What is the hospitality industry?

The definition of hospitality industry work is a segment of services that support people traveling or visiting certain places for pleasure. The industry includes businesses classified as performing hospitality work, such as hotels, sporting event venues, restaurants, cruises and other tourism-related businesses.

Hospitality work often proves lucrative for both business owners and workers because it derives profits from customers’ leisure time, disposable income and complete satisfaction.

These services fall into five major categories:

• Tourism: This segment of hospitality work includes travel agencies and marketing agencies focusing on tourism. Other tourism-related businesses include roadside attractions and guided tour operations.
• Transportation: The transportation end of the tourism industry gets people where they’re going and around that space during their visits. These businesses include airlines, trains, buses, taxis, cruise ships and crowdsourced transport, such as Uber and Lyft.
• Events: Events included in the definition of the hospitality industry include concerts, conventions and fundraisers. Venues catering to personal special occasions also fall into this sector, such as businesses that handle weddings, birthday or anniversary parties and family reunions.
• Lodging: Places where people sleep when away from home fall under the umbrella of the hospitality industry’s lodging segment. These establishments may be anything from small bed and breakfasts and Airbnb rentals to midsize motels and corporate hotels.
• Food and beverage: The food and beverage sector comprises businesses that provide ready-made meals and drinks to customers. While these businesses may be in exotic locales, they’re also right in your own neighborhood. Some examples include restaurants, diners, sports bars and coffee shops.

Attracting workers to jobs in the hospitality industry

Work in the hospitality industry offers an exciting and fulfilling career filled with numerous opportunities and potential for growth. When you’re trying to attract workers to jobs in the hospitality industry, you may find that the most common applicants are students and adventure seekers—and sometimes even both.

The following are some of the most attractive benefits of working in this sector and things you might emphasize when creating effective job ads for hospitality work:

• Exposure to diverse people
• Interesting experiences
• A social environment
• Industry perks
• Excellent career prospects
• Flexible scheduling

Exposure to diverse people

Employees who work in hotels meet diverse people from all over the world, and they’re often exposed to different cultures and languages on a daily basis. As such, many of the skills learned in hospitality and tourism scale up, no matter where you go around the globe. Jobs in the hospitality industry may be sought by workers who like experiencing international environments and visiting different countries, those studying abroad or U.S. students who wish to immerse themselves in a language they’re studying.Related: 4 Ways to Ask Cultural Interview Questions

Interesting experiences

Hospitality work may be a good fit for workers who don’t like repetition. Tourists, business travelers, wedding parties and convention and event-goers can make each day different.

While the pace and rigor of jobs in the hospitality industry require a strong work ethic, they typically reward the ambitious with interesting experiences. Employees never know what kind of guest request they may get next, and they might also meet the occasional luminary or celebrity.

A social environment

Hospitality work gives employees opportunities to work, meet and socialize with great people from around the world. Jobs in the hospitality industry expose workers to numerous potential contacts on a daily basis, helping them build confidence in their communication skills and discover more about the world with every new person they work with or serve.

Industry perks

Many hospitality jobs provide employees with staff meals, uniforms and transportation. Workers may also be entitled to discounts on hotel accommodations throughout the world, as well as partner airlines and car rental firms.

For those who love to travel, these benefits and perks are just more reasons why jobs in the hospitality industry often prove valuable. The nature of the hospitality industry also encourages tipping and gratuities, which can bring earnings up higher than work in other sectors.

Excellent career prospects

Given the nature of the industry, such as seasonal peaks, staff movement with hospitality and tourism is robust. As a result, workers entering most sectors can typically expect strong job growth, high employment levels and opportunities for promotion. If employees stay through all seasons, they might even attain a senior-level position in a relatively short time.

Flexible scheduling

Perfect for students, jobs in the hospitality industry usually offer flexible scheduling. This makes hospitality work a great choice for those with both light and heavy class loads, but it also entices older workers who may only want to work limited hours due to family commitments or a full-time job. Flexible scheduling also provides employees with time to enjoy potential industry perks and explore the locales in which they work.

What is a hospitality job?

So, what are hospitality jobs, and what types of workers do well in these positions? This list outlines some common jobs in the hospitality industry and the employees they attract:

• Event manager/coordinator
• Hotel general manager
• Concierge
• Waiter
• Head of food and beverage

Event manager/coordinator

Numerous hotels and resorts have a convention center or banquet hall where they employ managers to organize events and bookings. An event manager ensures events have the proper staff and coordinate with employees who make satisfying event execution happen. If there’s a convention in town, for example, an events manager might organize a meeting space, secure audiovisual equipment, arrange catering services and reserve rooms. Those who do well in these positions typically have strong communication and organizational skills, plus the ability to pivot when unexpected events occur.

Hotel general manager

A hotel general manager oversees all the functions that keep the hospitality business operating efficiently. A hotel general manager’s duties include hiring employees, evaluating staff performance, handling guest complaints and maintaining budgets. A general manager must be aware of every aspect of a hospitality establishment, including dining, fitness and convenience options such as laundry service within the hotel. They must also ensure things run well on a daily basis, such as making sure rooms get cleaned. This makes a broad range of skills plus a keen eye for detail ideal requirements for this hospitality work.

Concierge

A concierge helps hotel guests with requests such as booking flight reservations, securing theater tickets, booking tours, organizing childcare, suggesting restaurants and arranging transportation. Luxury hotels require concierges to have extensive experience in the hospitality industry and solid knowledge of the locations they serve. The ideal candidate for a concierge position is both a master of all trades who’s good with people and capable of creating and maintaining a large network of relationships with tertiary tourism businesses.

Server

A server works in hotels, restaurants and casinos, handling customer orders, serving food and beverages and receiving payments from patrons. Depending on the establishment, these essential employees can learn a lot about cuisine, wine and liquor to improve their skill sets. These fast-paced and physically demanding jobs in the hospitality industry typically involve standing or walking throughout a shift and carrying food, beverages and trays. Partially compensated through gratuities, this hospitality work is often ideal for individuals who enjoy face-to-face customer engagement. These positions also offer greater flexibility for students.

Head of food and beverage

Supervising food and beverage is a responsibility that affects every person in the establishment or on the ship. Strict quality control, attentive service and thorough cleanliness make all the difference in the well-being of guests, crew and even entertainers. Some duties required of heads of food and beverages include maintaining operations within budget, keeping dining areas and bars well-stocked and establishing performance standards for cooks, bartenders and wait staff. Good management skills let these workers easily coordinate with other staff members.

Frequently asked questions about the hospitality industry

These are some commonly asked questions about the hospitality industry:

What skills are required in the hospitality industry?

These skills are beneficial for working in the hospitality industry:

• Excellent communication skills
• Great interpersonal and customer service skills
• Flexibility, problem-solving and multitasking skills
• Curiosity and interest in other countries, cultures and languages
• Openness and a teamwork mentality

Related: How to Motivate Your Employees

What are important ethics in the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry serves customers who must trust in the reliability of the establishments that care for them. Below are some basic tenets that define ethics in the hospitality industry:

• Commitment to excellence
• Concern and respect for others
• Trustworthiness
• Honesty
• Accountability
• Leadership
• Fairness
• Discretion