Do you love to serve people? Do you value diversity and know how to smile at the face of diversity? If the answer to both these questions is a “Yes”, then you have come to the right page, because hospitality and hotel management is one career choice which is not for the faint-hearted and it is one such career where no two days are same.

 

What is Hospitality and Hotel Management?

All those warm and friendly people who serve you, welcome you with a gleaming smile at the reception, show you around and make sure that you get what you want while your stay in a hotel, resort or even a casino along with all the people who serve at conventions and conferences, ensuring all goes smoothly are all part of the hospitality industry.

To define it, Hospitality Management involves overseeing the administrative tasks of a hotel, casino or resort and the events taking place therein. It entails ensuring that your hotel is warm, receptive, and welcoming, making guests feel at home. Part of the service industry, hospitality management involves serving people in a way so as to make them want to come back for more.

 

What kind of profiles does Hospitality Management involve?

There are several department a graduate in Hotel/Hospitality management can work in depending on his/her interest and specialties. These profiles could be in any of the following departments:

• Front Desk/Reception
• Restaurant & Bar/Food & Beverages (F&B)
• Housekeeping
• Human Resources
• Marketing & Sales
• Finance & Accounting
• Operations
• Concierge

All of these departments need to operate collaboratively and at sync with each other for the smooth functioning of a hotel. In case any of these fail to meet their standards, it’s the failure on the part of hospitality management. That’s how critical the roles in hospitality are.

This is the reason accredited certificates and degrees are sought from individuals who want to work in the hotel and hospitality industry. These degrees are offered by business schools and universities worldwide.

 

Skills required for a job in Hotel Management

Apart from a degree in hotel management which will give you an in-depth understanding of the operations of a hotel/restaurant, and the structure of the industry as whole, there are some inane skills you need to have to excel in this field – the most primary of them all is the capability and willingness to identify, understand and respond to customer needs. Some other skills are:

• Problem Solving: One needs to be critical, analytical, and must have problem-solving skills. They should be keen on researching, evaluating and presenting arguments with data.
• IT skills: Although this depends on your particular specialty, you should be good with collection, analysis and presentation of information on spreadsheets and databases, if the role requires you to.
• Communication: A thorough written and verbal communication skills is very important, because most of the roles are customer-facing.
• Team Management: Since the entire management of a hotel involves synchronicity between its different department and teams, it is very important that one likes to and is willing to work as a team and maintains a harmonious relationship with fellow team members. 
• Outgoing and people oriented.
• Leadership skills: Although this too is dependent to the role you are in, at some point in your career you will need to lead and demonstrate delegation skills.

 

Hotel Management in Malaysia

There are more than 2800 hotels in Kuala Lumpur alone. Hotel industry plays a significant role in complementing tourism. And with the growing demand of Malaysia as a global education hub takes it further a notch because a lot of international students, their friends and family also extensively stay in these hotels all over Malaysia. It is needless to say that hotel industry is a flourishing one in this country. Nevertheless, hotel industry has been a major player in the growth of the Malaysian economy, contributing to approximately 50% of the country’s real GDP (Awang, Ishak, Radzi, & Taha, 2008). The revenues from hotels in Malaysia is estimated at a whopping US$733m in 2019.

Why is Hotel management so popular in Malaysia?

Malaysia’s hospitality industry has had a healthy growth in hotel and hospitality-related services owing it all to a steady inflow of business travelers, tourists, students, and the nation’s popularity as a MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) venue. Malaysia’s advantage also lies in in its proving good value in terms of costs compared to the rest of the world.

 

List of Universities offering a degree in Hotel Management

 

Career Prospects

Culinary Arts

• Commis Cook
• Chef de Cuisine
• Chef de Partie
• Sous Chef
• Celebrity Chef
• Executive Chef
• Executive Sous Chef
• Catering Chef
• Cruise Line Chef
• Area/ Group Chef
• Business Analyst
• Culinary Lecturer
• WACS Certified Master Chef

 

Other Specializations:

• Food Photographer
• Food Promoter
• Food Critic
• Food Research Specialist
• Food Scientist
• Food Stylist
• Food Writer
• Entrepreneurs/restaurant owner
• Business Analyst
• Michelin Star Chef
• Nutritionist
• Kitchen Director
• Director of Culinary Arts Institutions

 

Hospitality Management

• Business Development Manager
• Convention / Events Planner
• Cost Control Manager
• Customer Service Manager
• Director of Operations
• Exhibition Manager
• Executive Housekeeper
• Director of Food & Beverage
• Director of Marketing
• Director of Restaurants
• Director of Sales
• Front Office Manager
• Hotel Manager
• Human Resource Manager
• Public Relations Manager
• Purchasing Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Revenue Manager
• Rooms Division Manager
• Training Manager
• Catering Manager
• Cost Control Manager
• Travel Destination Brand Manager
• Entertainment Manager
• Event Planner
• Food & Beverage Manager
• Food Service Manager
• Hotel Manager
• Purchasing Manager
• Restaurant Manager
• Training Manager
• Travel Consultant
• Chef
• Regional Restaurant Manager
• Head of Housekeeping
• Hotel manager
• Front office manager
• Food and beverage manager
• Restaurant and food service manager
• Banquet manager
• Steward
• Housekeeping manager
• Floor supervisor