What are the skills required to do well in this career?
Hospitality Industry is a part of the service sector and thrives on one pillar – the customer! In order to do well in this career, you are required to have a strong service and customer orientation. This is even more important given the intangible nature of services. Apart from high levels of customer service, you need to have good communication and interpersonal skills, which enable you to connect effectively with the customer. High level of cultural awareness is required to address the diversity in the customer profile. Working in teams and being process oriented are also key professional lubricants in this industry. And of course, being poised and balanced, while supporting a smile on the face, is an icing on the cake!
How will a program in hospitality management impart the skills required to do well in this sector?
Study Programmes in Hospitality/Hotel Management are concerned with coordinating the many operational tasks necessary for running a successful service unit. Managing a service unit requires knowledge and skills within a wide variety of fields. For example, a course in hotel management teaches students the skills to effectively manage different responsibilities such as reception and concierge services, restaurant and bar functions, administration, management and marketing, etc. Hotel Management students learn the importance of maintaining the character and style of a hotel, manage other employees and to always keep an eye on the economic and cost/benefit balance of running a business. Hotel management colleges prepare students to become managers and owners of various businesses in the hospitality world. While hotels are central, these skills translate well to other hospitality businesses such as restaurants and entertaining facilities. Learning how to run a hotel is not just about renting out a room. A good Front Office Manager knows all aspects of the hotel. They understand daily operations, long-term planning, and management of all aspects of the business.
What are the various professional paths in this career?
Hospitality Management is a branch of knowledge that studies various aspects of the hospitality industry and their management. It teaches students how to run hotels, restaurants, food service companies, managing travel and tourism, event management and other related businesses. There are numerous benefits of doing hospitality management. Making billions of dollars in annual revenues worldwide, the hospitality industry gives plenty of opportunities for career development. It is a dynamic and fast-growing industry, which gives challenges to learn from and opportunity for growth.
After graduating from hotel management institutes there are lots of. lucrative and interesting openings and a wide range of career options available for students:
Hotels:One can get placement in different categories of hotels ranging from Indian chain of Five Star hotels such as Taj, Oberoi and Welcome group (ITC), to international chains like Hyatt, Sheraton, etc. One can get a job in different departments, i.e. Front Office, House Keeping, Food and Beverage Service, and Food Production according to one's skill and knowledge and one's interest. One can also make one's career in ancillaries like chain of restaurants, e.g. KFC, Ruby Tuesday, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, etc.
Airline Industry: is also a good option for hotel management students. One can join as an Air Hostess or a Flight Steward. Some of them can also join as Ground Staff or as Public Relationship Officers.
Cruise Ship Hotel Management: Individuals from a variety of hospitality background can find a variety of opportunities in cruise ship management. Not only are there diverse job choices, but also the chance to earn an income while traveling to exotic ports for free! From preparing gourmet meals to finding a guest a new room, each cruise ship manager plays a crucial ship manager plays a crucial role in ensuring the highest quality of service to customers. While their duties may not allow time to enjoy every Caribbean breeze or South American landscape that the ship finds, living in the equivalent of a Five-star hotel for extended periods of time presents its own singular advantages.
Institutional Management: This is also another good option for hotel management students. They can enter the field of Institutional Management by supervising canteens in colleges, schools, factories, corporate set-ups etc. Students also have an option to go in catering departments of Railways, Banks, Armed Forces and Shipping Companies.
Retail sector: has a wide range open for hospitality management graduates. It includes PVR, Malls, Back office jobs, Hospitals and BPO industry.
Which are the top institutes to study hospitality/hotel/tourism management at the graduation level? What is the selection process for entrance to these institutes?
NCHMCT
National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology (NCHMCT) is an autonomous body under Ministryof Tourism, Government of India. The Council regulates academics for B.Sc. in Hospitality & Hotel Administration, popularly known as B.Sc. (Hospitality) / B.Sc. (HM) and nine other courses that are imparted at 21 Central Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM), 22 State Government IHM, 1 Public Sector Undertaking and 14 Private IHM. Besides, 12 Food Craft Institutes offer Diploma programs in core operational areas. The gateway to the programs offered by IHM is NCHM JEE. Every year NCHM JEE or IHM entrance exam is conducted in the month of April. NCHM JEE tests the aptitude level of the candidate in five different areas namely Numerical Ability and Analytical Aptitude, Reasoning and Logical Deduction, General Knowledge & Current Affairs, English Language, Aptitude for Service Sector.
