Hospitality management has various objectives and functions that differ from one business to the next. However, its primary goal remains the same; to provide customers the best service and a flawless experience from start to finish. If you are interested in a career in hospitality management, you will learn all about this industry and how to get started in this article.

Table of Contents:

What Is Hospitality Management?

Firstly, it’s important to know what hospitality management is all about. It oversees the daily administrative, operational, and commercial tasks of hotels, resorts, restaurants, catering establishments, shops, casinos, amusement parks, and many other related businesses.

From the big hotel chains to the smallest dining establishments, they are all part of the hospitality industry. When you work in hospitality management, your goal as the manager is to make your guests feel at home and ensure they have the most pleasant experience at your establishment.

Video: What Is Hospitality Management?

What Is the Difference Between Hotel and Hospitality Management?

Hospitality management can sometimes be confused with hotel management, mainly because they share similar academic requirements and are both part of the travel and tourism industry. However, there are some prime differences between the two sectors.

Hotel management focuses on the hotel industry, and the job opportunities are only within the hotel sector, with managerial jobs in hotels, housekeeping, and operations management. On the other hand, hospitality management is an umbrella of different industries, including food and beverage, travel, accommodation, event management, etc. There are varied managerial job opportunities in this sector, such as a casino manager, resort manager, restaurant manager, or event organizer.

What Qualifications Do You Need for Hospitality Management?

While some hospitality jobs only require a diploma, earning a higher salary in a higher-level job is best to get a degree. An associate’s degree offers general education courses with some hospitality subjects covered in the classes. Bachelor’s degree, on the other hand, will take 4 years to complete and covers hospitality management, accounting, and finance courses. Most business colleges offer hospitality management courses as part of their curriculum.

What Are the Main Responsibilities of A Hospitality Manager?

As a hospitality manager, your task is to oversee various departments in your resort or hotel, for example, in housekeeping, concierge, restaurant, spa, budgeting, conferences, reception, maintenance, and guest services. It is your job to ensure everything runs smoothly in all the departments. Although your duties will depend on which sector you work, some of your main responsibilities can include the following:

  • Monitoring accounts and managing budgets
  • Managing staff and arranging cover for holidays and absences
  • Assist the staff with the day-to-day running of events and functions
  • Come up with new and innovative ideas for better business performance
  • Dealing with customer complaints and queries
  • Interview and train new staff
  • Ensure health and safety regulations are adhered to

Hospitality Management - Service

Guest Relations & Satisfaction Control Within Hospitality Management

For those involved with hospitality management, guest relations and guest satisfaction are essential issues. The following sections explore how businesses in the hospitality industry can control these areas.

Creating Memorable Experiences

One of the best ways for hospitality industry businesses to control guest satisfaction is through the creation of memorable experiences. From small restaurants to large hotels, businesses can always strive to make the guest experience feel more special through personalization, unique offerings, and excellent customer service.

Anyone working in hospitality management must constantly strive for ways to make their business stand out from rivals. Try to offer something special, no matter how small or large your business is. Guests remember unique offerings, quality food, great attention to detail in hotels, or small adjustments being made to improve comfort and enjoyment. Their retelling of these memories can ultimately help you to build a more positive reputation.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Among the most important skills for those in hospitality management and other customer-facing roles are communication and interpersonal skills. Businesses in the hospitality industry should prioritize written and verbal communication skills when recruiting staff and should place a strong emphasis on effective communication within training, too. It is essential in the modern world for digital communication to be as strong as in-person communication.

Staff should be polite, use positive body language and stay patient when dealing with customers. Always adopt a friendly tone and take time to make customers feel at ease. Good communication skills also include the ability to deescalate conflicts, while taking issues and complaints seriously. Guest satisfaction can be badly affected if they ever feel they are not being listened to, or that their legitimate grievances are being overlooked.

Addressing Customer Needs and Expectations

A fundamental part of good guest relations within hospitality management is addressing the needs of your customers and ensuring you not only meet their expectations but exceed them. Any business in the hospitality industry can get good at addressing needs and exceeding expectations, but it does require the right steps to be taken.

For instance, it is important to seek feedback and to take the feedback you receive on board. You need to try to build a team of attentive staff who notice the small details. If you can anticipate needs before they arise, customers will appreciate and remember it. Go above and beyond to make each visit pleasant and personalized in some way.

