The Hospitality Industry is a mammoth industry and one of the fastest-growing ones. In this post, we have listed Hospitality career paths and types of jobs in the hospitality industry.
So, if you want to know all about the hospitality management career, stay with us right here.
We have tried to cover most of the hospitality industry jobs and have ensured that there are enough resources and further reading for those who want to investigate the topic further. Discussing Hospitality careers is no easy task because of the expanse of the hospitality industry. We have made this post cover only the key points while discussing hospitality career paths.
To make the post more interesting, we have included several interesting facts and tips about the career paths in the hospitality industry.
So, let’s get started.
There are multiple Sectors within the Hospitality industry. The major ones are:
- Accommodation/Lodging
- Food & Beverage
- Travel and Tourism
- Entertainment
- Timeshare
And then there are various sub-sectors.
So, in a nutshell, whether you are a hotelier, a Chef, a doctor, an Information Technology specialist, an Engineer, a Technician, a Gardener, an Accountant or something else, we have got you covered here.
Types of Jobs and Career Paths in the Hospitality Industry
As already mentioned there are various types of careers that you can pursue within the hospitality industry.
Did you know that the hospitality industry even has jobs like Bedtime Storyteller and Dog surfing instructor? Amazing isn’t it? There are several other extremely unusual jobs in the hospitality industry.
There are a lot of creative hospitality jobs like E-Commerce Managers, Creative Directors etc. that are listed in this article.
In this section, we will cover the various types of jobs in the hospitality industry and in the next section, we will discuss career pathways to get to the top within the hospitality industry.
Let’s get going then with various types of jobs in the hospitality industry. We have listed in another article some of the best-paying hospitality jobs. This article covers a lot more about the types of hospitality jobs.
1. Top Management Jobs in the Hospitality Industry
These are the jobs that pay the most and are the most difficult to get to. You would at least need to have a decade of experience to reach this level.
If reports are to be believed, On average Top Executives earned a median of over $100,000 per year in 2023. 25% of them earned in excess of $160,000.
A few of the top executive jobs in the hospitality industry are:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Vice President of Human Resources
- Vice President – Corporate Communications
- Vice President – Marketing
- Cluster Director Food & Beverage
- Cluster Director Finance
- Corporate Executive Chef
- Hotel General Manager / Hotel Manager
and so on.
Some of these are the Highest Paid Hospitality Jobs in the world.
2. Food & Beverage Service Jobs
The food and beverage sector of the hospitality industry has a huge number of job roles. Some of the typical roles in the hotels, restaurants, Cruises and Entertainment sector include:
- Food & Beverage Director
- Food & Beverage Manager
- Assistant Food & Beverage Manager
- Outlet Manager
- Restaurant Manager
- Bar Manager
- Banquet Manager
- Food & Beverage Executive
- Food & Beverage Supervisor
- Guest Service Associate / Waiter
- Banquet Associates
- Bus person
- Bartender
- Trainees
and others.
Do you think we named a bit too many here? We actually missed a few. A typical full-scale restaurant within a hotel industry would have a rather complicated organisational chart. Have a look at the chart by Slideshare for better clarity.
The chart is different for Cruise, Aviation sector and Entertainment industry but we have pretty much covered all major types of Food & Beverage jobs here.
There are multiple career options in hotel management in the food service industry. If you are looking to build a hospitality career in the food service industry, then brace yourself for some stiff competition.
3. Food & Beverage Production (Kitchen) Jobs – Creative Hospitality Careers
The kitchen is the mainstay of all hospitality organisations.
We love various top cuisines in the world and Chefs make sure that our stay is memorable when we travel.
Travel would not be as much fun without the variety of food that is on offer to satisfy our taste buds.
Won’t you agree?
This field is certainly one of the most popular career paths in the hospitality industry.
There are a lot of top culinary schools in the world to ensure a regular supply of high-quality chefs. And, we can’t thank them more. Here are a few of the types of hospitality career titles you can expect to have in the Food & Beverage Production department.
- Executive Chef
- Chef de Cuisine
- Head Baker
- Executive Sous Chef
- Chief Steward
- Banquet Chef
- Pastry Chef
- Sous Chefs
- Butchery Chef
- Chef de Partie (CDP) for multiple cuisines
- Demi Chef de Partie (DCDP) for multiple cuisines
- Kitchen Stewarding Supervisor
- Commis Chef
- Kitchen Stewards
- Trainees
and so on.