Selection Process
Seats are allotted on the basis of the marks obtained in NCHM-JEE. NCHM JEE consists of 200 objective type questions to be answered in 180 Min. / 3 Hrs. Every correct answer is awarded +1mark where as awrong answer carries a penalty of - 0.25 (except for Service Sector Aptitude Section). Graded marks will be awarded under “Service Sector Aptitude Section" i.e. most appropriate answer will be awarded1-mark, lesser appropriate answer will get 0.75 marks and so on. In appropriate answer in this section will be penalized with -0.25 mark.
Following is the list of Central Government Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM) / IHM Under central Government & their intake
IHM-Aurangabad
The Institute of Hotel Management run by Maulana Azad Education Society is popularly known as IHM – Aurangabad or IHM-A. The institute was established in 1989, in collaboration with the Taj Group of Hotels. IHM-A offers 4 Year BA (Honours) program in Hotel Management and culinary arts. IHM-A also offers an international honours degree is association with University of Huddersfield. Selection is based on a collective assessment of your Profiling (weightage – 20%), Statement of Purpose (weightage – 10%), Group Discussion (weightage – 20%) and a Personal Interview (weightage – 50%).
Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (BCIHMCT)
BCIHMCT runs a four-year BHMCT program, as per the curriculum designed by Indraprastha University. The norms and standards for delivery of the courses are as laid down by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of HRD, and Government of India.Admission to this course is through IPUCET (BHMCT). IPUCET (BHMCT) tests the knowledge of accounts, commerce and science apart from regular areas like Verbal ability, Reasoning and GK tested in other hotel management entrance tests.Students aspiring to get into BanarsidasChandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (BCIHMCT) should appear for IPUCET (BHMCT). IPUCET (BHMCT) is a multiple-choice questions test, conducted in paper-based format. The paper consists of 150 questions to be answered in 2 ½ Hrs. Every correct answer is awarded 4 marks and a penalty (negative marking) of 1 mark is imposed on every wrong answer.
Symbiosis School of Culinary Arts (SSCA)
SSCA is a constituent of Symbiosis International University. SSCA offers a three- year, full-time B.Sc. program in Culinary Arts. B.Sc. (Culinary Arts) degree program prepares students for a wide range of career options such as Chefs, Chef Managers, food critics, food photographers, entrepreneurs, concept developers for health foods and culinary advisors. Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) is the common written test for admission to this program. SET consists of 150 multiple choice questions to be answered in 2 ½ Hrs. Marking Scheme of the test is 1mark for every correct answer and no negative marks for incorrect answers or un-attempted questions.Based on the performance in SET, SSCAshort lists students for the next stage i.e. Personal Interview (PI) and Written Ability Test (WAT).
Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM)
IITTM Bhubaneswar, an autonomous body under Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is one of the premier institutes in the country offering education, training, research and consultancy in sustainable management of tourism, travel and other allied sectors.IITTM offers a full-time BBA TT program with an intake of 60 students. The minimum eligibility is 10+2 from a recognized board. The institute conducts IGNTU-IIITM Admission Test (IIAT) followed by GD and PI to offer admission to this program.Selection to BBA-TT program is a three-stage screening process. Merit list is published by considering IIAT (70%), GD (15%) and PI (15%).
What are the prospects in this career?
Travel and tourism industry, along with the related sectors contributing to it, is expected to grow in leaps and bounds in the coming years. A job in this industry can be highly exciting and adventurous and even pays well. In India, the travel industry hopes to create 46 million job opportunities by 2025. According to a report published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India could possibly add another Rs. 8, 50,000 crores by the year 2020-just through tourism! WTTC calculated that tourism generated 8.31 lakh crore or 6.3 per cent of the nation's GDP in 2015 and supported 37.315 million jobs, which is about 8.7 per cent of its total employment.
Travel and tourism is the largest earner of foreign exchange world-wide and employs millions of people directly or indirectly through associated service industries. This industry includes everything from the government tourism departments and major multinational companies to the small-scale private travel agents. While working in this industry, one provides services to people who are traveling for business or holiday or both, thus catering to tour packages, pilgrim travel, adventure travel or casual sightseeing. At almost every point of work in this field, employees need to interact personally with the customers and understand their needs while making them comfortable, so as to be able to provide the best service in terms of travel options and arrangements
Can you give some useful links to explore this career in greater detail?
