Live-in hospitality is a great way to earn a lot of money in one go, whilst saving on rent, food, and travel. However, having worked a couple of live-in jobs I can confidently confirm that it is not all that it seems – I was underpaid, overworked, bullied, and the best bit? There was no way to escape because guess what – you live there.
Experience 1
I was employed as a Stewardess for a small Scottish cruise line. It was framed as an ideal job – I was incredibly excited to be heading on a ten-day trip around the Hebrides, living on a small boat with three other staff members and ten guests. Here’s what went wrong (tip of the iceberg!):
- You cannot escape. You can’t leave the guests for a minute. They won’t leave you for a minute.
- I did not receive proper food as the chef kept forgetting…for ten days straight. There was nowhere else to get food when you couldn’t leave the boat.
- The hours were insane. I woke at 6 am to prepare tea and coffee for when the guests woke. I served, cleared, and washed up breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner, with a maximum 30-minute break. I went to bed at 10.30 pm. That’s a 16-hour shift with a 30-minute break (and maybe some shore time if I was lucky)…for ten days straight.
- I was paid £100 per day. That equates to £6.25 per hour (not enough!
Experience 2
The Isle of Skye is renowned for being a stunning tourist destination—beautiful scenery, good food, and of course: high-end hospitality. In the name of adventure combined with the need to earn money, my partner and I took a job there, with plans to work 5 days a week and enjoy our promised 2 days off exploring a new place. Upon arrival at the 4-star, ~£600 per night hotel, we were excited, anxious, and ready for a new challenge.
- Doubts began when we learnt that the longest-serving non-management staff member had only been there three weeks, and our supervisor had only been working in hospitality for six days.
- Management was always watching…and listening. The pastry chef was fired for bad-mouthing the boss, overheard on a security camera.
- Lies about expenses – our rent was double what we were told in the interview. This is when we handed in our notice after only two weeks.
- You opted out of the advised maximum 48-hour working week when you signed your contract. They had you, from your bed to your food to your toilet breaks.
- Shift patterns. 7 am – 12 pm, break, 5 pm – 11 pm. Every day. Days off were few and far between – we did not get to explore. Living on-site, you get out of it.
- Being restricted to 6 hours of sleep (if you were lucky) every single night makes it hard to keep going.
- Our tips were stolen. We never saw sight nor sound of them, despite prolonged email arguments.
There is so much more to these situations, but you begin to get the gist. If you’re planning to undertake a live-in hospitality position, then be warned: it is certainly not easy.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels.com