Working in hospitality industry

A hotel is a complex operation. It includes places for people to sleep, to eat, to shop; there are often recreational facilities and areas for public gatherings. Because of its complexity, it is not possible to speak of a single career in the hotel industry; there is instead a wide variety of different careers.

The top people in the hotel industry are managers. The majority of them hold management positions in individual hotels, but some work in the executive offices of the hotel chains.

The principal function of management is to coordinate all the different activities that take place in a hotel. The managerial personnel must therefore have a broad range of experience in the various departments of a hotel.

One of the most important divisions of the hotel's administrative staff is the accounting department. Hotel accounting has many distinctive features because guests' bills must be kept up-to-date. All charges that a guest incurs must be entered, or posted, in his or her account as soon as possible. In addition to the charge for the guest's room, there may also be charges resulting from the use of telephone, the laundry service, the restaurant and room service.

Some hotel management people have worked their way to the top without formal education in the field. They combined in-the-job experience with the special talents and personal qualities that are necessary for a successful hotel career.

It should be noted that one necessary personal characteristics in hotel management, and indeed throughout the hotel world, is the desire to serve and please the guests. The hotel business is often called the hospitality industry because of the importance of genuine warmth in dealing with the guests.

The executive staff of a hotel includes many people with special skills, experience or professional training. The promotion staff, for example, must know not only the hotel field, but also advertising and public-relations techniques. The head housekeeper runs a complex organization with many employees, she needs to know the intricacies of purchasing on a large scale, as well as how to make beds and clean carpets properly.

The members of the engineering and maintenance staffs need education, expertise, and experience which in a large hotel may be very diverse. The chefs and cooks, even though they are out of sight of the public, are important to the success of a hotel. Sometimes food and beverage department in some hotels brings in more income than room rentals. Good cooking is a skill that requires natural aptitude; indeed, many people consider cooking an art. In France and Switzerland, people who wish to become chefs often begin to work as apprentices at an early age. They are trained by an experienced chef in all aspects of kitchen work, cooking and restaurant management. A head chef must be an expert not only in cooking itself, but also in planning, purchasing and supervising other kitchen personnel.

Most of the remaining workers in the hotel world can be classified as skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. The carpenters and upholsterers in maintenance, the plumbers and electricians in engineering, and the gardeners in the ground department are among the workers usually classified as skilled. They all require special aptitudes combined with special training. Semi-skilled workers include waiters and chambermaids, who must have training for their particular duties. Examples of unskilled workers are the helpers and dishwashers in the kitchen or the laborers who perform such chores as loading or unloading shipments of supplies and equipment.

The economic benefits in hotel work can be very substantial. The top people in management, the staff in the chain headquarters, executive housekeepers, and food and beverage managers receive good salaries. Owner-managers of small hotels can make a comfortable living, combined with economic independence. Top chefs are also very well paid. There is often sharp competition in hiring them. Many hotel employees receive additional income from tips. Bellmen, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, captains, doormen and chambermaids customarily supplement their wages through tips.

Besides pay from salaries, wages and tips, some hotel employees also receive other benefits. The manager of a hotel, for instance, usually has a room or even a suite at his disposal; many managers live permanently in their hotels. Except for the executive staff, most hotel employees wear uniforms while they are working, thus saving a considerable amount of money on clothing. For employees in the hotel-chain headquarters or the promotional staff there are often frequent opportunities for travel.