The hotel industry is losing good professionals to other segments in the business process outsourcing (BPO), ICE and other service segments. Shrinking manpower is a real problem for this industry. Shortages are being felt across all levels of staff and management and across all departments. For HR professionals in this industry the biggest challenge is to source the requisite talent and to retain it.

This should be good news for the students with a desire and passion to join the Hotel Management Sector. Whenever an Industry goes into such a phase there is a lot of pressure to recruit and retain talented personnel by giving a fast track of growth. Salaries too shoot up for the best. The employers also make their best efforts to improve the quality of work environment. The pressure of retaining people in today’s competitive environment is already being significantly felt. And it’s changing the management structure as well as the working environment. Managers are paying more attention to employee motivation.

This sector is driven by an ambitious target of the government of India – to attract five million tourists per year. To attract five million tourists, we need approximately 1, 20,000 hotel rooms. Right now, we have only 60,000. Another 49,000 rooms are under construction. Estimates suggest that 1, 50,000 new jobs in the hotel industry will be created.

JOBS: Job opportunities are varied – front office executives, housekeepers, guest relations executives, chefs, restaurant managers in hotels, customer service executives, tour managers, ticketing and reservation executives in tourism agencies.

REQUIREMENTS: Most hotels employ people with qualifications in hotel management. People with certificate course start at low levels, while those with a diploma or degree start as executive or management trainees. Many hotels also take HSC pass-outs as apprentices and promote them to various positions. Tourism sector employs people with a Certificate in Ticketing and Reservation, Diploma in Tourism, Bachelor’s degree in Tourism , MBA and MTA (Master of Tourism Administration).

PAY: Management trainees and executives earn Rs.7, 000-15,000 in 5-star hotels per month. Lower level positions get you Rs.2, 000-5,000. On confirmation, managerial and executive positions fetch salaries in the range of Rs.20, 000-50,000. In the tourism sector, customer service executives and tour managers get Rs.10, 000-20,000 per month and management trainees get Rs.7, 000-15,000 initially.

Besides Hotels a Hotel Management Graduate can also work for Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Clubs, Cruise Ship Hotels, Tourism Associations, Forest Lodges and Guest Houses. He can also go in for Institutional Management (supervising canteens in college, schools, in factories, company guest houses etc.) or Self employment.

One can enter this field by direct entry or through Hotel Management institutes. For direct entry the vacancies are generally advertised in the newspapers and the minimum prescribed qualification is graduation with 50% marks. They are trained by the hotels themselves.

There are a lot of educational institutes that provide professional degrees in hotel management. Below are listed a few institutes that offer Hotel Management Degrees:

• AMITY UNIVERSITY
• National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, New Delhi,
• The Welcome Group Graduate school of Hotel Administration, Manipal,
• National Institute of Hotel Management, Dehradun,
• ITM Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Navi Mumbai,
• Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management, Ooty

In Indian hotel industry major players among the Indian Hotels are EIH, ITC Hotels, Hotel Leela Ventures, Bharat Hotels and Asian Hotels. Several International chains including Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Hyatt, Radisson, Best Western, Days Inn, Hilton, Quality Inn, Ramada Inn, Meridien, Kempenski, Four Seasons, Regent, Radisson and Marriott International are entering and expanding their hotel network in India. In restaurants, several foreign chains like McDonalds, Pizza Express, Dominos, Barista, Pizza Hut, and PepsiCo’s Kentucky Fried Chicken have made a major presence.

Hotel Industry offers dynamic and exciting career options. Those who want to build a career in hospitality are required to be flexible and adaptable. They are also required to possess an eye for detail. Above all the should not be afraid of hard work.

For Comments: psjamwal@amity.edu