A Career in Hospitality

Most people who are not part of the hospitality “family” seem to imagine that the only possible career paths are to be a waiter or a maid. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with those roles (in fact most of my education has been paid by money I earned as a waiter) but the possibilities for a hospitality career should not be limited by people who do not allow their imagination to fully explore opportunities.

I remember one particular mother during a University open day event asking me “Why does my son need a degree to become a waiter?”.  Sadly the mother was completely against the son studying hospitality (she wanted him to become a doctor instead).  This story has a good ending since the son studied what he wanted.  He was top of his class and continued to a wonderful career in hospitality.  I lost track of him in recent years but my guess is he probably earns much more than I do by now.

So during the 2010 Hospitality colloquium we tried to cram as many presentations as possible covering hospitality sectors that were not normally picked by student radars.  Contract Catering, Club Management, Revenue management were only a few of those sectors and I covered e-hospitality.  This video is a short extract of the 15 minute presentation and although I was talking about online business models in hospitality, the essence of my message was that hospitality students should keep an open mind and strive for careers that allow them to gain experience in more than just the traditional sectors. 

My Personal career saw me go through various roles in hospitality starting  as assistant waiter, waiter, trainee manager, PR  officer, marketer, restaurateur, night manager, reservations manager, hotelier, consultant, academic.  I am still very much enjoying been part of the hospitality family and I never allowed a role to limit my enjoyment.  Although these days I mainly teach and research I still enjoy my consultancy and hands on experience whenever I am home having fun with our family hotel & restaurant.

 I guess I have been very lucky to have been born in a hospitality family but what I count as my best blessing is getting a good education in hospitality management without which I would not be the person that I am today.  I would wish the same luck and better to anyone considering a career in hospitality management. And the best way that I know to help your luck is to chose the right qualification for you!

Just keep an open mind and go for what you truly want to achieve... you may just find that the possibilities in this industry are endless!