Which is more important in hospitality, education or experience?

Hospitality Education: A Gateway to the Next Step

Sudhir Andrews, Dean of Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa, says, “There is a drop in interest in hotel management as a career. The top IHMs, who are the largest network of hospitality educators in India, are facing a drop in applicants and enrollments from principal urban areas. But still, education is what will get you in the door.

Nevertheless, it’s important that the hotel management course you choose includes plenty of practical training and hotel management internships which allow you to put into practice what you’ve learned in the classroom.

Hotel Management/ Hospitality Profession: Essential Requirements

A candidate must be willing to work in various areas, as the profession may require that an hospitality employee be multi-talented and be asked to handle everything like work in

• Management
• Food and beverage service
• Housekeeping
• Front office operation
• Sales, and marketing

or any other department, depending upon the specific requirement.

Advantages of Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality/ Hotel Management

Though it is possible to make a career in hospitality even without a proper degree. However, employers pay more attention to the ones who have obtained a bachelor’s degree in the specific field. They are easily able to confide in a candidate that he/she knows in detail about a particular specialization in addition to being acquainted with the industry requirements. The advantages of hospitality education are

• Obtaining knowledge, skills
• Ability in most aspects of hospitality profession
• Better understanding of the relationship and interdependencies between various functional areas
• Analytical and research skills

Obtaining education from the Right Institute

The Indian hotel education system can be covered under three types of institutions:

• National Council of Hotel Management: Central Government IHM (Institute of Hotel Management) in key cities of India.
• Private Colleges of higher standards such as: Taj Aurangabad, OCLD (Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development), Manipal College, and many more are affiliated with international hotel schools.
• Private colleges of low and medium standards affiliated with Indian universities.

The standards of these colleges, like syllabus, curriculum, infrastructure, faculty, and so on, vary. So rather than being in a dilemma of course-college selection. It is necessary to look up what facility and hotel management internships the college offers. Choose your subject area depending on interest and scope in the future.

Industry Experience is what counts

As you climb up the career ladder, in the end it is the industry experience in hospitality or, say, training sometimes that counts. Without it, your degree is just a piece of paper that won't let you grow up in your career aspect. While there are ample opportunities, students need to evaluate their aptitude for a career in hospitality before coming right into it.

Networking is very necessary in the hospitality and travel industry. If you are being considered for a top job at a higher position, your education will no longer be of any great significance in the selection process. Rather, it will be your most recent employment history that will determine whether you get the job or not. A future employer wants to see what you have accomplished professionally and what you are capable of doing.

Conclusion

With time and technology progressing, it has become important to have a solid knowledge of the background. It is especially important for the newcomers in today’s time. It is not only important that you make opportunities to rapidly learn, grow, and engage within the industry, but equally significant is to make sure that such activities reach a wider audience. Opening up the industry for organizational studies, internships, and similar pre-employment activities is a good start.