Hospitality Internship in Hong Kong

By
Daniele Cosentino
December 4, 2018
October 8, 2026
CEO and Founder
Categories:
Industries & Trends

Quick answer: A hospitality internship in Hong Kong lets you work in a hotel or other hospitality business for 6 to 24 weeks, with English as the working language. You gain hands-on experience, international contacts and a stronger resume. Anyone aged 18 or over can apply. Finding your placement takes about 8 weeks from your deposit, so apply with a start date at least 12 weeks away. If your start date is less than 12 weeks away, you need AIPx Fast Track.

Starting from your time in high school and continuing through your time in college, these years form the crux of your academic life and foundation of your professional life.

At this important juncture, you're already expected to know what you intend to do with your life and how do you plan on making a living.

Many students love to take on exciting and adventurous career prospects like travel, tourism, and hospitality, in which they back up their ambitions with appropriate degrees and quality international internships like a hospitality internship in Hong Kong.

If you have chosen the hospitality industry as your career of choice, then you should know better than to miss doing a hospitality internship in Hong Kong.

After all, you don't want to deprive yourself of all these amazing ways in which the internship would help you:

Become Uniquely Marketable Professionally

Hospitality interns at work in a Hong Kong hotel

The fight for a job in the hospitality industry starts even before you have graduated from the college.

You're already up against peers you know and don't know who have just as good grades as you and have done similar domestic internships so far.

You have to ask yourself, what's your unique selling point? Why would an international hotel chain hire you over everybody else?

Having done a hospitality internship in Hong Kong, you won't need to think too hard for answering this question.

The Hong Kong internship will more than suffice as your USP. The internship would show that you have relevant prior work experience in international hospitality management.

Get Trained At Reputable Hospitality Centers

Internship matters, but where you do it matters just as much.

This is truer when it comes to the hospitality industry where the name of a business brand equals prestige and commands respect.

To make a foray in the international hospitality scene, you have to work for the big global names, which can be found in plenty in Hong Kong.

For your hospitality internship in Hong Kong, you may be placed with a well-known hospitality brand, depending on availability, giving you the chance to learn about luxury hospitality. We do not promise a specific company.

Explore Different Hospitality Career Options

Hotel lobby and hospitality team in Hong Kong

Hospitality extends way beyond just hotels, restaurants and resorts.

It also includes event management, entertainment management, meetings and conferences management, catering, commercial food services, health, and wellness management, spa management, etc.

Going into hospitality with a blinkered attitude will limit you to few prospects when in fact you could be exploring and doing so much more.

Hospitality internship Hong Kong introduces you to different common and uncommon opportunities available in this expansive industry.

When you are well aware of the options that are within your reach, you are in a better position to decide the best course for you.

This is the position you want to be in for your career.

Work In Hong Kong's Busy Hospitality Sector

Hong Kong is a popular international destination, housing some of the most elite names in hotel brands.

Business and leisure travel have driven Hong Kong's hospitality sector to boom. The place has long been an attractive market for foreign investments.

With a solid infrastructure for tourism Hong Kong is a prime location for all kinds of travel purposes, whether it's conventions, meetings, exhibitions, incentive travels, or just plain entertainment.

Such is the multi-faceted nature of Hong Kong's hospitality industry, and this is why you have to take up an internship in it.

Build A Repertoire Of Experience and Skills

Hong Kong hospitality intern working with guests

Hands-on experience can teach you things that no textbook can.

During your internship in Hong Kong, you can expect to try your hand at all the responsibilities that you'd do if you were actually employed at the place.

For example, if you were interning at a hotel you'll be interacting with guests, attending staff meetings, taking care of customer service, etc.

It's one thing to read on how to go about handling these things, but a whole another thing to be on the ground actually handling them.

Hospitality internship in Hong Kong gives you real-life challenges to deal with, out of which you can make your own experiences and learn a few skills along the way.

Learn The Tricks To Survive In The Hospitality Industry

The hospitality sector is pretty competitive, and it'd be nice to learn the inside tricks, do's and don'ts, and useful tips before you completely let yourself in the industry.

Few lucky ones get the chance to properly preview the industry in which they wish to make a career.

Apart from observing the workings on a superficial level, they are hardly able to assimilate themselves into the industry before they are officially employed in it.

But hospitality internship in Hong Kong allows you to dive deep into the industry and let your first-hand experiences become your guiding light for the road ahead.

Make New Friends and Mentors

Who doesn't like making new friends?

There's always room for some more! Contacts forged during Hong Kong internship don't have to be merely good acquaintances, they could be your friends and mentors for life.

You'll interact with a variety of people, some may be older than you, some may be the same age as you, and some could be younger than you, but there will be something to learn from all their experiences.

All of these people will be the primary contacts in your international network. Building a network of global contacts should take place in tandem with building your life and career.

Live The Expat Life In An Exotic Destination

Hong Kong skyline and harbor at night

Living in a foreign land, working in a thrilling profession, and traveling across the land sounds like a dream for many young students and professionals.

Hospitality internship in Hong Kong offers you the chance to make this dream a reality.

Why wait until you get a job opportunity overseas to begin your international career? You can start it while still in school or college.

And what could be a better place than Hong Kong to start it?

The city is full of natural and man-made attractions, excellent arts and performance scene, fun events and festivals, fine dining and shopping, rich cultural heritage, and not to forget the cruise expeditions!

FAQs

What is a hospitality internship in Hong Kong?

It is a placement of 6 to 24 weeks at a hotel, restaurant, events company or similar business in Hong Kong, where you do real tasks like guest service and attend staff meetings. It gives you international experience for your resume.

Do I need to speak Cantonese or Mandarin?

No. English is widely used in business in Hong Kong, and we place you with companies that work in English. Some Cantonese helps in daily life.

What visa do I need for an internship in Hong Kong?

If your country is part of Hong Kong's Working Holiday Scheme and you are the right age, that is often the simplest route. Other options depend on your passport and study status. We map out your route before you pay the deposit, if you are accepted in the program.

Are hospitality internships in Hong Kong paid?

Most international internships in Hong Kong are unpaid. Budget for food, local transport and personal spending on top of your program fee.

Is a placement assured?

We only accept you when we're confident we can place you. If we accept you and can't find you a placement, you get your full $500 deposit back. Finding your placement takes about 8 weeks from your deposit, so apply with a start date at least 12 weeks away. If your start date is less than 12 weeks away, you need AIPx Fast Track.

Learn more about internships in Hong Kong. APPLY NOW! or LEARN MORE

Thinking about interning in Asia?

Browse destinations, then apply. It's free to apply, and you only pay a deposit once we accept you.

Written by
Daniele CosentinoDaniele Cosentino
CEO and Founder
Daniele Cosentino is the CEO and founder of Asia Internship Program (AIP), which he founded in 2013 and leads today. He did an internship in Bhavnagar, India, so he knows what it is like to start work in a country that is new to you. Since 2013 AIP has supported 15,000+ students, and Daniele leads the team that matches interns with host companies and looks after them on the ground. Based in Bangkok, he has served as a director of the Singapore-Thai Chamber of Commerce, and every year he travels across Asia to speak at conferences and visit the companies where AIP interns work. On this blog he writes about choosing, planning and funding an internship or gap year in Asia, with guides to Thailand, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Australia and Japan. You can trust his advice because it comes from first-hand work with interns and host companies, not from desk research alone.