Four Hospitality Industry Changes that Could Affect Your Job

If you’re hoping to land a job in hospitality and pursue a career in the field, you should be aware of the changes that are coming to the industry. Changes that will affect your entry into the field as well as your rise to the top. Here are the big four that will impact you the most:

1. Employers Expect More Education. With just about everyone going to college these days, employers expect their job candidates to have four-year hospitality, hotel management or food service degrees. Candidates are also expected to be tech savvy. That means at least a working knowledge of computer and IT systems as they pertain to management and accounting.

2. Job Boards Replacing Phone Calls/Snail Mail. It’s all about job boards now. But you have to keep any resumes you post current on a daily basis. Recruiters check these boards often to mine for new talent. You also have to be keenly aware of keyword filtering programs used by HR managers and recruiters. These programs scan resumes for certain job-specific words like “IT experience” and “bachelor’s degree” that cull out resumes for further consideration.

3. Salaries & Benefits Rising. Mangers with experience and credentials are being lured with increasingly higher salaries. Employers are looking for top talent and they don’t want their competitors to snatch up these key players. General managers at today’s upscale resorts are pulling down $100,000 annually, plus bonuses. To attract and retain hard-working lower level employees, hotels are offering generous medical and dental insurance packages.

4. More Employers Offering Life-Work Balance. With the break up of the traditional family and more single-parent households, employers are allowing more flexible work hours and more work-at-home schedules, particularly in their sales and marketing departments. At the lower ranks, however, you’ll still have to put in 40 or more hours per week, on site.

Got any tips or advice on the changes coming to the hospitality industry? Share your comments in the section below.

Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients. Please see more of his blogs and view additional job postings on Nexxt.