Table: Importance of Cultural Competence in Hospitality Management

Aspect Description Benefits
Enhanced Guest Experience Understanding and respecting cultural backgrounds of guests. Offering culturally appropriate services. Increases guest satisfaction and loyalty, leading to positive reviews and repeat business.
Improved Communication Training staff in effective communication with diverse cultural backgrounds. Reduces misunderstandings, enhances service quality, and ensures clear interactions.
Employee Satisfaction and Retention Creating an inclusive work environment and offering diversity training. Boosts employee morale and satisfaction, reduces turnover, and fosters teamwork.
Market Competitiveness Attracting diverse customers and developing culturally appealing marketing strategies. Expands market reach, increases revenue, and strengthens brand reputation.
Compliance with Regulations Adhering to anti-discrimination laws and promoting diversity and inclusion. Avoids legal issues, promotes fairness, and enhances reputation.

What Kind of Jobs Can You Get With a Hospitality Management Degree?

Since hospitality management covers many different sectors, the job opportunities are aplenty. Below are some examples of the hospitality careers you can pursue after getting a degree in this field:

  • Resort or hotel manager
  • Restaurant manager
  • Food & Beverage Manager
  • Catering manager
  • Event planning
  • Chef
  • Concierge
  • Marketing, sales, and media roles
  • Financial or accounting roles

Hospitality Management Operations

Hospitality management operations involve implementing resources, materials, equipment, and technology. As an operations manager, you will be expected to develop and deliver a service or goods to customers based on their needs. In operations management, your role is to handle different strategic problems, including the utilization of project management methods and determining the size of manufacturing plants, and implementing the IT network structure. Other operational responsibilities include inventory levels management, raw material acquisition, materials handling, quality control, and work-in-process levels.

Different Management Types Within the Hospitality Sector

There are several different types of hospitality management to be aware of, with two of the most significant types explained in more depth below:

Restaurant Management

Within the wider field of hospitality management, the discipline of restaurant management describes the management of businesses within the restaurant industry or the management of restaurants within a larger business. This includes managing day-to-day operations, employees, finances, business strategies, stock, etc.

Check out “Restaurant Management: Everything You Need to Know” to explore the topic of restaurant management in greater depth and learn about what it means, the main duties, why it matters as a discipline, and the specific qualities needed to achieve success as a restaurant manager.

Hotel Management

Hotel management is a type of hospitality management specifically focused on managing a hotel, motel, hostel, bed, breakfast, or similar form of guest accommodation. This means overseeing core operations, supervising departments in need, managing employees and finances, and devising strategies.

If you would like to know more about what hotel management entails, how to acquire a hotel management position, some of the most critical hotel management software solutions and the various strategies that are used by professionals working in this area, check out “Hotel Management: Everything You Need to Know About Managing a Hotel”.

Revenue Management

Revenue management is a discipline within hospitality management that is focused on optimizing financial outcomes and, in particular, revenue generation. This involves using available data to make intelligent projections about demand so that the right product can be sold to the right customer, at the right time, for the right price.

To learn more about revenue management, how it can be defined, why it is important, and how it differs from similar concepts, check out the “Revenue Management; clearly explained!” article.

Video: More Information About Hospitality Management

The video below explains what hospitality management is and how to choose the right university.

Travel Agencies to Increase Your Bookings

Online travel agencies form an important part of hospitality management for many travel companies. These OTAs often provide a single platform for customers to find, compare, and book products and services; they can attract customers who might not otherwise find your company or book with you directly.

Read our “Travel Agencies: Platforms to Increase Travel Company Bookings” article for an index of the biggest travel agencies broken down according to the parts of the travel industry they specialize in.

Hospitality Industry: An Overview of All Sectors

The relationship between a host and a guest is referred to as hospitality, If you invite a friend over to your home, you will be performing hospitality by serving your guest’s needs. People worldwide rely on the hospitality industry in many aspects of their life. From catering establishments to shops, casinos, hotels, or amusement parks, people experience different forms of hospitality almost daily.

This industry is an important concept on which countless businesses operate. To fully understand the importance of hospitality, you must first become familiarised with all its sectors. In the informative guide, ‘Hospitality Industry; Everything You Need to Know About Hospitality’, you will learn all about the different sectors within the hospitality industry and their connections with the travel and hotel industry.

Hospitality Management and Other Hospitality Careers

The concept of hospitality management includes everything from general manager roles to revenue management, restaurant management, and HR management positions. On top of this, there are a variety of hospitality careers that do not involve management but are simultaneously rewarding, challenging, varied, and popular with applicants.

Read “Hospitality Careers: Overview of All Hospitality Positions” for a breakdown of all core hospitality jobs, including details on the responsibilities and day-to-day tasks involved with each role.

Best Channels to Find Hospitality Jobs

Companies operating in the hospitality industry will typically advertise hospitality jobs on various platforms, depending on the nature of the role and the target audience. For hospitality management positions, in particular, it is important to expand your search across multiple channels to avoid missing out on your dream job.

