What Can I Do with My Hospitality Management Degree?

To get into the management sector in the hospitality industry, you often need a university degree.

However, before you make the commitment to study hospitality management, it is beneficial to know which areas you can get involved in with this degree. The opportunities available to someone who has a degree in hospitality management are very diverse – more so than you may think.

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Hospitality Industry Sees Job Growth

The hospitality industry has seen some of the strongest job growth in its last quarter, pushing it high above the national average, reported by CV-Library.

Posted job roles in the sector rose by 22.4% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, when compared to Q4 2014, above the national average job growth of 19.1%.

Founder and managing director at CV-Library. Lee Biggins, had this to say: “It’s great to see such strong job growth within the hospitality sector. The fact that the hospitality job market is thriving and has grown throughout Q4 is excellent news for industry professionals and we expect this to continue in the year ahead.

Q4 is typically a quieter time of year, with the jobs market slowing down in the run-up to the festive period, so these numbers bode well for 2016.I”

As well as the job growth, the sector also experienced a rise in the number of applications received to available job roles. Job applications rose by 19.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015, in comparison to 2014.

Dressing Your Hospitality Venue This Christmas

Decorating your hospitality venue, whether it be a hotel, pub or restaurant, is a given at this time of year.

Christmas trees have been put up and tinsel is adorning the fixtures, all in preparation for the 24th and 25th December. There are obvious Christmas decorations that will have been put up, but sometimes these aren’t the right ones.

So, just how do can you achieve that festive look, all the while maintaining a welcoming, timeless appeal?

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How to Get a Graduate Job in Hospitality and Events Management

We talk about how working in hospitality is incredibly rewarding, beneficial and allows growth.

When looking for a graduate role you will need to take a look the qualifications, experience and skills required.

Most of the jobs in this sector do not require a related degree and employers will recruit nearly any graduate, as long as they possess the appropriate work experience. There may be a chance that you decide you would like to work in the hospitality sector prior to applying to university, a degree in hospitality management will often include a year in the industry, thus providing you that edges when it comes to actually applying for jobs.

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Expect influx of Chinese visitors to UK hospitality industry, says VisitBritain

The UK hospitality industry is expected to receive an influx of Chinese tourists this month as their holiday season kicks in.

China’s week-long annual holiday ended on Friday, however, they are still expected to continue to travel outside of their country. Chinese visits to the UK have doubled over the course of the past 5 years. 2009 saw approximately 89,000 visits, whereas 2014 saw 185,000 visits. Furthermore, the seat availability on flights departing China has increased by 16% for October 2015 in comparison to this time last year.

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Upcoming trends in the hospitality industry

The times are changing within the hospitality industry, like in many other sectors. There have been discussions that the new year will be a big one for the industry.

Regardless of the hospitality business that you run, below are some of the current hospitality trends and those that are upcoming.

Healthy eating becoming firmly mainstream

Restaurants, hotels and bed and breakfasts alike are continuously adopting a healthier menu. This has come to the extent of branded ‘healthy’ establishments no longer need to market themselves that way.

There has been a rise in the disappearance of vending machines that serve junk food and have now been replaced with healthier options such as berries, quinoa and yoghurt.

Reputation management on a new scale

Online reputation management hasn’t quelled either – its importance has essentially become more dynamic as a result of the growth of platforms beyond TripAdvisor that avid travellers use to share their hotel experiences.

Hotels are urged to be aware of the following social networking platforms during their attempts to influence the conversations about their establishment online.

  • Expedia
  • Facebook
  • Yahoo
  • Yelp

Hotel booking systems

A recent study conducted by Eviivo involving 500 individuals across the UK and Ireland has found that 74% of the 500 were less likely to make a booking with B&B or hotel which was without a website. Additionally, 68% argued that the website would need to be a good one as they would be put off by a poor site.

Continuing with the statistics, 73% had made most, if not all, bookings online in comparison the measley 5% who do not book online at all.

The above findings are point towards why a decent hotel booking system is a must.

Technology dominance

We know technology is advancing, thus why we should instill the idea that customers will now expect seamless experiences across all devices and platforms.

Many large hotel chains are now allowing check-ins on mobile phones – technology innovation hasn’t been more important for the hospitality industry than ever.

Working in the hospitality industry will see many changes as we progress. See the latest hospitality jobs in the UK here.

Necessary hospitality skills

The hospitality industry can be a demanding one, however it is arguably one of the most fulfilling careers to be a part of.

If you are considering working within hospitality and have a particular field you have in mind, because there are many, there a number of skills that aren’t necessarily crucial for your success within your chosen field, but will help you immensely. Besides, there is a lot of time to learn if you are missing a skill.

Customer service

You will be interacting with people on a day-to-day basis, thus why is it important all of your guests enjoy their experiences.

