The hotel
industry offers an amazing array of exciting job opportunities. What do you
need to work in the Hotel Industry? Like every other industry. The Hospitality
industry is vast and takes on people in different career paths, offering job
opportunities to top level managers and low level support staff. So what do you
really need to make it in the Hotel Industry? Here I would try to highlight the
different skill sets that you may need to possess. What is amazing is that you
can work from home in some of these job descriptions. The basic skills you need
in the industry is a people skills. The hospitality industry is about taking
care of the needs of others. People pay good money to be attended to in an
efficient, respectful and amiable manner. If you do not have the skills to
respond to people in this way, you may not even bother. Also, the biggest
cities are where the hotel chains are mostly concentrated. Hotels in Lagos and Hotels in Abuja get the biggest patronage than
anywhere else in the country. If you want to get in on a fulfilling career, 5 Star Hotels in Lagos would be a good place to start.
Tour Operators
As a tour operator you would be involved in taking people on sightseeing
trips to the interesting places within your reach, and if possible you can
organize trips out of your country and continent even. This comes with knowing
the places people want to visit, where they want to go to have fun, designing
different tour packages for families, couples, and solo travelers. Your
destination would range from wildlife safaris to theme parks, hiking and
camping to honeymoons and family vacations. Whatever the destination, you and
your travelling vacationers need a place to stay. Some of the ways to make
extra money is to take advantage of hotel deals. Get into partnerships with hotel
booking portals or with the hotels directly.
Digital Marketers
The world is all in the mobile nowadays. Digital Markers can work in
virtually any industry and the hotel and tourism industry is well one of them.
From airlines to hotels, from hotel booking sites to destinations and theme
parks, businesses are trying to get their brand out to the people who need them
and are constantly engaging with one screen or the other, either via mobile
phones, tablets or desktop computers.
Travel Agents
Travel agents are a special breed. They have been around for so long and
new technology has seen them adapt to the growing demands of the industry. You
can run your travel agency from the corner of your room, all you need is an
active phone line and internet. You can book hotels and flights for thousands
of people in a year, they just need to know you are out there and call on you
to sort out their travelling and accommodation issues.
Customer Service
Customer service is a culture and while it emanates from everyone in the
business it particular rests on the shoulders of the men and women tasked with
dealing with the issues and enquiries of customers who call to understand what
is going on with a service they have paid for, or are interested in paying for.
Customer service people must know everything about the business, they cannot
give false information out, and they cannot promise what the company cannot
give. They are responsible for assuaging the fears of customers and clients,
knowing what the issue is with their hotel room booking. Why their flight is
being delayed, why they do not have the complimentary champagne the vacation
package promised. Customer care people are the human linkage that the company
has with their customers and they have to get it right all the time.
Fitness Instructor
Many hotels are eager to have facilities within their
establishment that satisfies a broad range of clientele needs. From Spa and
Wellness Rooms, to Business centers, to Gym and Fitness rooms. As a spa and
body wellness expert, yoga instructor, gym and personal fitness trainer, you
can build a career working for a hotel by managing these facilities for them.
Of course this might mean that you would have already built your reputation as
an expert in that field before a big hotel brand.
Casino Operator
Like gyms and spas, some hotels recognize the need to service a special
clientele base who are looking to spend on chips and the dice. One of the ways
you can make an entry into the hotel industry is as a Casino Manager, or
operator of a table or machine.
Spas and Body
Wellness Operator
Like already referred to above, hotels hosts some of the best know spa
houses, providing luxurious treatment and hospitality to guests on a vacation,
honeymoon, or those who just want to relax from long periods of work. The
advantage of attaching yourself to a hotel is, they spare no expense on the
best machines, soaps, perfumes and body spices that you may need to treat your
customers.
Event Management
From wedding receptions to business seminars and conferences, hotels
provide halls and conference venues for hosting a variety of events. As an
event planner or an event management company you would be working with hotels
to secure top notch venues for your events, in the long run, where the
relationship builds you may find yourself getting more involved with other
businesses with the hotels such as bringing over guests for a fee or a
commission, or even a reduction of rates when you book a hall for an event.
Chef
What is a luxury hotel without great dining? Some of the greatest
attractions to 5 star hotels in cities and destinations like Abuja, Lagos and
Port Harcourt is the dining facilities and world class rated chefs that they
keep in their kitchen, serving guests and treating their palates to exciting experiences.
Chefs who work with world class hotels have the opportunity to feed
celebrities, rock stars, politicians and statesmen, and all sorts of famous
people, giving them a taste of their signature dishes.
