Career in Hotel Management

Introduction

A cardinal part of hospitality industry, hotel management has wide employment opportunities. Moreover, with globalisation gaining acceptance with more and more countries, the hotel management industry is truly becoming global. As hotel chain owners are opening new hotels in various big and small cities, requirement for trained hotel management professionals is huge. Although considered one of the most glamorous careers, hotel management requires professionals who can keep their cool even in the most challenging situations.

Hotel management can include Hotel & Restaurant management, Cruise Ship Hotel management, Hospital Administration and Catering, Hotel and Tourism Associations, Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Club management, Forest Lodges, Guest Houses amongst others. Expansion of global travel industry and aviation industry is expected to boost hotel industry in next couple of years.

Step-by-Step

There are multiple job profiles in hotel management and depending upon the candidates' education, work experience, the positions are offered. However, in order to work in top level or middle-level management candidates must have a degree in travel management. Whereas some hotels hire graduates straight from universities, some other hotels hire only trained hotel management graduates. Candidates can do degree course in hotel management soon after 10+2 which are offered by various hotel management institutes. 

The minimum selection criteria for an undergraduate course in hotel management is 10+2 with 50% marks.  However, candidates who do not have 50% marks in +2 can do diploma or certificate course in hotel management which are being offered by various institutes. Additionally, some hotels provide training cum job placement and candidates who do not have other options can opt for it. Indian hotel management institutes conduct entrance exams before selecting the candidates for various courses.

Start Early

Students looking for a career in hotel management should have strong communication skills, reasoning skills, numerical aptitude and pleasing personality. Therefore, if some candidate is lacking in these skills, he must inculcate them in him and for that starting early definitely helps. Many students start preparing for entrance exams conducted by IHMs soon after their 10th board. Similarly, those who wish to go for higher studies in hotel management can do Masters in Hotel Management; for MHM the person is required to have BHM.

Is it the Right Career for Me?

Before jumping to any decision to select hotel management as a career option, it is always advised to analyse pros and cons, growth prospects, matching of work-profile with personality traits, etc. If the candidate is not willing to work in various profiles he may not be suitable for it as in hotel management an employee may be asked to work in management, food and beverage service, housekeeping, front office operation, sales and marketing, accounting or any other department depending upon the specific requirement.

What would it Cost Me?

Depending upon the rank and reputation of hotel management college the fee is charged from candidates. Whereas Garden City College at Bangalore charges around Rs 3,50,000 for  the three year graduate course, Christ College in the same city ask candidates to pay Rs 48,0000 per semester for 4 year BHM course. Similarly, a graduate course in hotel management at IHM Chennai can cost Rs 37,500 per semester. Students who are not willing to shell hefty amount on the courses from top notch hotel management institute may go for diploma courses offered by the same institutes.

Funding/Scholarship

Most of the hotel management institutes offer merit based concessions on fees to eligible candidates. Similarly, some institutes provide discounts to sponsored candidates who come for training. Junior Research Fellowship is offered to those candidates who are willing to explore their career in academics. Students looking for external funding can apply for low interest rate loan offered by most of the nationalised banks like Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, IDBI, etc. Students of all the hotel management institutes which are affiliated with AICTE are eligible to get a loan of Rs 7.50 lakh for studying in India and Rs 15 lakh to study outside India. The low interest rate education loan can be repaid in 5-7 years of duration in equal instalments starting one year after the completion of the course.

Job Prospects

Hotel management like any other sector is subject to the state of national economy and global economy. When the economy is doing well jobs come a lot in the sector. Currently there are more than 2.40 million people working in hotel, catering and allied industry in India and the number is going to increase in next couple of years as new hotels are coming up in large numbers in urban and semi-urban areas. Trained hotel management professionals would have privilege over untrained graduates as hotels are not willing invest in training of recruits rather prefer trained ones.

Pay Packet

Remuneration in hotel management industry differs depending upon the hotel management institute the candidate passed out from, work experience, skills and ability to handle tough situations. Those who come from top notch hotel management institutes such as IHM receive starting salary of Rs 20,000 or more. Similarly, candidates with diploma or certification programs can get salaries starting from Rs 8,000 to 10,000 . Again the salary package differs a lot on the size and shape of the employment company. Large hotel chains offer attractive remuneration and pamper their employees.

