Hospitality Management Field Explained

What Exactly Is The Hospitality Management Field?

The hospitality management field is responsible for providing a variety of services in a hotel, restaurant, casino, or tourist destination vacation setting. There are endless management positions available within the ever-growing hospitality field. Components of hospitality management include lodging, spa, travel, events, as well as food and catering.

If you are someone who adapts well to diverse environments, is a natural-born leader, and is eager to provide quality customer service, you should consider obtaining your degree in hospitality management and searching for an entry level-position.

Qualities Needed

To work successfully in a hospitality position, it is critical that you are service oriented and possess good people skills. This is a social position so be friendly! It is your job to be focused on customer service and greet patrons with an obliging nature at all times.

There is nothing worse than being served by a rude waiter, bartender, or front desk manager. Hospitality managers must also have the skills to interact effectively with coworkers and other industry professionals.

Education

There are hundreds of schools across the country that offer accredited degree programs in hospitality management. These degree programs provide you with the skills necessary to succeed in your area of specialization such as culinary, travel, or hotel management.

Furthermore, the coursework is designed to give students a foundational education in business fundamentals. Obtaining a hospitality management advanced degree will allow you to pursue higher-paying positions within this field of work such as a managerial or executive job.

Career Paths

There are a variety of different positions within the hospitality management field that you may pursue once you have obtained your degree. The field offers many opportunities for management positions within the service industry. Take a look at the possible career paths and see what avenue you may be interested in pursuing.

Travel and Lodging

One of the biggest industries within hospitality is travel and lodging. This can include work within hotels, lodging, and resorts. You may manage housekeeping, guest services, a cruise ship tour, or work in human resources.

Spa

Working in the spa and relaxation industry is another career choice possibility within this expansive field. You may work in operations management of a spa, hold a technician job, or provide customer service at a front desk position. Spa managers ensure that high quality service is being provided in a cosmetology setting.

Events

Event planning can be a very rewarding and exciting field to enter. You may manage or plan weddings, fundraisers, banquets, or company conventions. Event planning can be hectic and requires strong organizational skills as well the ability to think creatively and on your feet. Within this field you may also work in catering services to provide food and beverages for events.

Casino Management

Casino management may very well be the most lucrative position in the hospitality management field. Casino managers ensure that the entire facility is running smoothly and professionally.

Casino managers must oversee the clientele as well as their employees at all times. With large amounts of money circulating on the floor of a casino, a manager must make sure that proper security is in place to safeguard against fraudulent activity.

Food and Beverage

Providing food and beverage services is an important part of hospitality management. Occupations within this specific field include a restaurant or bar manager, catering supervisor, or a director of food and beverage within a hotel or casino. Working within foodservice operations is a high-demand career that is needed in almost any hospitality setting.

Typically, within hospitality management, those in the foodservice operations field deal with everything that happens in the front or the back-of- the house. For example, a restaurant owner or operator may interact directly with customers as well as manage workers in the kitchen. The top responsibility for a food service manager is to ensure that patrons have a pleasant dining experience and kitchen procedures run smoothly.

Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for Food Service Managers within the Hospitality field in 2015 was $46,690 per year. There are a range of specific job positions within hospitality management, and annual salary will depend on your occupation, the facility in which you work, as well as your resume of experience.

Read, Read and Read Some More

One of the best suggestions I have for anyone thinking of going to culinary school or just getting into the restaurant industry is to read everything you can get your hands on. Learn from professional chefs who have worked in the industry and those who have taught in culinary schools.

There are many great books available to get you started in your culinary education and I suggest you read as much as possible before making that big decision to make sure this is the right move for you. Below is just a sample of books you might be interested in checking out.

For a much more comprehensive list of books for aspiring culinary, baking and restaurant management students, I suggest checking out my post on books for future culinary students and chefs.