Alaska is a tourism hotspot. Every year, more than 1.93 million people visit Alaska to enjoy its regal landscapes and treasured wildlife. The annual tourist influx creates thousands of seasonal jobs, especially at hotels. If you’re looking for seasonal work in Alaska and a hotel job sounds like a good fit, keep reading to learn about the best hotels in Alaska and the types of work they offer.
-
Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge
If you want to explore the Alaskan backcountry on your time off, you won’t find a better hotel than the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. The lodge is located next to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, which has more than 13.2 million acres of untamed wilderness to roam. Plus, if you enjoy fishing, the nearby Copper River is the tenth largest river in the United States and home to the famous Chinook salmon. Other downtime activities include white-water rafting, hiking, wild berry harvesting, scrambling up Malaspina glacier, and befriending yaks.
The lodge also offers dormitory-style, non-smoking employee housing located less than a five-minute walk from the lodge. As a bonus, all of your meals are included if you eat at the lodge’s employee dining room. If you’d prefer to drive to Alaska and live in an RV, you may also have access to a few campsites.
Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge
If jaw-dropping beauty is the view you want to wake up to every morning, Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is the right hotel for you. The lodge is located in the outskirts of Denali National Park, where visitors and employees alike explore the vast depths of the 6 million-acre preserve via hiking, bike riding, white-water rafting, sightseeing, and more. The lodge is a seasonal property and operates from May to September.
Dormitory-style employee housing for the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is located in Healy, a small town roughly 11 miles away from the park entrance. You’ll be able to enjoy three free meals per day, either at employee housing or the lodge. Transportation to and from employee housing and the lodge is provided.
Denali is among the most popular seasonal destinations in Alaska, and jobs can get filled fast. If you don’t see a job you want at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, consider searching the seasonal job openings at the McKinley Chalet Resort instead.
Fairbanks Princess Wilderness Lodge
If you’re looking to experience Alaskan culture but not give up the pleasures of a bustling mid-sized city, you should consider applying for a hotel job at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Perched alongside the Chena River, the lodge offers guests and employees alike easy access to museums, restaurants, hiking, fishing, camping, and more. As a seasonal facility, the lodge operates from May through September.
Many employees share private housing in Fairbanks. You’ll likely be able to find affordable housing within walking or biking distance from the lodge. If you choose to live on the outskirts of town, you can hop on the bus, which has a stop near the lodge.
If your heart is set on working on Fairbanks but you don’t see a job you want at the Fairbanks Princess Lodge, consider looking for seasonal work with the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Conference Center instead.
Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge
If you’re interested in multi-sport activities on your days off, such as rafting, horseback riding and mountain biking, then the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge is a great fit for your seasonal hotel job. The lodge is located in Cooper Landing, a small community nestled above the Kenai River. Many guests and employees take advantage of the lodge’s location to experience Alaska’s famous fishing, hiking, and gold panning, all of which are within an hour’s drive.
The lodge also offers employee housing, which is about a five-minute walk from the lodge. You’ll also be able to snatch three free meals each day at the lodge.
Westmark Anchorage Hotel
Downtown Anchorage hotels, like the Westmark Anchorage Hotel, are wonderful options for anybody who wants to mix-and-match Alaska’s wilderness with the culture of a vibrant city. The Westmark Anchorage Hotel is a few minutes from the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, two mere blocks away from the Egan and Dena’ina Convention Centers and a measly five blocks from the popular Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. On one day off, you can see an off-broadway play, visit a local art convention and then go for a brisk hike. Anchorage is a wonderland for anybody who loves staying busy.
Because Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, employee housing isn’t provided. Many employees will share a two-bedroom apartment and then bike, carpool or use public transportation to the hotel.
Westmark Inn Dawson City
If you want to enjoy the near-endless summer sunshine and enjoy the comfort of a small town, then working at the Westmark Inn in Dawson City is an excellent opportunity for you. Dawson City is a small, colorful community that offers guests and employees easy access to go river rafting, camping, hiking, canoeing. Plus, music aficionados can rock out at the spectacular Music Fest weekend, which is held every summer.
As an extra bonus, every place you might want to visit in Dawson City is easily accessed by walking or on a bike. Because the town is small, the Westmark offers discounted or rebated employee housing, the costs of which you can set up to get automatically deducted from your paycheck.
Westmark Inn Skagway
The last seasonal hotel on our list is the Westmark Skagway, which hosts more than 15,000 guests between May and September. If you like to keep busy and meet people from all walks of life, Skagway is where you’ll want to look for work. The port city is among the top 20 busiest cruise ship ports in the world. The town buzzes with excitement as more than 420 cruise ships dock at Skagway’s ports, alongside a flurry of helicopters, airplanes, trains, and cargo ships. Because Skagway is so busy for such a small town, there are always seasonal job openings. Even if you don’t find a job at the Westmark Inn Skagway, you’ll have good luck finding part-time positions at local small businesses near the hotel. Plus, as with most of Alaska, Skagway offers astounding opportunities to go hiking, fishing and camping.
Finding seasonal housing in Skagway is tough. So the Westmark provides furnished apartments for employees.
We recommend choosing the lodge that best fits your lifestyle, and then applying for the hotel jobs you’re most interested in. View our current seasonal positions to get started on your job application.