Hospitality Jobs

The hospitality industry includes a broad category of fields such as restaurants, lodging, theme parks, event planning, cruise lines, resort clubs, RV camps and casinos. In recent years, ecotourism has become a factor in the hospitality industry. Companies in the hospitality industry providing professionalism, authenticity and concern for the happiness and well-being of their customers have a clear competitive advantage.

The hospitality industry is heavily dependent on tourist and business travel. The hospitality industry strongly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income.

Hospitality Employment - Employer Reviews

Hospitality Industry Facts

The lodging industry in 2009 produced $127.20 billion in sales and $16.0 billion in pretax profits (American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA))
In 2008, about 64,300 establishments offered accommodations (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS))
The tourism industry ranks among the top 10 largest industries in 48 states plus the District of Columbia (AH&LA)
Tourism produces $704 billion in sales, excluding international passenger fares on US airlines (AH&LA)
In 2009, 40 percent of lodging customers traveled for business and 60 percent traveled for leisure (D.K. Shifflet & Associates, Ltd.)

Hospitality Employment Background

Career opportunities in the hospitality industry are provided by lodging companies, casinos, resorts, food service companies, travel agencies, cruise lines and other sectors. Once regarded as an industry which provided little more than low-wage dead-end jobs, today the hospitality sector provides people full-time, part-time and career-track opportunities and many positions in the hospitality industry provide benefits.

Important traits for success in the hospitality industry include good communication skills, the ability to get along with all types of people in various circumstances, a pleasant manner and a neat, clean appearance.

The hospitality industry has numerous types of jobs including:

Lodging: Hotel manager, resort manager, housekeeping staff, janitors and front desk staff
Recreation: Activity coordinators, message therapists, and fitness instructors
Events and meetings: Meeting and convention planners
Financial: Accountants and auditors
Food Service: Management, cooks and waiters and waitresses
Transportation: Rental car staff members and shuttle and bus drivers
Casinos: Gaming managers and supervisors
Consultants: Resort, real estate and financial and information technology consultants
Sales: Sales professionals

Hotel Jobs

Many hospitality industry jobs don't require prior experience and usually include on-the-job training, however industry associations including the Association of Hospitality Recruiting Executives (AHRE) and a large number of colleges and universities offering degrees in hospitality management are establishing higher standards and promoting new strategies to recruit qualified people.

Hospitality Industry Employment Statistics

As of June 2011 the leisure and hospitality sector had 13,210 (in thousands) of workers (seasonally adjusted) (BLS)
The hospitality industry accounts for about 8.1 percent of all jobs in the United States, second only to local, state and federal governments (Eastern Michigan University)
In 2008, the hotels and other accommodations sector provided 1.9 jobs (BLS)
Approximately 19 percent of employees in the hotels and other accommodation industry in 2008 were under 25 years of age (BLS)
In 2008, office and administrative support workers accounted for 19 percent of the jobs in the hotels and other accommodations industry (BLS)
Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry during 2007-2009 fell by more than 2.2 percent on an annualized basis (BLS)
The travel and tourism industry pays $186 billion in travel and travel-related wages and salaries (U.S. Travel association)

Hospitality Industry Employment Outlook

The employment outlook for careers in the hospitality industry vary according to the sector and type of career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the general outlook is forecasted to be better than the average for other industries through 2016. The lodging industry is forecasted by the BLS to have a five percent employment growth from 2008 to 2018. The lodging industry includes a large number of part-time and younger employees who usually don't keep their job for very long, thus job opportunities are created in a variety of occupations.

Job opportunities in the hotel sector will be concentrated in the largest hotel occupations including hotel, motel and resort desk clerks and building cleaning employees. The BLS reports job opportunities in the hotels and other accommodations sector should be good for first-time job seekers, individuals with limited experience and people interested in making a career in the lodging industry.