Premium Hospitality & Guest Experience Specialist
About The Position
The Premium Hospitality & Guest Experience Specialist is an entry-level professional role supporting premium members, VIP guests, corporate clients, and racing enthusiasts at Belmont Park and Saratoga Racecourse. The role helps deliver personalized, memorable hospitality experiences during race days, special events, premium dining, and other seasonal activations. It works across Premium Experience, Food & Beverage, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Ticketing, Facilities, and Guest Services, while providing exposure to hospitality and venue operations and a foundation for growth in guest services, event operations, venue management, or hospitality leadership. The Specialist performs professional assignments of limited scope using established procedures, service standards, and resources. The role handles routine guest needs with foundational hospitality knowledge and sound judgment, seeking guidance for unfamiliar, sensitive, or out-of-scope situations. Work is performed independently on defined activities with direction, coaching, and review from the Premium Experience Senior Manager or a designated leader. The role has no formal people-management accountability, but may help orient peers or seasonal staff and provide process guidance. The position operates across office, hospitality, and event environments at NYRA venues. It involves frequent walking and standing, occasional lifting or moving of materials up to 25 pounds, and work indoors and outdoors in varying weather, noise, and crowd conditions. The schedule is flexible according to racing and operational needs and includes weekends, holidays, early mornings, evenings, and event days. Travel and temporary work-location changes may be assigned to support the Saratoga racing season. Pay is $27.94–$37.72 per hour.
Requirements
- Up to two years of relevant experience in hospitality, guest services, events, premium seating, restaurants, hotels, resorts, sports, entertainment, or another high-touch customer environment; applicable internships or seasonal experience may be considered.
- Demonstrated commitment to exceptional guest service, discretion, professionalism, and follow-through.
- Ability to organize multiple priorities, maintain accurate details, and adapt in a fast-paced, event-driven environment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including confidence communicating with guests and internal partners.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and ability to learn CRM, ticketing, seating, event, and food-and-beverage systems.
- Availability to work a flexible schedule based on the racing and event calendar, including weekends, holidays, early mornings, and evenings as operationally required.
- Ability and willingness to work at NYRA venues and support the Saratoga racing season, including travel and temporary work-location changes as assigned.
- Ability to walk and stand frequently throughout NYRA venues.
- Ability to occasionally lift or move materials weighing up to 25 pounds.
- Ability to work indoors and outdoors in varying weather, noise levels, and large crowds.
Nice To Haves
- Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Event Management, Sports Management, Business, Communications, or a related field; equivalent education and relevant experience will be considered.
- Experience supporting VIP, luxury, premium, member, or corporate-client experiences.
- Exposure to event execution, premium dining, catering, ticketing, seating, CRM, or guest-feedback platforms.
- Additional language proficiency relevant to NYRA’s guests and workforce.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a professional point of contact for premium guests, members, VIP clients, and corporate partners before, during, and after race-day and special-event experiences.
- Support on-site premium hospitality operations, including guest arrival, check-in, seating, dining, special events, and other service touchpoints.
- Coordinate guest requests and preferences with Food & Beverage, Operations, Facilities, Sales, Ticketing, and Guest Services, following procedures and escalating complex matters appropriately.
- Address guest concerns through timely service recovery, documenting outcomes and escalating high-impact or sensitive issues to management.
- Assist with premium dining and event readiness by confirming guest information, service details, signage, amenities, and operational materials.
- Prepare guest communications, including Know-Before-You-Go information, event updates, confirmations, and follow-up correspondence.
- Gather and organize guest feedback and operational observations, identify recurring themes, and share findings with management.
- Maintain accurate member and client records, preferences, and service notes in accordance with privacy expectations and departmental standards.
- Collaborate with Premium Experience colleagues and seasonal team members to promote consistent service and an inclusive guest experience.
- Participate in event briefings, debriefs, training, and continuous-improvement activities, and contribute ideas to improve hospitality and operational efficiency.
- Train and onboard new Premium Experience team members on service protocols, operational procedures, and NYRA hospitality standards.
- Perform other related duties and support special projects as assigned.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
