Thijs Merks: 'Everyone required to spend five months in the hotel industry'

Imagine: everyone in the Netherlands has to work in a hotel for five months. Not as a casual part-time job, but as a compulsory part of your education. Why? Because nowhere else will you learn as much so quickly as there. A hotel is no ordinary company, it is a microcosm of society. Behind the reception desk, in the kitchen or in the rooms: you learn to deal with people in all their variety, from the charming regular to the demanding business traveller. And believe me: those who survive that can go anywhere.

People skills at lightning speed

In a hotel, you meet guests from all over the world, with their own customs, expectations and sometimes considerable language barriers. You develop patience when someone is unreasonable, creativity when something goes wrong, and above all, the ability to adapt. You don't learn empathy from a book or a webinar, but by doing it every day; even when you are tired or don't feel like it.

The ultimate team exercise

A hotel is one big collaborative project. The receptionist interacts with housekeeping, the kitchen with service, and everyone jumps in when things get busy. Here, leadership, flexibility and collegiality are not fancy words in an annual report, but survival skills. In the hotel industry, you learn to work together as it is in real life; including stress, misunderstandings and last-minute changes.

Stress-resistant and creative under pressure

In the hospitality industry, no day is predictable. An unexpected group booking, an angry guest, a broken lift; you learn to improvise and decide in seconds. And not just once, but day in, day out. If you can do that, you won't be fooled in any job.

A lesson in modesty

A few months buffeting in the hotel industry gives you lasting respect for physical work. You discover that no job is unimportant: without dishwashers no clean dishes, without housekeeping no fresh rooms, without a cook no happy guest. And you learn that service is more than a smile - it is perseverance, even on your worst day.

Global citizen in the making

Hotels attract employees from dozens of countries. You learn to work together beyond cultural differences and language barriers, and discover how valuable that diversity is. In an ever-shrinking world, this is not a luxury, but a skill that can make or break your career.

In short: a hotel internship should be compulsory. Think of it as a pressure cooker for your social, professional and mental skills. Those who manage it there will be able to get on anywhere. And that is perhaps the most valuable lesson you will ever receive; whether you later become a CEO or a baker on the corner: first five months in a hotel, then the rest of your career.