If you love to create memorable experiences for other people, you're obsessed with travel and adventure or you have a passion for food then the hospitality industry could be perfect for you.
This huge industry employs one in ten people worldwide and encompasses a broad range of exciting areas you could choose a career in, including: events, theme parks, tourism, cruises, hotels, festivals, wellness travel, wilderness adventures, festivals, music venues and everything related to delicious food and beverage.
With some hospitality training and qualifications under your belt, you can take advantage of all the benefits this dynamic industry has to offer.
1. Be in demand in a growing industry
Getting an education is a big investment of time and money, and you want to be sure that it will pay off. Ideally, you want to pick a career where you'll be in high demand with your skillset, instead of competing with thousands of others for just a few jobs in your field.
If you choose some education or business management training in hospitality, tourism, hotels or events, you know that as soon as you graduate you are going to be offered a lot of work from a smorgasbord of employers. That's because right now there is a global shortage of skilled hospitality professionals.
In Australia, the hospitality industry is estimated to be short by over 94,000 trained staff in 2022, leading some restaurant and hotel employers to fly professionals in from overseas. At the same time, the industry is expected to keep growing over the next few years. All areas of hospitality are showing high estimates of growth in Australia to 2025, while globally the hospitality industry annual growth rate to 2028 is estimated at 10.24%. That means more jobs, with not enough skilled professionals to fill them.
2. Get promoted fast
If you are ambitious and a natural leader, you might be looking to move up the ladder into senior management positions as quickly as possible. One of the biggest advantages of a career in hospitality is that it allows you to do that.
Hospitality is an industry with one of the highest rates of promotion from junior and entry level positions. One recent study shows that more than 50% of those in hospitality management positions started their career in an entry-level role. Of those managers polled in the survey, 94.4% received a promotion within their first year of employment.
Many hospitality businesses tend to promote staff internally rather than hire from outside, providing some great opportunities for upward mobility. Big international hotel brands in particular are always looking to promote managers from within their team of staff.
3. Make lots of people happy
Hotels, restaurants, wellness retreats, events and festivals, and theme parks; the thing that all these hospitality businesses have in common is that they are all about making people happy, enriching their lives and offering them delightful and unforgettable experiences.
Working in hospitality can be really rewarding because you get to create wonderful experiences for people, and you can be there at some of the happiest and most meaningful times in their lives. If you are a people person and you love to organise events or look after guests in your home, you would likely benefit from a career in this people-focused industry.
4. Choose from diverse careers all around the world
One of the biggest benefits of working in the hospitality industry is that it offers so much choice in career direction. Hospitality skills and qualifications can be applied to many diverse positions and business types across lots of incredible destinations. You will absolutely never be bored as a hospitality professional.
Whenever you feel you need a new challenge or a change of scene, you can try a new type of role or a different kind of hospitality business in a totally new country.
You could use your hospitality management training to move into any of these careers:
- Adventure Tourism Manager in Argentina
- Front of House Manager at a luxury beachside hotel in the Caribbean
- Activities Coordinator at a wellness retreat in Thailand
- Restaurant Manager at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps
- Marketing Manager of a boutique hotel brand in New York
In fact, for many sectors of hospitality including accommodation, cruises and festivals, it's expected that you will travel around the world and get diverse experience across a variety of roles.
International skill sets like competency in multiple languages and having strong cultural awareness are also very much in demand in an industry built around travel. Plus, the qualifications you gain with training in hospitality are also typically recognised by employers worldwide.
5. Take advantage of leadership training programs
Another big advantage of careers in the hospitality industry are all the incredible leadership training programs on offer. Many major international hotel brands offer their employees really high quality, free leadership training programs that you can complete while still getting paid for your work.
Some of the most popular programs on offer from international hotel brands are:
- Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD) by Oberoi Group
- Taj Management Trainee Programme(TMTP) by Taj
- Voyage by Marriott Hotels
- Inspire by Accor Hotels Group
- Graduate Hospitality Programme by ITC Hotels
- Global Management Trainee Programme by Rosewood Hotel Group
These programs are designed to train up loyal and talented new leaders from within the company. They typically offer training across all areas including: front of house, food and beverage, operations, human resources, accounting and finance, events, culinary, and more.
6. Did we mention staff perks?
We can't mention the benefits of a career in hospitality without mentioning the staff perks. If you love getting discounts on accommodation or free hotel rooms, meals and drinks, not to mention tickets to concerts or access to fitness equipment and swimming pools: then you might also be into working in the hospitality industry.
Staff and professionals working in the hospitality industry can expect some nice freebies as part of their job, as a reward and acknowledgement for all the hard work and long hours they put in.
But, freebies aside, the working conditions on offer in the industry have also significantly improved. Because of the global shortage of hospitality professionals right now many employers are offering generous and flexible conditions to compete with each other and entice new staff. Many employers such as hotels are now offering: flexible vacation plans, parental leave, mental health support, better pay and shorter or more flexible hours.
Of course, you can't base a whole career choice on perks but good working conditions and some free nights in a hotel sure add a cherry on top of the pie.
If you're considering a career in hospitality, you might want to start your journey with a really good quality education.
See here for information on the different hospitality courses on offer at Torrens University Australia.