Good customer service is all about meeting the customers’ expectations and sending them away happy.

Languages

The beauty of working in hospitality is the diverse customer base you get to meet. More often than not, there will be language barriers however it is an incredibly life skill to have – being multilingual will lead to success within hospitality because it is such an international industry.

Communication

Communication skills are the heart of working in this particular industry. You will be interacting with customers on a daily basis addressing their needs and ensuring the customer is happy. The misfortune of having an unhappy customer is often the result of miscommunication and being misinformed.

Finance management

It is important for employees to have an understanding of profitability, cash flow and tax liabilities. The understanding of financial management is the key to running a successful hospitality business.

Understanding

Having an understanding of the industry you are working in is vital for your success in the industry.

Make it your aim to know and understand what your guests need and what they want by keeping up-to-date with trends, what’s happening in the news and any success stories.

Cultural awareness

Possessing this skill is extremely beneficial as you’re likely to come into contact with and will need to interact with clients from a variety of cultures.

Cultural awareness is important within any career, especially in hospitality. Keeping an open mind will help you dodge any misunderstandings that can occur as beliefs and values represent a person’s culture.

The above skills will help you go forward within the hospitality industry!

Please visit our website for to view recent vacancies!

Working in the hospitality industry

If you’re considering getting into the hospitality industry, there are many many reasons why this is going to benefit you as a person!

The hospitality industry is varied with roles, offering something different every day. There are a variety of benefits that present themselves when becoming a part of this particular industry, below are the f main reasons why a hospitality career is desirable:

Opportunities

Hospitality is all about variety, there is never a working day thaty is dull. There are always new challenges to be tackled, even the opportunity to travel to different places; it’s understandable how this could make you want to get up early and head to work with a spring in your step.

Appreciation

There will be a few times where you are thanked for the work you do which is a great motivator to continue to perform at your best. Patrons will remind you that your work is highly appreciated – beign told your work is making others happy is truly rewarding.

Stability

The industry is incredibly stable – the financial meltdown that occured in 2008/9 hit the hospitality industry, however it survived and again is flourishing as an industry.

Creative

Hospitality dabbles in creativity with constant challenges that need to be faced head-on, requiring both creative and critical thinking.

For further information on the available hospitality roles, please visit our website!

The Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is diverse
The hospitality industry is diverse

What exactly is the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry is among the widest compared with other industries. Hospitality cannot be restricted to a niche of businesses, such as why the term can be applied to nearly any business that revolves around customer satisfaction and meeting their leisurely needs, however, there are some aspects of this industry that need to be understood.

Of course, the most dominant aspect of the hospitality industry is its focus on delivering high quality customer service. It is customer satisfaction that these businesses rely on because they are based on their luxury services. Along with that particular element, is how some hospitality businesses rely on disposable income and leisure time, thus why a lot of these businesses see sales from tourists or rich sponsors.

Variety of business

A common error is hotels alone belong in the hospitality industry, while this may be true, they are only one sector within the industry. There are also many forms of transportation that cater to tourists are apart of the business world which could include niche airlines, some cruise ships and some trains.

Among the variety are areas of business such as events planning, restaurants and general tourism.

Something that hospitality industries can adopt is a theme. For example, restaurants could specialise in Mexican food or Italian food and adapt the restaurant to that style to attract those who like that particular atmosphere.

Hospitality is undeniable a broad industry but it does have defining elements that set it apart from other businesses.

Please visit our website for further information about Gateway and how we can help you get ahead in hospitality

Growing with Hospitality

Working in the hospitality industry is a brilliant way of allowing room for growth; developing yourself professionally and as a person.

This is one of the elements that make working in hospitality such an attractive role.

Hospitality roles will allow you improve the professional skills you already possess and with time, patience and commitment you will obtain new sets of skills, absorbing them from the work you do with clients, from your colleagues and the situations you will be put into.

Regarding working in a hotel, a set of characteristics will be desired in order to work in that sector of hospitality. Asked are soft-skills that can range from organisation to communication and working well within a team; to technical skills such as serving, accounting, revenue management and facilities management.

Another important skill to have when working in a hotel is the ability to take care of people. It’s a debatable subject but empathy and commitment will be needed in order to be able to put another person’s needs before your own, all the while giving them the best customer experience possible.

Hotels are visited for a variety of reasons, although what a customer really wants is a great experience. They expect hotel staff to accord their attention, care and their time – and because each person’s needs differ significantly, it can present a challenge.

As businesses are ever-growing and there is a sole focus emerging towards making profit. Hotels, in comparison, have no limit to their products of meals, rooms, drinks or hosting of events, hotel service is extended, which is a way of improving services and improving service-industry skills.

If you’re interested in working in hospitality, please visit the Gateway website!