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Hospitality management is a very broad sector stretching from food and beverages to cruise ships, amusement parks, hotels and spas - but what’s it like to work in one of the world’s biggest, most profitable industries? We found out for you.
Hospitality ranks among the world’s happiest industries
In TINYpulse’s survey of the world’s 10 happiest industries, hospitality was ranked sixth. Surveying over 30,000 employees at more than 500 companies, the report predominantly focused on employee satisfaction with colleagues and one’s individual projects.
Why is everyone so satisfied? Well, as the industry has traditionally had a high turnover rate, many hospitality companies have redoubled their efforts to increase workplace happiness and productivity. For instance, the Mantra Group, an Australian hotel and accommodation company, offers employees the chance to receive training on the go.
Cherie McGill, executive director human resources at Mantra Group, told HRM (Human Resources Management): “Our training is flexible because we expect flexibility. Our training can be completed on a laptop, a phone at work or at home.” This focus on personal development and advancement is great news for anyone entering the sector who wants to keep adding strings to their bow.
Industry growth, graduate salaries and job security
As the global economy continues to recover from a decade of recession, the hospitality industry is booming once again. While job insecurity may have become a fact of life for many people, those working in hospitality management enjoy comfortable incomes and good job security. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management working in travel and hospitality services earn average salaries of US$73,100 in the US, according to PayScale.
Hospitality also continues to be the second fastest-growing industry in the world after healthcare. In fact, in May 2017, hospitality was the industry with the highest job opening rate in the US, at 4.9 percent, with 5.1 million new hires that year.
By 2025, a large chunk of the world’s jobs will be in hospitality and tourism (10.5 percent), contributing as much as US$11.3 trillion to the world GDP, according to a recent report.
Indeed, as new technologies threaten to render many careers redundant, hospitality jobs are expected to survive the dangers of automation. A report by Fortune looked at jobs most likely to be replaced by technology and found that roles which involved “interacting with customers, suppliers or stakeholders” and “managing and developing people” had the lowest automation potential.
Human interaction is at the heart of leisure and hospitality so, while new gadgets like virtual reality or artificial intelligence may enhance and complement customer experience, technology will never replace a human face.
New disruptive forces in the market: automation and artificial intelligence
The global hospitality industry has been leveraging from the power of online to enhance their marketing and customer experience for some years now. In 2016, more than half of travelers who booked trips online did so using their smartphone or tablet, according to a report by Hospitality.net.
Indeed, from targeting social media and web ads by geo-location to creating digital concierge systems, not to mention special discount apps, hospitality and travel companies have been forced to integrate big data collection and online services into their business model to survive.
Like hospitality businesses, students interested in working in the field must prepare for the digital economy and gain digital skills, including data analytics, mobile development and marketing automation.
Where better to gain those skills (and many others) than on emlyon business school’s MSc in International Hospitality Management? The full-time 16 month program will take you to Lyon, Paris and Shanghai, where you will learn about the future of the global hospitality industry and complete a four to six-month internship with the company of your choice. Find out more about the degree here.