Going for a summer getaway but having travel with your heavy luggage? Then call for a luggage porter and he will come in your rescue. They are people who will carry your luggage all the way to your hotel room or in the airport lobby. But what does a luggage porter does? Here is their job description that will help you appreciate their nature of job.
What is a Luggage Porter?
Luggage Porters or baggage porters are the ones who handle heavy lifting jobs in the airline or hotel industries. Their main responsibility is the baggage but they too can perform other jobs such as function rooms and other hotel duties. They rely on their strength as their main job need this and they work early in the morning or can stay up late at night.
Duties of a Luggage Porter
A luggage porter does not only handle the baggage of the people but also performs other duties and these are:
- Handle Luggage: This is the main job of a luggage porter. They assist people in carrying their baggage at the airport or hotel, from carrying it to the terminal or front desk of a hotel lobby. This involves lifting heavy luggage. They mark every luggage with stickers and other markers for identification and they too can receive tips for their services from their customers.
- Customer Service: They too offer services to their customers who want to ask for any directions, luggage assistance, travel information, etc. Thus a luggage porter should know his place in order to provide customers with the right information that they need.
- Management: A skillful and experienced porter can be promoted to head porter where they are responsible for supervising other porters, schedule them, hire and train new porters. They also conduct job interviews and accept them if they qualify for the job.
- Setup: They also assist in setting up the conference for meetings, seminars and conferences. They clean and mop the floor, remove the trash and even perform housekeeping job.
Work Condition of a Luggage Porter
Luggage Porter job can be very tiring. They are required to carry heavy luggage and they are on their feet the whole day. They work eight hours a day on a shifting schedule in an airport or hotel area. They have lesser contact in the public and supervised by a head porter. For porters who are working in a hotel they transport and carry luggage outdoors in all kinds of weather conditions. Their work also varies when they work for transportation facilities such as bus stations or airports and they also work outdoors.
Educational Requirements of a Luggage Porter
Being a luggage porter does need a bachelor’s degree and having a high school diploma is enough already. They need to have strength in carrying heavy luggage, good communication skills and offer quality customer service. Some are required to have one month training for their job. And they need to work eight hours a day.
Occupation and Progress of a Luggage Porter
The compensation rate of a luggage porter is usually low and it depends also in their working environment and station. But for some porters who offer excellent job their clients can give those tips for an added income. The hourly wage of a porter is $10 in the hotels while $14 in the airports.
Being a luggage porter is quite a tough and tiring job. But without them you may be finding it hard to carry your entire luggage all the way to the airport or hotels. The next time you ask for their help, why not give them extra tip for the services they rendered to you.