Careers in the Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry provides services which meet the comfort and leisure needs of people. Careers in the hospitality are found in hotels, restaurants, conference centres, theme parks and other places where people gather to relax, eat and drink or to stay.
Careers in hospitality may be require a lot of face-to-face interaction with guests but in some cases, for example, as a chef you may not interact with customers directly but the service you provide will nonetheless be personalised and individualised. A customer who feels appreciated and catered for, will tell others about their experience and may become a repeat customer.
Most jobs in the hospitality industry have a lower entry level than other industries, the work requires a basic level of training, however if you have the interest and dedication you will be able to climb the ladder to reach a more specialised role including, managerial roles accompanied by more responsibilities, along with a higher salary. Careers in the hospitality industry also include behind-the-scenes positions in sales, administration, public relations, accounting and human resources. In this article, we learn more about the nature of the hospitality industry, the various sectors contained within it, and its connections to the hotel industry and travel industry.
Food and Beverage
The food and beverage sector of the hospitality is the largest sector within hospitality and employs the most people. This sector includes restaurants, fast-food outlets, bars, catering companies, street food and many other types of food outlets. When your restaurant is part of a hotel, food and beverage can dramatically enhance the overall guest experience by offering excellent food and first-class customer service.
Food Scientist and Technologist
Accommodation and Lodgings
There are various types of establishments which offer accommodation and lodgings to guest, from extravagant resorts to bed and breakfasts, hostels and campgrounds. The types of the jobs within hotels will depend on the size of the establishment or chain of establishments. A large hotel or chain of hotels may employ a full-time operations manager to oversee the entire operations of the hotel or chain. The larger establishments may also employ a full time sales staff or human resources manager, guest relations manager or finance and accounting team. In the smaller establishments these tasks are the duty of the hotel manager who has supervisors and staff to assist in the housekeeping, security, public relations, food service, sales and finances.
Careers within the accommodation and lodgings include:
| Beauty Careers |
| Food Service Manager |
| Hotel Manager |
| Guesthouse Manager |
Travel and Tourism
A related segment of the hospitality industry relates to the transportation of guests, including on airlines, trains, busses, cruise ships and even hot air balloons. Flight attendants, waiters, bar attendants and cruise provide food, drink and a comfortable travel experience for business travellers and holiday makers. Destination countries and places such as game parks, historic sites, amusement parks Recently there has been talk of space travel tourism and opportunities which exist as a career of the future. The use of internet has transformed the way people book, but travel agents, booking agents and events managers still play a role in consulting on package events and experiences. There have also been an increase in the number of careers related to support of computer systems linked to IT including social media.
Careers in travel vary from entry level jobs such as porters tasked with handling the storage and transport of luggage for guests to concierges, whose duty it is to assist guests by booking tours, making restaurant and other reservations. New careers have opened up in adventure tourism including wildlife adventures, cross-country skiing events and wilderness experiences.
Careers in travel and tourism include:
| Adventure Tourism Operator |
| Flight Attendant (Cabin Attendant) |
| Game Ranger or Park Ranger |
| Tour Guide |
| Tourism and Travel Careers |
| Tourism Manager |