The hierarchy of the Production department at a full-service hotel can be quite complicated.
4. Front Office / Reservation Department Jobs
If you want to explore hotel career options then Front Office can be a tempting option. They set the tone of service for the hospitality organisation. So, you need to be best placed in these departments as they have a direct impact on maximum customer touchpoints in the hospitality industry.
A few of the crucial types of Front Office and Reservation jobs include.
- Room Divisions Director
- Front Office Manager
- Reservation Manager
- Duty Manager
- Guest Relations Manager
- Night Manager
- Front Office Supervisor/Executive
- Guest Relations Executive
- Reservation Supervisor
- Bell Captain
- Concierge
- Front Desk Agent
- Bell Boy
- Telephone Operator
- Travel Desk Coordinator
and so on. We have of course missed a few but the above are the major ones.
5. Housekeeping Jobs
The housekeeping department is said to be the biggest department in the Hotel industry and facility services. No discussion of hospitality career paths is complete without the mention of the housekeeping department.
They ensure the cleanliness and beauty of the premises, rooms and common areas.
Most typical roles include.
- Director of Housekeeping
- Executive Housekeeper
- Deputy Housekeeper
- Housekeeping Manager
- Laundry Manager
- Housekeeping Executive
- Floor Supervisor
- Desk Coordinator
- Laundry Valet
- Linen Attendant
- Room Attendant
- Public Area Attendant
- Tailor
and so on.
Large hotels will have further subcategorisation of a lot of these roles while the smaller ones will find a lot of these job roles overlapping.
6. Human Resources and Training Jobs in the Hospitality Industry
Managing such a diverse workforce is one of the biggest challenges in the hotel industry.
It is this department of the hospitality industry that is responsible for learning the art of hiring and retaining the best hospitality talent.
Let’s list a few of the key people here.
- Director of Human Resources
- Human Resource Manager
- Training Manager
- Human Resource Supervisor
- Executive Secretary
- Human Resource Agent
- Training Executive
- Interns
There are a lot of other categories within the Hospitality industry which are mentioned below. We will keep on expanding each of the below job roles in future updates.
7. Sales & Marketing Jobs in the Hospitality Industry
Now it’s time for an astonishing fact about the hotel industry.
There are over 18 million hotel rooms in the world and growing. Statista Reports that a record number of hotel rooms will be added in 2024.
Think of the opportunities for Sales Professionals. And, we have only discussed the hotel industry here. The Travel sector is huge as well along with Cruises and the entertainment industry.
Yes, the opportunities are limitless.
If you are a sales professional searching for a career path in the hospitality industry, you would probably be at one of these job posts.
- Director of Public Relations and Advertising
- Marketing Communications Director / Manager
- Sales Director
- Sales Manager (Room Sales / MICE / Corporate)
- Banqueting Sales Manager
- Assistant Sales Manager / Sales Executive
- Public Relations Executive
- Sales Coordinator (Room Sales / Banquet and Conventions)
- Travel Sales Coordinator
and so on.
8. Engineering Jobs in the hospitality and leisure industry
No this is not a mistake. Engineers are required in big numbers in the hospitality industry. Think of the infrastructure costs in the hotel industry and the food and beverage sector.
Can you imagine the Aviation industry without Aircraft Maintenance Engineers?
Cruise lines need so much of maintenance work. There is also a huge requirement for civil work in the hospitality industry. So, the jobs vary from top executive jobs to basic repair and maintenance jobs.
Types of engineering jobs in the hospitality industry are:
- Project Manager (Construction)
- Chief Engineer
- Assistant Chief Engineer
- Executive Engineer
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
- Maintenance Manager
- Maintenance Associate
- Laundry Technician
- Electrical Engineering Supervisor
- Boiler Technician
- AC Technician
- Electrician
- Plumber
- Carpenter
and so on.
9. Information Technology Jobs in the Hospitality Industry
There used to be a time when Information Technology jobs were almost non-existent. However, with the increasing importance of Information Technology in the hospitality industry, more and more career paths in the hospitality industry are directed to information technology.
E-commerce manager, IT Manager, IT support Executive and various other jobs are readily available in the hospitality industry now.