Demand and Supply

India not only has mismatch in terms of hotel room supply and demand but in terms of professionals required to manage hotels. Whereas the demand is much higher than the existing 1,14,000 hotel rooms across all categories, India is facing acute shortage of trained hotel staff. The situation in the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi shows the real picture wherein owing to dearth of trained hotel management professionals things were in sad state of affairs. Job prospects for hotel management graduates are expected to grow as new hotels would come up in next couple of years thanks to promotional offers from government. The shortage of trained human resource in hotel industry is advantageous to hotel management graduate who can bargain for high salary.

Market Watch

The current state of hotel industry shows that India is being seen as a lucrative destination for hotel chains looking for growth. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, India is 18th popular business travel destination and in next couple of years it would in top five. With shortage of hotel rooms, dearth of trained hotel management professionals, a lot needs to be done. With incentives coming from the Government of India, real estate developers and hoteliers are trying to build new hotels which would further the supply and increase the job opportunities for young hotel management graduates.

International Focus

Hilton hotel chain, Ramada hotel chain, Hyatt hotel chain, La Quinta hotel chain, Marriott hotel chain, Radisson hotel chain, Days Inn hotel chain, Best Western hotel chain, etc  offer attractive career option for hotel management graduates from top notch hotel management institutes. Hotel management graduates working in the USA hotels get minimum salary in the range of US$ 6000 to 7000. Many hotels in the USA provide high paying part-time jobs at various positions.

Positives/Negatives

Despite being known as one of the most glamorous careers there are various flipsides of working in hotel industry and one of them is hotel industry too like any other industry is subjected to the overall state of economy; therefore, it gets affected if the economy is not doing well and travellers are not frequenting the hotel. Similarly, new jobs come at the place of existing jobs as working professionals either are given new responsibilities at new hotel or they retire.  Handling pressuring situation with cool and poise is mandatory for hotel professionals. Long working hours, rude responses from customers, hectic timings, etc are some major drawbacks of career in hotel management.

Different Roles, Different Names

• General Managers: Such professionals are responsible for all operations in a hotel.
• Resident Managers: Bestowed with the job to be available at just a call away.
• Executive Housekeepers: These professionals are expected to ensure cleanliness in the hotel.
• Front Office Managers: Most of the hotels own front desk, Front Office Managers manage the same.
• Convention Services Managers: These professionals work in close coordination with client and the conferencing facilities offered by the hotel for various conventions, meetings, seminars, etc.

Tips for Getting Hired

There are no shortcuts for successful career in hospitality industry; particularly, hotel management industry is open only for talented management professionals who can show their capabilities and calibre. The best way to get in hotel management is to do a degree course and if degree cannot be pursued, do a certification. An internship with some hotels helps a lot to candidates as it provides practical experience and right exposure to candidates. There are some paid internships and some non-paid internships available for hotel management graduates. Some hotels even hire simple graduates and hone their skills in hotel management.

Top Companies

Hotel management jobs coming from top notch hotels in India offer attractive career and growth prospects. Some of the leading hotel chains in India are as follows:

• Ambassador Group of Hotels 
• Mansingh Group of Hotels 
• Oberoi Group of Hotels 
• Peerless Group of Hotels 
• Sarovar Park Group of Hotels 
• Sinclairs Group of Hotels
• Best Western Group of Hotels 
• Casino Group of Hotels 
• Clarks Group of Hotels 
• Fortune Park Group of Hotels 
• ITDC Group of Hotels 
• Jaypee Group of Hotels
• K Raheja Group of Hotels 
• Le Meridien Group of Hotels 
• Taj Group of Hotels 
• Tulip Star Group of Hotels 
• Welcome Heritage Group of Hotels 
• Holiday Inn Group of Hotels 
• HRH Group of Hotels
• ITC Group of Hotels 

Top Institutes

Dr.Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Chandigarh

• Institute of Hotel Management,  Jodhpur
• Institute of Hotel Management,  Kolkata 
• Institute of Hotel Management,  Lucknow
• Institute of Hotel Management,Gandhinagar
• Institute of Hotel Management, Bangalore
• Institute of Hotel Management, Bhopal
• Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar
• Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai
• Institute of Hotel Management, New Delhi 
• Delhi Institute of Hotel Management,  New Delhi 
• Institute of Hotel Management, Gangtok 
• Institute of Hotel Management, Goa
• Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Applied Nutrition,  Dehradun
• Institute of Hotel Management, Gurdaspur 
• Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati