Let’s clear a few hotel industry facts with this post. A lot of people have developed wrong notions about hotel and hospitality industry and through this post, we want to put together a few facts about hotel industry to debunk a few myths about jobs in the hotel industry.
While most of the industries are looking to hire robots and using Information technology for maximum work, there are a few industries which still believe in human interventions.
The hospitality industry, especially the Hotel industry, is the front-runner in terms of employing and nurturing human resources.
Before we start, here are a few quick facts about the jobs in the hotel industry.
Here is an infographic about the key statistics about the hospitality industry jobs.
These key statistics on hospitality careers is presented by Les Roches which is one of the premier international hospitality management schools.
You can dispel a lot of myths yourself simply looking at these hospitality industry facts as the hotel industry is probably the biggest contributor to these growing employment opportunities.
- 337 Million Jobs worldwide in the hospitality sector by 2023
- 1 in 10 employable people would be employed in hospitality and tourism by 2023
- even when there is a global slowdown in all industries travel and tourism sector is expected to grow by 4% per annum
Now let’s move on to myths and bust them one by one by presenting several hotel industry facts.
Myth 1- “Hotel jobs are not well paid”
Well, there has to be some truth behind this one but half-truth is very dangerous.
So, let’s try and bust this myth as well by presenting facts about the hotel industry and hospitality industry that relates to salaries.
The hospitality industry is a huge industry and the Hotel industry is a big part of the overall hospitality industry.
The hotel industry is made up of hundreds and thousands of hotels and includes several sub-industries and this makes it a complex system involving human resources at all levels.
The salary range is thus big starting from the very basic to super high.
One of our other posts discusses the best-paid hospitality jobs. The post discusses not only the best-paid jobs in terms of salary but also in terms of satisfaction.
However, the fact is that the average salaries in the hotel industry are indeed lower than a lot of other industries and even a few sub-industries of hospitality.
Here are the reasons for the low average pay of the hotel industry.
- Interns who are students and work for training purposes are paid less
- The hotel industry has maximum part-time workers and daily wage workers
- The entry criteria are of a minimum standard in the hotel industry and thus the paradox of supply and demand keeps wages down
- There are a range of blue-collar jobs in the hotel industry driving the average down
- Cosmopolitan nature of this industry makes hotels import workers from developing and underdeveloped countries at lesser wages
However, at the medium and higher level, the salaries and perquisites are extremely high.
We all hear of top celebrity chefs earning millions while General Managers, Sales head and Directors of Hotels are extremely well paid.
Once the initial barrier is crossed in the Hotel Industry, the supply or influx of workers decreases and this drives salaries and perquisites higher.
So, if you are a Hotel Management professional, be rest assured of a great future after the initial days of hardships if any.
Is this not prevalent in all industries? So, why should the hotel industry be any different and categorised as low paying industry?
Myth 2- “Getting Hotel Jobs is possible only through agencies”
This again is another frustrating myth about hospitality industry jobs doing rounds.
A lot of portals continue to dispel such myths.
While most of the other industries have moved on from regular agencies to high tech platforms, Hotel industry still continues to deal with a lot of agencies.
This is not because the industry has fallen behind in terms of technology but more because of its seasonal nature. During peak season, the requirement of part-time and full-time staff members have kept the recruitment agencies afloat.
However, those believing that these agencies are the only route towards landing a job in Hotels are grossly mistaken.
Networking has been the key to landing the best jobs in the overall hospitality industry.
It’s time that facts about the hotel industry are rewritten especially involving recruitment agencies.
Speaking about the hotel and hospitality industry.
- Social media is the new recruitment agency and it provides jobs at no extra cost.
- Most of the hotel employers now have an in-house team who are extremely active in networking. They are networked well and through social media, they manage to get the best talent.
- You must be able to search hospitality jobs through LinkedIn to stay ahead of the pack.
- Then, there are a lot of hospitality job portals to help in the job search process.
So, if you are not networking and waiting for agencies to do the trick, you are missing a lot of opportunities.
Those who think that only agencies are a safe bet for hotel jobs, it’s time for them to get out of the walkman age.
Embrace technology and networking techniques and see the change.
Myth 3 – “Job options are limited in the Hotel and the Hospitality industry”
The reality is that as a hotelier you are only constrained by ideas and not by opportunities.
We have mentioned in the hotel industry facts at the beginning about the growth in the hotel and hospitality industry.