So, if you are in software development or data analytics, it’s a great time to get into the hospitality industry to keep ahead of the competition. Some of the highest-paid jobs in the world are in the technology sector.
The salaries are extremely competitive and career advancement options are aplenty.
10. Cruise Line Jobs – One of the best Paid Hospitality Career Paths
Cruise Ships have a somewhat different hierarchy.
Listed below are some of the types of jobs on Cruise lines.
- Captain and Assistant Captain
- Navigation crew
- Jobs in the Engine department
- Entertainment Jobs (Casino and Gaming)
- Engineering and maintenance jobs
- Hospitality and service jobs (refer to Food and Beverage Service and Kitchen Category in this article)
- Deck jobs
- Spa and recreation jobs
- Office and administrative jobs
- Medical jobs
- Offshore location jobs including sales, customer assistance, Information technology (IT) Jobs, Accounts and others
11. Career Options in the Aviation sector
The best thing about the hospitality industry is that it has various sub-sectors which can easily qualify as a separate industry. The same is the case with the Aviation industry.
It is a part of the Hospitality and Travel industry and a lot of career paths in the aviation sector provide open access to the other sectors of the hospitality industry.
Like Cabin Crew members easily get into the Hotel industry and vice versa.
The same is the case with the kitchen staff. Aviation industry jobs also provide great perks and thus hospitality career paths that take you to aviation jobs are extremely well paid.
Various job roles in the Aviation industry include Pilot, Air Traffic Control, Cabin Crew, chef, Ticketing officer, Customer Support, Airport Management etc.
12. Jobs in the Travel Sector
Types of careers in the travel industry would include the likes of below:
- Travel Executive
- Travel Sales
- Tour Guides / Tour Operators / Executives
- Travel Consultants
- Tourism Marketing advisor
- Travel and Tourism department jobs
and more.
13. Career Options in the Entertainment Sector
Types of jobs in the Casino would be pretty similar to the ones in the hotel industry. These would include the food and beverage, room division, culinary etc. However, Casinos would have different titles and add-on roles like Dealers, Porters, Casino Cashiers, Guides, Hosts, Surveillance staff, Security and more.
There are other career options in the entertainment sector as well. These include jobs in Malls, Cinema Halls, Theatres, Amusement parks and more.
The categories and options of jobs include ticketing/booking, ground maintenance, Food and Beverage, Operations Manager and more.
14. Types of Career in the Events Management
This is another extremely rewarding and booming sector of the hospitality industry that provides a great career.
A few examples of Jobs in this industry are:
- Event Planner
- Event Coordinator
- Events Marketing and Sales
- Events Manager
- Banqueting and Convention Manager
- Wedding Planner
- Corporate Event Manager
and so on.
Career Paths in the Hospitality Industry for the Top jobs
Career Path to a Hotel General Manager is depicted below.
Here’s the career path to becoming General manager of the Food and Beverage department. These are the steps you might need to follow.
- Intern/ Management Trainee
- Waiter / Captain
- F&B Supervisor
- F&B Executive
- Assistant Manager
- Restaurant Manager / Outlet Manager / Bar Manager
- Cluster Restaurant Manager
- Assistant Food and Beverage Manager
- Food & Beverage Manager
- Assistant Operations Manager / Operations Manager
- Assistant General Manager
- General Manager
The positions would vary slightly but to give an idea this depicts a typical hotel industry career path to becoming a General Manager.
A similar path is followed for the Front Office and Room Divisions department with corresponding positions of the respective hotel department.
You can expect to toil for a minimum of 10 years before you reach this stage.
However, there are a few Online Courses, Hospitality Management Institutes and Hospitality management certificates that should fast-track the process.
Career Path to become an Executive Chef would be similar to the one above mentioned with culinary expertise and experience becoming paramount.
A different and somewhat innovative Career Path has to be followed to become a Hospitality Consultant.
Conclusion
There are numerous jobs in the hospitality industry. It is difficult to cover them all in one single post.
We would try to cover the maximum but we will still miss a few. That’s the expanse of the Hospitality and travel industry.
Hope you found the list interesting of the types of jobs and career paths in the hospitality industry.
We will be adding a lot more roles and details in future updates to make it a complete resource for hospitality job seekers.
So, please keep coming back. And, do not forget to check our other blog posts for anything and everything about the hospitality industry.
