are upset or angry. I’ve learned to take deep breaths before responding to an irate customer, which helps me stay composed and focused on resolving their issue. I also try to empathize with the customer’s situation so I can understand what they’re going through.”

What do you think is the most important aspect of customer service?

Customer service is an important part of the hospitality industry, and employers ask this question to make sure you understand that. They want someone who can provide excellent customer service while also managing a team of employees. In your answer, explain what you think makes for good customer service and how it relates to working in a hotel.

Example: “I believe the most important aspect of customer service is making customers feel welcome and comfortable. When I worked at my previous job as a server, I always made sure to greet every table with a smile and introduce myself before taking their drink orders. This small gesture helped me build rapport with many customers, which led to them coming back again.”

How often should you update customer records?

This question can help the interviewer assess your attention to detail and organizational skills. Your answer should demonstrate that you understand how important it is to keep customer records up-to-date at all times.

Example: “I make sure to update customer records as soon as I receive new information from customers or colleagues. For example, if a customer calls in requesting a table for two but then changes their request to a table for four, I will update their record accordingly so our staff knows what they need when they arrive. This helps ensure we have enough space available for them and reduces the chance of any misunderstandings.”

There is a discrepancy in the information on a customer’s ticket and their contact information. How do you handle this?

The interviewer may ask you a question like this to assess your customer service skills. This is an opportunity for you to show that you can be empathetic and helpful when customers have questions or concerns about their reservations.

Example: “I would first apologize to the customer, explaining that I understand how frustrating it can be to have information on their ticket that doesn’t match their contact information. Then, I would try to find out what they remember about their reservation so I could look up their information in our system. If I still cannot locate their reservation, I would offer them a discount on their meal as compensation for the inconvenience.”