4-1 Professions in The Hospitality & Tourism Industry

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Join the Industry, See the World

In an industry built around travel, it makes perfect sense: Many in hospitality and tourism get great discounts on everything from hotel and airline rates to event tickets. Imagine a trip to an exotic location every year. Imagine staying in four-star hotels. Imagine having a suntan every winter. Your friends are going to be so jealous.

Do What You Love

You want to work outdoors, way out in the desert, deep in the woods, or overlooking the ocean? There's a place in hospitality and tourism for you. You want to surf, or mountain bike, or work to preserve the environment? There's a place in hospitality and tourism for you. You want to sing, or dance, or act? Yep-there's a place in hospitality and tourism for you. Park rangers, lodging managers, golf pros, action-sports tour guides, and performing artists at theme parks and resorts-they all get to do what they love. And lots of their colleagues in more-corporate fields-such as sales reps, accountants, and travel agents-get just as much of a charge out of working in hospitality and tourism-out of working in a beautiful location or helping others go on the vacation of their dreams.

Job Descriptions and Tips

You'll find the usual array of corporate positions within the hospitality and tourism industry: marketing executives, salespeople, accountants, HR specialists, and the like. But the majority of the career opportunities in the industry are in more customer service-oriented areas. Following are descriptions of some of those careers:

Restaurant Manager

Manages the daily operations of a restaurant. May require an associate's degree in a related area or its equivalent and at least 4 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. May lead and direct the work of others. Typically reports to a senior manager. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Salary range: $35,000 to $60,000.

Executive Chef

An alternate title for this position might be "boss of the kitchen." People in this position oversee everything from purchasing to menu planning to the details of food preparation. Before you reach this level, you'll have to grind through years in lower-level food-prep jobs. If you aspire to this level, you'd be well-advised to attend a culinary institute. Salary range: $55,000 to $100,000.

Concierge

This is the guy or gal at the hotel who focuses solely and relentlessly on making his or her employer's guests happy. You'll be arranging for guests' dry cleaning, theater ticket purchases, restaurant reservations, and more. To do this job, you've got to love serving guests, be a creative problem-solver, and know everything there is to know about your location. For example, you'll need to know whether and where there are Ethiopian restaurants in your location-and, maybe, where one might find a "technically illegal" game of poker, or how one might arrange to meet with a member of the opposite sex for an hour or two. Typical salary: $17,000 to $30,000, but a good concierge in an upscale hotel can earn a lot more via tips.

Lodging Manager

People in these positions manage the day-to-day operations of a hotel or motel. This means doing everything from managing the housekeeping, room-service, and reservations staff to managing the supply purchasing and inventory control. In addition, the lodging manager is ultimately accountable for anything that goes wrong at the hotel or motel, meaning that people in this position can basically be on call 24/7 for emergencies from computer breakdowns to on-site accidents. Salary range: $20,000 to $40,000.

Meeting/Event Planner

People in these positions plan meetings or special events (e.g., company parties or industry conventions) for businesses and other organizations. These folks do everything from reserving hotel space for meeting or event participants to arranging for catering to negotiating rates and contracts with those hotels and caterers and other vendors. Salary range: $40,000 to $70,000.

Travel Agent

The travel agent helps customers understand their travel, lodging, and activity options, in addition to making reservations or purchasing tickets for everything from airline flights to car rentals. Agents have to have an understanding of one or more of the reservations technologies used in the industry: Sabre, Amadeus, Worldspan, or Galileo. They must also be good at selling and customer relations. More and more agents are getting a formal education in their field and getting certified by the Institute of Certified Travel Agents. Salary range: $25,000 to $50,000.

Corporate Travel Manager

Folks in this job typically work for Fortune 1000 companies, in what's basically an in-house travel-agent position. In addition to handling reservations and ticket-purchasing responsibilities, some corporate travel managers are responsible for creating and maintaining corporate travel policies (which codify things like the rates that various levels of employees can pay for airline tickets and hotels, or which a car rental company’s employees can use). Salary range: $45,000 to $75,000.

Some hospitality and tourism organizations offer internships or student co-op opportunities; these are generally the fastest entrée to full-time work in the industry. You can also go to school to learn about specific areas of the industry; Cornell, for instance, offers a renowned hospitality program, and lots of vocational schools offer programs for aspiring travel agents. Here's what most employers look for when they hire at all levels:

With the ever-increasing focus on keeping customers happy, you need to enjoy serving people and be perpetually alert as to how to serve them better.
Can you work well in teams? There is a lot of teamwork in many of these jobs.
How do you handle stress? Stress seems to be an ever-present factor in jobs in this industry, whether you're a chef, a travel agent, or a tour guide.

Although many in the industry work in behind-the-scenes positions, those on the front lines-travel agents, front desk clerks, tour guides, and so on-must be enthusiastic and articulate. And in most any position, you'll need to have a love of service and a strong attention to detail. In the end, your job is about how satisfied you've made the customer.

Adapted from wetfree

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
discount	an amount or percentage deducted	In an industry built around travel, it makes perfect sense: Many in hospitality and tourism get great discounts on everything from hotel and airline rates to event tickets.
colleague	an associate that one works with	And lots of their colleagues in more-corporate fields-such as sales reps, accountants, and travel agents-get just as much of a charge out of working in hospitality and tourism-out of working in a beautiful location or helping others go on the vacation of their dreams.
corporate	of or belonging to a corporation	Corporate travel is a very important part of a travel agency’s business.
marketing	the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service	You'll find the usual array of corporate positions within the hospitality and tourism industry: marketing executives, salespeople, accountants, HR specialists, and the like.
career	the particular occupation for which you are trained	But the majority of the career opportunities in the industry are in more customer service-oriented areas.
opportunity	a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances	She has the opportunity to travel to Dubai on business.
require	have need of	They require three tickets on the nine o’clock flight to London.
associate (degree)	degree granted by a two-year college on successful completion of studies	The position may require an associate's degree in a related area or its equivalent and at least 4 years of experience in the field or in a related area.
degree	an award conferred by a college or university signifying that the recipient has satisfactorily completed a course of study	Adam has a degree in English Literature.
equivalent	being essentially equal to something	This tour package is equivalent to the one our company operates to Thailand.
procedure	a particular course of action intended to achieve a result	You need to be familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures.
goal	the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it	Hanna relies on her experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
report	to give an account or representation of in words	Ivan reports to the senior manager in his department.
salary	something that remunerates	The employees who work here earn in the salary range of $35,000 to $60,000.
alternate	go back and forth; swing back and forth between two states or conditions	An alternate title for this position might be "boss of the kitchen."
purchasing	the act of buying	People in this position oversee everything from purchasing to menu planning to the details of food preparation.
illegal	prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules	For example, you'll need to know whether and where there are Ethiopian restaurants in your location-and, maybe, where one might find a "technically illegal" game of poker, or how one might arrange to meet with a member of the opposite sex for an hour or two.
emergency	a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action	In addition, the lodging manager is ultimately accountable for anything that goes wrong at the hotel or motel, meaning that people in this position can basically be on call 24/7 for emergencies from computer breakdowns to on-site accidents.
policy	a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group	It is not the policy of that shop to give cash refunds.
program	a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished	You can also go to school to learn about specific areas of the industry; Cornell, for instance, offers a renowned hospitality program, and lots of vocational schools offer programs for aspiring travel agents.