If you are considering a career as a hospitality manager, you probably know about the opportunities that exist in restaurants and hotels, but did you know that managers in this field work aboard cruise ships and with travel agencies as well? Hospitality covers many areas and involves much more than planning restaurant menus and supervising hotel housekeepers.
What is Hospitality Management?
This career deals with all aspects of the hospitality industry from marketing and sales to supply procurement, according to an article on the Career Igniter website. If you manage a restaurant, you will schedule employees, buy food, make certain your establishment complies with federal and state regulations, deal with customer complaints and perform other duties in the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Where Do Hospitality Managers Work?
You find these managers in casinos and spas, in private single-operation restaurants and in restaurant chain management. They work as tour guides and own or manage travel agencies. Convention centers depend upon managers to plan and coordinate conferences, concerts and weddings. Depending upon the size of the establishment they manage, they may supervise whole departments or deal with department heads. Management duties depend upon where you work. The thing that all hospitality management has in common is that the position requires decision-making and supervising staff.
How Do You Become a Manager in Hospitality?
You can get an entry-level job with an associate degree. Hospitality degrees are heavily business-oriented, and your curriculum will include things like accounting and economics. Some people believe that the experience of working in the industry is as valuable as a degree, but most managers in hospitality have at least a bachelor’s degree. Electives can help you tailor your degree to the area in which you want to work. Students who want to work in food service may take electives like nutrition, food-service sanitation and FDA regulations, but they will certainly study finance and marketing as well. Those who want to follow a career as a travel agent may take electives that deal with issues like international travel restrictions. Your hospitality management degree may also include core courses such as writing and business communication, sales and marketing, supply management, meeting and event planning, risk management and other classes.
Related Resource: Business Information Technology
What is the Employment Outlook and Salary For Hospitality Management?
According to Study.com, the job growth rate for the hospitality industry as a whole is higher than average. The rate for certain aspects of the industry like food service and lodging managers is flat, but events management is fast-growing. The average salary for a person in hospitality management in general is $44,964. As the economy continues to recover from its sluggish first years of the millennium, hospitality should continue to grow because Americans will have more confidence in their finances.
Because the industry is so varied it is difficult to give specific duties or quote salaried for individual jobs. The best tack for anyone who wants to work as a hospitality manager is to get an entry-level job in the industry and explore the many areas of the career.