Thus this prevalent myth about jobs in the hotel industry must be dispelled.
The sky is the limit if there is a willingness for the same.
If someone in the hotel industry feels they are not growing at the desired pace, they do have several other options to explore within the hospitality industry and even outside.
Within the Hospitality industry
- Try to have a stint of a couple of years in Cruises (you would need to earn your place though)
- Work in the tourism industry. There are a lot of options including various multinational firms.
- Theme park and events are busy during peak season and can be a good option for job seekers who are bored of routine life in Hotels
- Casinos are another interesting employer within the Hospitality industry.
There are limitless other options as well to explore within the hospitality industry.
Outside the Hospitality industry:
- Become a hospitality management consultant. If you are experienced, a lot of management consultancies would be interested in your potential. Try exploring these.
- Hospitality information technology- If you are a tech enthusiast, get some good training or certification and join technology firms or aggregators who also cater to hotels and hospitality industry under their portfolio.
- Join the education sector or work for professional training platforms.
- Become an entrepreneur and work towards achieving what you are passionate about.
So, those who believe that the job options are limited in hospitality and hotel industry should check facts about hotel industry once again.
Myth 4- “Hotel industry Jobs are only for those who are not good at academics.”
Now, this is a terrible thought we must say.
Yes, we don’t need many scientists in the hospitality and the hotel industry but then managing complexities is never easy.
Dealing with humans has been the most intriguing task intellectually over the years.
Well, the truth is that working in this industry needs you to be an allrounder. An expert of a field might not be the best fit here as hotels have a dynamic work environment.
However, does that mean that there is no academic involvement in the hotel and hospitality industry?
Now think of the reports and management systems hoteliers come across every day.
Do you think it is possible for people with average intelligence to handle such a diversified portfolio?
Here is a sneak peek into a typical hotel management course. Does this look non-academic?
Most of you who are reading this are experts in your own fields and have been excelling in studies as well.
You would also believe that you are not only intelligent but also smart. So, where does the myth arise from?
Customers entering the hotel are greeted by guards, attended by Bell boys and have their rooms cleaned by room boys while laundry is collected by laundry attendants. If they happen to be in small hotels or low star properties, the perception that is developed creates this myth.
Let’s dispel the myth using a few of the hotel industry facts:
- Most of the hoteliers from top hospitality establishments can speak more than 3 languages
- Best hotel management schools include in their curriculum Business communication, Geography, Accounting, Human resource, Marketing, another language etc. apart from the regular hospitality modules.
- Hotel management is a career of choice and there is a rigorous selection process to get into top schools. Yes, there are schools that will enrol without exams but is this not true for Engineering and other courses?
- Top hospitality management schools have a dedicated research centre with hoteliers busy innovating for an improved hospitality ecosystem.
Yes, like all other industries, even in the hotel industry there are stars and there are duds.
However, that doesn’t mean the hotel industry is falling behind in terms of knowledge management.
Myth 5- “Hospitality industry and Hotel industry are the same thing”
We regularly use the hotel industry and hospitality industry within our articles and you can safely do the same as well.
However, working in the hospitality industry and the hotel industry is not the same.
So, while we discuss specifically the myths on jobs in the hotel industry, it’s important to clear this basic myth.
Jobs in the hotel industry and jobs in the hospitality industry can be similar but definitely not the same thing. One is the subset of other.
Now, this is the biggest myth prevalent in the industry.
Most of the people who are outside the industry and a lot within the industry believe that the hospitality and hotel industry are the same things.
The truth, however, is different.
The hotel industry is an integral part of the hospitality industry just like cloud computing is to Information technology or Diesel is to the petroleum industry.
It is a crucial part of the industry but there is much more to hospitality and tourism than Hotels.
We have Cruises, Aviation, Theme parks, other transportation, Shopping arcades, Restaurants, Travel giants like Expedia and Tripadvisor, Apartments, Motels, events, learning institutes, e-learning platforms, media and much more.
Wrapping it up
Here you go, some of the myths about the jobs in the hotel industry have been dispelled in this article.
Hospitality jobs are great and everyone must be proud to be in this industry. You are compassionate, helpful, smart, talented and much more.
Is there an industry that has such a diverse mix of work and people?
The hotel industry has covered a lot of ground recently and while most of the other industries are struggling with growth, this industry has maintained the momentum.
So, you are in good company. Best wishes!