In our article, “Hospitality Jobs: Overview of All Channels to Find Your Next Job”, you will find more details about the various available channels, from company websites and job boards, to social media.

Hospitality Management - Hospitality Career

Hospitality Management Career Tips & Opportunities

Hospitality management can be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, but if you pursue a hospitality management career, you will likely encounter competition. With this in mind, it can be important to identify the best places to look for jobs and the best ways to make your application and interview stand out.

If you read our “Hospitality Management Careers: Tips to Help You to Find Your Next Job” article, you will find several useful tips that will help you en route to landing your ideal management position.

Hotel Websites for Finding Hospitality Management Jobs

Hospitality management positions are always in high demand, so it is important to act swiftly and ensure you do not miss out on opportunities. One of the best ways to find hospitality management jobs is to actually go through hotel companies directly, using their corporate or company websites, which typically have a ‘Careers’ section.

Read “Hospitality Management Jobs: List of Hotel Chains to Find a Job,” and you will have a useful directory of some of the world’s biggest hotel chains to easily search for managerial vacancies online.

Hospitality Marketing Trends

A solid hospitality marketing strategy is critical for any business to build an influential brand, attract new clients, and maintain loyalty. Customer loyalty is very important to the hospitality industry; marketing managers dedicate a lot of time and effort to building brand awareness and creating ongoing marketing campaigns.

These advertising efforts usually include digital and print media targeting new guests. By understanding the importance of hospitality marketing, you can make great progress in your business and stand out in this highly competitive market. The ‘Latest Hospitality Marketing Trends’ guide reveals the most effective marketing trends in the hospitality industry to optimize revenue and stay ahead of the competition.

The Latest Hospitality Trends

With the ever-changing hospitality industry on the global scene, it is important to keep up with the latest trends in this sector. The hospitality sector continues to grow as people are traveling more than ever before.

Every year, new hotels and restaurants are opening to meet the growing demands of consumers. With the advances in technology, there is certainly a lot to look forward to in the world of hospitality as new and existing businesses become more innovative. In the article, ‘Hospitality Trends: The Latest Trends in The Hospitality Industry’, you will learn about the upcoming hospitality trends that are taking the industry by storm.

Hospitality Technology Trends to Watch Out For

Traveling has become more popular than ever, and as a result, technology trends are constantly changing the guest experience for the better. Therefore most hospitality managers nowadays opt for management software to simplify tasks. Every year, new and exciting apps and software are released, and the hospitality industry is making the most of integrating them into our daily lives.

But since the world of technology is always changing and improving, the hospitality industry needs to keep track of these trends to take advantage of them all. ‘The Latest Technology Trends in the Hospitality Industry’ is an informative guide that offers insight into the latest technology trends in the hospitality industry.

Hospitality Courses to Assist You With Hospitality Management

Hospitality management positions are often the pinnacle of careers in the industry, and succeeding in such a role requires specific skills and expertise. Many of the most successful managers have completed a hospitality course, or even several different courses, and plenty of educational institutions have courses available.

If you want to learn more about hospitality courses, how they can help you into management roles, and where you can find them, read “Hospitality Course: An Overview of Courses & Hospitality Educators”.

Revenue Management & Hospitality Management

The hotel and hospitality industry is increasingly elevating the role of revenue management. Many are now looking for strategic ways to increase their profits.

Revenue managers in the hospitality sector are increasingly participating in seminars and courses to increase their knowledge about revenue management. To learn more about the most relevant strategies used in revenue management, take a look at this detailed guide, ‘Revenue Management; clearly explained!’.

A Free and Comprehensive Guide to Revenue Management & Hotel Marketing

Revenue management and marketing strategies have rapidly evolved in the last few years. With the ever-changing behavior of consumers, the hospitality industry needs to keep up by turning to digital technology.

They will only gain new insights into customer behavior by researching and analyzing the market. If you are a hotel owner, make sure you take note of these powerful techniques and tips in the article, ‘Free Guide: Revenue Management & Hotel Marketing Strategies’.

If you need a career change or are tired of working for the same company, why not change the type of establishment you are working in? This is one of the great things about hospitality; since there are many different career directions you could take within this sector without having to change your work environment.

Want to Learn More About Management in Related Industries?

All hospitality, travel, and tourism-related industries have commonalities, however, specific unique factors influence management in each industry. You can learn more about management within related industries in the following articles.

More Tips to Grow Your Business

Revfine.com is a knowledge platform for the hospitality & travel industry. Professionals use our insights, strategies and actionable tips to get inspired, optimise revenue, innovate processes and improve customer experience. You can find all hotel & hospitality tips in the categories Revenue Management, Marketing & Distribution, Hotel Operations, Staffing & Career, Technology and Software.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.