Is a Degree in Hospitality Management Good?
The hospitality industry is enormous and spans the whole globe. In fact, travel and tourism jobs account for roughly ten percent of the jobs available in the entire world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The fact that there are so many employment opportunities available in the hospitality industry means that pursuing a career in hospitality management could be lucrative.
If hospitality management is something that interests you, then you should strongly consider seeking out a degree in hospitality management in order to put yourself in the best position to succeed both short-term and long-term.
Jobs in the Hospitality Industry
There are tons of different jobs in the hospitality industry. In fact, the hospitality industry includes hotels and resorts, restaurants, commercial food services, travel and tourism, casino management, the food and beverage industry, spa and wellness management, and more.
What makes the hospitality industry so attractive to a lot of workers is the fact that entry-level positions are relatively easy to get. Whereas many other industries require experience even for entry-level jobs, there are many options for those with no experience at all in the hospitality industry. In fact, it's not impossible to start from a low-paying position and work your way up to a management position over the years.
However, obtaining a hospitality management degree will not only help you to advance your career much faster, it will also open up many more opportunities throughout the hospitality management industry.
When it comes to hospitality management positions, you'll find that there are basically two types: front-line management positions and corporate management positions. Front-line management positions include hotel managers, casino supervisors, travel agents, event planners, restaurant owners, tour managers and more. Corporate management positions include customer service managers, asset managers, public relations officers, human resources officers and more.
Skills Needed for a Career in Hospitality Management
The following are some of the skills that you will need to learn or develop if you want to pursue a career in hospitality management:
- Organization skills - Organizational skills are vital as a manager in the hospitality industry. This is especially true with positions such as event planners, tour managers, hotel managers, and travel agents. For example, a lack of organization skills can cause you to double book an event, which can be disastrous for your business.
- Finance skills - Many positions will require you to be able to keep track of day-to-day finances, and how to stick to a budget.
- Customer service skills - The hospitality industry is all about serving customers, which means that you will need to know how to provide good customer service, how to meet the needs of your customers, how to deal with customer complaints, and more.
- Leadership skills - Management positions of all types require leadership skills. You will have staff working below you, after all. You need to learn how to motivate your staff, how to hire staff, how to delegate tasks, and other duties.
- Business skills - You will need to know the basics of how a business operates in order to obtain a management position. Otherwise, you could end up making serious mistakes that could cost your business money. Not to mention that you need to know what's allowed and what isn't when it comes to the operation of a business.
- Food service knowledge - Because the hospitality industry consists of many businesses that serve food, food service knowledge is something that you will need to have.
The Benefits of a Hospitality Management Degree
Technically, you could work your way up the ladder in the hospitality industry in order to reach a management position. However, not only can this take some time to do, which means you'll have to live off of lower wages at entry-level positions, but you'll be restricted to certain types of businesses. For example, just because you've worked your way up to a hotel manager does not mean that you will be able to run a restaurant.
By enrolling in a hospitality management program, you should be able to get a balanced education that will allow you to pursue a variety of different management positions and opportunities throughout the entire hospitality industry. You won't have to worry about working your way up all the way from the bottom, and you'll help set yourself apart from other applicants who may have some experience but lack a well-rounded education.
A good hospitality management program will offer courses that cover accounting, business, marketing, financial management, business organizational management, macroeconomics, microeconomics, facility management, customer service, food service cost control, purchasing and storeroom management, menu engineering and more.
Are you interested in a career in hospitality management? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Hospitality Management, ECPI University offers this program at an accelerated rate. For more information about how to sign up today, connect with a helpful admissions advisor today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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Gainful Employment Information – Hospitality Management - Bachelor’s
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