Hotel Management Career Opportunities

Hotel management courses are offered at many colleges and universities as part of academic programs leading to professional certificates, undergraduate degrees or graduate degrees in hospitality management or hotel administration. Some institutions may also offer doctoral degrees in this field.

Here are some of the core concepts you’ll encounter while studying hotel management:

• Management basics
• Communications
• Service industry principles
• Hospitality cash management
• Advertising
• Regulatory standards for hotels

Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management

Bachelor’s degree programs in hotel management offer hospitality overview classes. Within large facilities, hotel management duties are often divided into many areas, so students pursuing their bachelor’s degree may choose to concentrate elective classes on a specific area, such as kitchen management, events, sales, or front office management.

There is also a strong business component in most bachelor’s degree programs. Graduates are prepared to handle financial documents, such as inventory reports, marketing plans, consumer reports and pay schedules, and are also expected to complete an internship. Below is a sample of course topics:

• Accounting
• Cost and resource control
• Marketing
• Facilities management
• Hotel business law
• Food and beverage systems

Master’s Degree in Hotel Management

Master’s degree work in this field prepares students for supervisory positions at the highest levels of the hospitality industry, including in customer service, entertainment, or lodging settings. CEOs and CFOs of casinos, luxury hotels and resorts are required to have master’s degrees as well as years of experience in hospitality management.

Hotel management college programs at the graduate level may require a student to research and present a thesis in order to graduate. The 2-year curriculum emphasizes topics such as:

• Technology in hotels
• Legalities
• Entrepreneurship
• Global tourism
• Corporate finance

Graduates of 2-year hotel management college programs may be qualified to become general managers in a small- or average-size hotel, but are more likely to assist managers with more experience and education. A bachelor’s degree also qualifies them to work for catering companies, airlines, cruise lines, hotel consulting firms, theme parks and boarding facilities. Popular career options include dining room supervisor, guest services manager, management trainee or assistant food and beverage manager. Graduates of a master’s in hotel management can achieve leadership positions in a variety of hospitality settings acting as a Chief Executive Officer, General Manager, college instructor, director of tourism, or hospitality consultant.

Individuals seeking to become hotel managers can pursue 2-year associate’s and 4-year bachelor’s degree programs, while a 2-year master’s degree program can lead to higher-level management positions. These programs prepare students for employment by honing their hospitality, customer service, and financial management skills.

Eligibility Criteria

• Minimum qualification necessary for a Hotel management course is 10+2.  Depending on the cost and duration of the course, one can opt for a certificate ,Diploma or degree course.
• Certificate courses can be of six months to one year duration, a Diploma of two years and a degree course of three year duration.
• Selection for government recognized colleges and institutes is done through the common entrance test held in April every year. The test consists of multiple choice questions in English, Reasoning, General Science and General knowledge.

Personal Attributes

Candidates need to be hardworking and should possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to handle disputes or criticism with patience. He/she should be co-operative ,polite and respectful towards guests in all situations

Job Prospects

There are many exciting jobs opportunities for hotel management graduates with the increasing competition in the hotel industry. Since a hotel has many departments such as Operations, Front Office, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Engineering/ Maintenance, Security etc. one can opt for a field of their liking and pursue a career and successfully grow in it.

Apart from jobs in Hotels and restaurants, hotel management Diploma holders /graduates can find good jobs in:

• Airline Catering (flight kitchen) and Cabin Services
• Club management
• Cruise Ship Hotel Management
• Hospital administration and catering
• Hotel and Tourism Associations (for eg: state tourism development corporations)
• Hospitality services in the Indian Navy
• Hospitality services in various MNCs
• Forest Lodges
• Guest Houses, resorts
• Kitchen Management (in hotels or running canteens in college, schools, in factories, company guest houses etc.)
• Catering departments of railways, banks, armed forces, shipping companies etc.
• Hotel and catering institutes (as a management trainee/ marketing or sales executive)
• Self employment (as an entrepreneur)

Salary

• Upon completion of a Diploma or degree course in Hotel Management, one can get in to the industry as a trainee and then be absorbed into various positions after completing the training. The entry level salary of a Hotel Management graduate can be around Rs.7000 to Rs.10,000 and can increase with growing experience in the field