Whether you are currently in your high school just about to graduate or are willing to switch your career to a more purposeful one, the hotel/hospitality industry can bring you a host of opportunities to grow and get established in this industry. The hotel industry is specifically for those individuals, who love to meet and greet new people every day, and would love to serve them too in many ways. But if you are a big foodie, want to become a chef, or have a curiosity to explore a lot about beverages, or work under prestigious positions in five-star hotels across the world, then the hotel industry is just for you.
Choosing the right career path can be very challenging, with numerous opportunities emerging every day, it becomes very challenging to figure out which career path will be ideal for you. But, if your interest lies much with leisure, luxury, and food, then without a doubt, the hotel industry is going to be an ideal career choice for you. If you still have a lot of doubts and questions regarding this industry, then follow this article till the end, and you will never regret investing your time.
With the hotel industry expanding worldwide, and more luxurious hotels are being raised across the world to serve people who value luxury, new employment opportunities are emerging too. And since, the pandemic is about to end soon, and everything is almost opening up, the hotel industry is ready to rise and shine again as it was. So, even at this time, it is a wise decision to opt for the hotel industry as your ideal career.
1. Understanding Hospitality Management
Before jumping into some important factors, let’s just understand what the industry of hospitality is like, what it is like to study or work in this industry? When you opt for hotel or hospitality management as your degree, you learn about the different aspects of a running hotel or hospitality service such as sales and marketing, food and beverage, front office, accounting, food production, housekeeping, and several kitchen skills. That is when you get to decide, which department of the hotel industry you would love to specialize and work in. From manners to honing personal skills, the hotel industry will groom you and will mold your personality into an attractive one.
2. What is Working in Hotel Industry is like?
Working in the hotel industry is actually fascinating, much like a dream come true. Imagine working at a five-star restaurant in France, all the luxury you get to be with is simply fascinating. Now, it mostly depends on the area you choose to specialize in, that decides your job role such as, if your specialization is in cooking, your responsibility will lie in the kitchen, and you will be working with hundreds of Chefs making signature dishes (don’t forget the Ratatouille!).
Overall, working here is fun, you may have to work for long hours, but your pay is going to be satisfactory as well (your salary will be high actually).
3. Employment Opportunities
Like every other industry, the hotel industry has a plethora of job opportunities, and each position has a purpose and is definitely exciting. Before we jump into the list of job positions, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics says, job openings in the hotel industry have grown by over 50% in just two months from December 2020 in the USA, great news isn’t it? Since the hotel industry is expanding and growing at a fast rate, employment opportunities are increasing more as a result.
Here are some of the most popular job positions you would love to work in:
- Chef
- Accommodation Manager
- Catering Manager
- Hotel Manager
- Event Manager
- Sales Coordinator in Conference and Banqueting
- Restaurant Manager
- Front Office Agent / Guest Relation Officer
- Human Resource Manager
- Marketing Executive
And many such exciting and interesting job positions that await your recognition.
4. Why Would you Choose the Hotel Industry? is it Worth Establishing your Career here?
Now comes the most important question, why would you actually choose the hotel industry as your ideal career path, is it really worth it? And the answer is yes, it is definitely a good career choice and worthy of establishing your career. Here are some of the main reasons that will convince you even more:
- The hotel industry is a global industry so you get international exposure that means, you get a lot of opportunities to work in different states or even abroad.
- The hotel industry is really diversified, it includes Hotels, Restaurant, Resorts, Cruise, Aviation, Events, Facility management, Cinemas, Theme parks, Travel companies, start-ups and many more, which means plethora of career options to choose from.
- One of the fastest growing industry that is emerging with new possibilities everyday.
- Diverse multicultural workforce.
And many other reasons that you will discover yourself right when you enter this industry.
5. Pros and cons of hospitality career
There must be good enough reasons to choose the hotel industry as your ideal career path, let’s have a look at the pros and cons of working in this industry:
Let’s talk about pros first-
- Working in one of the biggest industry is a pride in itself.
- Flexible working hours and work weeks make it a lot easier and enjoyable to work.
- Numerous growth opportunities.
- Lots of career paths to explore.
- A lot of opportunities to travel around the world and work in the most luxurious, top-notch hotels.
- Stability and job security.
- You will come across opportunities to bring out that creative “self” in you.
- High pay scale
Now, it is time for the list of cons of having a career in hotel management (but it is still worth working in this industry despite these issues):
- The initial jobs in the hotel industry have much lower salary as compared to other industries.
- Long working hours especially during peak seasons or festivals. For example- Christmas is the time when the hotel industry is at its peak of success.
- Higher staff turnover when compared to other industries
That’s all, there aren’t many cons, but all those pros mentioned above are hopefully enough to convince you to choose this industry as your ideal career path.
6. Benefits of Studying Hospitality Management
There are many benefits for sure when it comes to pursuing a hospitality management industry, and the most important one is, you get to work in many small and big hotels around the world, and travel to new places, meet new people. Another perk of studying hotel management is, you get to work in an industry, that is still one of the fastest-growing, and where job openings (have grown by over 50%) are increasing day by day so, there’s nothing to worry about not finding the right job or remaining unemployed for quite a long time.
One of the best things about jobs in the hotel industry is it is not your regular 9 to 5 job, it is flexible, and you get a chance to work in a vibrant working environment.
7. Job Positions That have the Highest Pay
If you are concerned about the highest-paid positions in the hotel industry, then you will be pleased to have a look at this list below:
- Hotel General Manager- with an average of $50,313 per year
- Executive Chef- $64,990 per year
- Casino Director- hits the jackpot with a salary of $142,302 per year
- Event Manager- $43,018 per year
- Restaurant Manager- $49,294 per year
- Travel Manager- $46,028 per year
- Sommelier- $48,476 per year
8. Educational Qualifications Required
A bachelor’s degree in hospitality management is enough to get you going. You can always begin with initial job positions, and then upgrade your educational qualifications to reach for higher positions such as becoming a Restaurant Manager, a Hotel General Manager, and so on.
9. Job Security
Since there is an increased demand for hospitality management specialists these days, a large number of jobs are emerging every day. As a result, growing, and reaching for higher positions is highly possible in this industry. No matter if you begin with initial positions, if you can reach higher to a managerial position, your salary will be no less than $60,000.
10. Conclusion
Hopefully, all these points mentioned above are enough to convince you to begin your career in the hotel industry. Not only do you get the chance to work in some of the most luxurious hotels around the world, but both the hotel management degree and the hotel industry also groom your personality, and molds you into a professional, who is pleasing to meet and talk to, and is equally creative.
The hotel industry is a great choice for those who love food and would love to explore more about different cuisines around the world, for those who love to meet and greet or serve people, those who want to follow their passion and make the best cocktails, anyone who loves to travel to a lot of places and so on. If you think you have got all the qualities needed to become a hotelier, then what are you waiting for?
