How is the career in Hotel Management?

Career in Hotel Management

Introduction

One of the significant outcomes of globalization is the tremendous growth in the tourism and hospitality industry, Hotel management has wide employment opportunities. With India being one of the most popular travel destinations, the government too is encouraging and investing in the development of these industries.

The hotel industry is a crucial part of the hospitality industry with a huge growth potential in the near future. As hotel chain owners are opening new hotels in various big and small cities, requirement for trained hotel management professionals is huge. Although considered one of the most glamorous careers, hotel management requires professionals who can keep their cool even in the most challenging situations.

Hotel management can include Hotel & Restaurant management, Cruise Ship Hotel management, Hospital Administration and Catering, Hotel and Tourism Associations, Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Club management, Forest Lodges, Guest Houses amongst others.

Many government colleges and private institutes in India offer certificate, diploma or degree courses in hotel management.

Step-by-Step Procedure

There are various job profiles in hotel management and depending upon the candidates' education, work experience, the positions are offered. However, in order to work in top level / mid-level management, candidates must have a degree in travel management. Whereas some hotels hire graduates direct from universities, some other hotels hire only trained hotel management graduates. Candidates can do degree course in hotel management soon after 10+2 which are offered by various hotel management institutes.

The minimum selection criteria for an undergraduate course in hotel management is 10+2 with 50% marks.  However, candidates who do not have 50% marks in +2 can do diploma or certificate course in hotel management which are being offered by various institutes. Additionally, some hotels provide training cum job placement and candidates who do not have other options can opt for it. Indian hotel management institutes conduct entrance exams before selecting the candidates for various courses.

Eligibility Criteria

• Minimum qualification necessary for a hotel management course is 10+2.  Depending on the cost and duration of the course, one can opt for a certificate ,diploma or degree course.
• Certificate courses can be of six months to one year duration, a diploma of two years and a degree course of three year duration.
• Selection for government recognized colleges and institutes is done through the common entrance test held in April every year. The test consists of multiple choice questions in English, Reasoning, General Science and General knowledge.
• A group discussion and personal interview is conducted further to assess the personality and aptitude of the candidate before he is finally selected for the hotel management course. Private institutes too conduct tests along the same lines for selecting candidates.

You have to clear NCHMCT JEE to join prestigious institutes for Hotel Management in India.

Start Early

Students looking for a career in hotel management should have strong communication skills, reasoning skills, numerical aptitude and pleasing personality. Therefore, if some candidate is lacking in these skills, he/she must inculcate them in him/her and for that starting early definitely helps. Many students start preparing for entrance exams conducted by IHMs soon after their 10th board. Similarly, those who wish to go for higher studies in hotel management can do Masters in Hotel Management; for MHM the person is required to have BHM.

Is it the Right Career for Me?

Before jumping to any decision to select hotel management as a career option, it is always advised to analyse pros and cons, growth prospects, matching of work-profile with personality traits, etc. If the candidate is not willing to work in various profiles he may not be suitable for it as in hotel management an employee may be asked to work in management, food and beverage service, housekeeping, front office operation, sales and marketing, accounting or any other department depending upon the specific requirement.

What is the Cost?

Depending upon the rank and reputation of hotel management college the fee is charged from candidates. Whereas Garden City College in Bangalore charges around Rs 3,50,000 for  the three year graduate course, Christ College in the same city ask candidates to pay Rs 48,0000 per semester for 4 year BHM course. Similarly, a graduate course in hotel management at IHM Chennai can cost Rs 37,500 per semester. Students who are not willing to shell hefty amount on the courses from top notch hotel management institute may go for diploma courses offered by the same institutes.

Scholarships / Education Loans

Many hotel management institutes offer merit based concessions on fees to eligible candidates. Similarly, some institutes give discounts to sponsored candidates who come for training. Junior Research Fellowship is offered to those candidates who are willing to explore their career in academics. Students looking for external funding can apply for low interest rate loan offered by most of the nationalised banks like Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, IDBI, etc. Students of all the hotel management institutes which are affiliated with AICTE are eligible to get a loan of Rs 7.50 lakh for studying in India and Rs 15 lakh to study outside India. The low interest rate education loan can be repaid in 5-7 years of duration in equal instalments starting one year after the completion of the course.

Job Prospects

There are many exciting jobs opportunities for hotel management graduates with the increasing competition in the hotel industry. Since a hotel has many departments such as Operations, Front Office, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Engineering/ Maintenance, Security etc. one can opt for a field of their liking and pursue a career and successfully grow in it.

Apart from jobs in Hotels and restaurants, hotel management diploma holders /graduates can find good jobs in:

• Airline Catering (flight kitchen) and Cabin Services
• Club management
• Cruise Ship Hotel Management
• Hospital administration and catering
• Hotel and Tourism Associations (for eg: state tourism development corporations)
• Hospitality services in the Indian Navy
• Hospitality services in various MNCs
• Forest Lodges
• Guest Houses, resorts
• Kitchen Management (in hotels or running canteens in college, schools, in factories, company guest houses etc.)
• Catering departments of railways, banks, armed forces, shipping companies etc.
• Hotel and catering institutes (as a management trainee/ marketing or sales executive)
• Self employment (as an entrepreneur)

Pay Packet : starting salary of Rs 20,000 or more

Institutes/Universities

 The best :-

• Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition

(17 centres located in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Chennai, Goa, Gurdaspur, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Srinagar and Thiruvananthapuram).

Thanks for reading....!