The hospitality industry includes all the businesses that provide services to customers. This includes lodging, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, tourism industry. It is more a customer oriented business. Customer service and customer satisfaction form the backbone of this industry.
This industry offers many career progression opportunities. But if one does not develop one’s skills to the right level, it would result in a negative impact on the individual career path and also the business performance. It is thus prudent that one has to manage his own development.
Key Hospitality Industry Skills
- Customer Service – Hospitality industry centred on people. Customer service is the foundation on which the hospitality stands. Good customer service makes the customer happy. A happy customer gives positive feedback and this helps in an increase in your business. Also, care has to be taken that an unhappy customer could give a negative feedback which would be a deterrent. Always remember that “Customer is the King!”
- Communication Skills – Good communication skills is very important if a person has to fare well in this industry. As you would be constantly interacting with the customer, any miscommunication with the customer could have an adverse effect.
- Language Skills–Ability to communicate with customers in a language that they are comfortable with is an invaluable skill. Any person working in this industry will meet people from different places. Being multilingual and would make you more successful. The more languages you speak, the better.
- Listening and Problem Solving Skills – This is one of the most important prerequisites in hotel management industry. Good listening skills help in determining guest concerns. The problem-solving skills help a person to make a good judgment and choose the best course of action.
- Building Connections – Always try to make positive connections with guests, customers, fellow employees, and vendors. Building a good rapport with people is a big plus point.
- Flexibility – Often, the hotel management requires working at odd hours or even longer hours. Being adaptable and versatile can take you a long way.
- Cultural Awareness–Since you would be interacting with people of various cultures on a daily basis, it is always good to have a good understanding of various cultures. This will help reduce chances of misunderstandings.
- Teamwork–The business is not run by one person. Hotel management especially employs more number of people. So teamwork and being a good team player is surely a plus point. Teamwork plays a major role in leading you to a successful career path.
The increased awareness of the importance of these skills in the hospitality industry has led to a new niche field in education: Hotel Management Courses. A number of institutions offer higher education courses in hotel management. Mumbai has many institutions pioneering in the teaching of digital marketing education.
It is seen that hotel management and hospitality industry these days is one of the major employers. At the same time, it is difficult for the employers to find people with a good mix of education, knowledge, and experience. It is imperative then that a person who wishes to pursue a career in this industry take up the courses available in hotel management institutes and have a good career graph.