Introduction:
What is hospitality? In simple words, hospitality is a relation between a host and a guest. The host lays out an amiable and generous reception for his guest followed by entertainment. The business framework worldwide has an industry dedicated to hospitality called the Hospitality Industry. Defined as “a broad category of fields and businesses within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism”, the industry includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants, motels, theme parks and more.
Don’t you think these terms come from one BIG umbrella? Continue reading to find out.
The Big Four of the hospitality industry include:
Food and Beverages
If you are more acquainted with the term F&B, let us tell you that it is straightened out to Food and Beverages and is the largest fragment of the hospitality industry. As the name suggests, the F&B segment comprises and guards arrangements responsible for preparing food and beverages for consumption on and off the field. “Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness” – the hospitality industry can monetize this old and famous food adage. Pursuing a business in the hospitality discipline means pursuing customer satisfaction. Thus, don’t you think the food and beverages services should be top-notch to win the hearts of a customer? Besides, picture yourself on a vacation with so-so food quality and taste. Would you rate your experience a five star? Unquestionably, it is crucial for hospitality industry experts to ensure that their F&B sector is bang on!
Travel and Tourism
Modes of transportation such as buses, cabs, trains, ships and airplanes make the travel industry. Travel can either be leisure or business or combination of both. Leisure travel comprises lodging, food and recreation and business travel comprises lodging and food. Recreation is the only base of differentiation between the two types of travel. When we say a combination of both we mean to target a cohort of executives-cum-customers who spend their money on recreational activities while on a business trip. Why are tourism ads high on arousing an urge to travel amongst the viewers? Because the main agenda of tourism is to sell travel tickets. And when people travel, they will require hospitality! There you go; the hospitality industry banks on travel and tourism for business. What are your views?
Lodging
Simply put, lodging is temporary accommodation. While you are out, away from home, you need lodging to spend the night. 5-star hotels, motels, zostels, campgrounds, resorts and any other shelter services fall synonymous to lodging. Businesses that entertain travelers such as business travelers, leisure travelers, budget travelers and others collaborate with the lodging industry. This collaboration not only ensures customer satisfaction for the businesses but also helps the lodging sector to run and grow.
Recreation
Recreation is nothing but any exercise deployed to uplift the mood of people. From movies to spas to museums, anything that helps a person refresh, relax and enjoy is recreational. Sports stadiums, amusement parks, music venues, dance companies and theatrical industry are all segments of the recreation industry.
Now, can you say that you are familiar with the four different concepts of the hospitality industry?
What’s next? We cannot help but wonder about the success of the hospitality industry! Who do you think takes home the most credits? We believe it’s the hospitality manager and leader. What is so special about a leader from the hospitality industry?
List of top 4 skills of a hospitality leader includes:
Maintain data transparency
In the hospitality industry, it is crucial to ensure that every service provider – from a leading manager to an intern – develops dominance over the same data. Why so?
No matter how hard you try to delegate work and have troops of employees dedicated to their batch of customers, any customer, in all likelihood, can run into an employee looking after another group of guests. At that moment, if the concerned staff blurts out wrong information and/or is futile with his service, the ranking of your organization can go downhill. Thus, as a leader, you must guarantee data transparency amongst your staff members.
Strike a healthy rapport with your crew
When we say, “a healthy rapport”, we mean to hint at building a fulfilling relationship with your staff – not only professionally but also personally. The hospitality industry cannot run on mind alone. One needs a fine balance of mind and heart to keep the arrangement up and running. In an ambiance where you are expected to put on your best smile, the staff cannot afford to work half-heartedly. For hospitality leaders, it is always suggested to create a management style that empowers the team to accomplish company goals with interest. Following your leadership, if your crew can brew participation and creativity, you are in for a promotion.
Acknowledge and attend the minute details
This skill does not have to necessarily do with guests alone. A leader can be considerate of his staff requirements too. For instance, if you know that your guest is allergic to a selected few condiments and you are diligent about his food preparation, you are pleasing your guests with the best to offer. Moreover, you are contributing to the success of your company. Besides, if you know that one of your staff members has an impending approved personal leave, as a leader, you must take the lead. To ensure that the concerned employee can enjoy his day off, you can pass on the duties well in advance. Attention to detail has been one of the most treasured skills of hospitality leaders.
Build interpersonal skills
While the above-mentioned skills can help you climb the success ladder, cultivating people skills is another valuable talent. As a part of the hospitality industry, you will meet new people everyday. Furthermore, you’ll be around people during the most hours of your day. Don’t you think that a hospitality leader must be good with people? Developing interpersonal skills that can help you treat your guests with warmth and goodness can go a long way! Hence, if you are striving to unfold the leader in you, consider honing your people skills.
Lastly, let us look at the jobs in the Hospitality Industry.
Hospitality Industry jobs include:
Hospitality Services Assistant
They are responsible for staff management. Further, their duties comprise streamlining communication and ensuring beyond satisfactory guest experience
Front-desk clerk
A front-desk employee is client-facing and provides the very first impression of the business module. Thus, it is imperative for them to be bang on with their people and communication skills. Attending the different enquiries that flow in and out throughout the day, booking appointments and offering fine customer service are some of their top job roles.
Restaurant manager
Great food and its service is a stepping stone to success for the restaurant. In addition to meeting this requirement, a restaurant manager’s duty is to take care of the staff, food safety guidelines, finance-related challenges and other daily operations.
Event server
An event server is answerable for the success or failure of an event. From planning to delegating to executing and finally winding up, an event manager oversees everything.
Hotel general manager
They have to be on their toes to troubleshoot in an attempt to not jeopardize the hotel’s reputation. Their duties include managing hotel finances, building staff camaraderie as well as a cordial relation with every group of guests.
Final words:
Needless to say, the hospitality sector is vast and on toes at all times. It is one of those businesses that are laser-focused on customer delight and satisfaction. Today, the hospitality industry is a multibillion-dollar business. Furthermore, disposable leisure time and revenue and successful conveyance of utmost customer satisfaction are a couple of economic factors that can either make or break the industry.
Without a doubt, the hospitality industry has experienced massive success in the last few decades. If anything, its growth graph is anticipated to go through the roof. Should you be interested in developing a career in the rewarding field of hospitality, feel free to be our guests! We’d be beyond happy to help you move closer to your dream profession.
