Summary
Customer service lies at the heart of the hospitality industry
Hospitality offers a wide range of career opportunities beyond hotels
One hospitality expert, 650 hospitality aspirants and a hour-long session on the nitty-gritty of the hospitality industry — Kumar Shobhan, general manager of Hyatt Regency, had his audience in rapt attention for the webinar on ‘How to be a Hospitality Star’ on June 25.
The virtual session, brought to you by the CII Institute of Hospitality, was conducted by The Telegraph Edugraph as a part of the monthly series ‘How to be…’ aimed at demystifying careers.
Here are some excerpts from the session:
Understanding hospitality
Hospitality is about customer service and serving the guest is an important aspect of Indian values. Hospitality management is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of industries, including food and beverage; travel and accommodation; leisure and entertainment; meetings, exhibitions and events and more. A hospitality professional’s responsibilities may include everything from maintenance and housekeeping to spa services, concierge or reception.
Essential skills
Firstly, a person working in the hospitality sector must have a passion for the job. They must be cordial, flexible and friendly. They must also be ready to handle conflicts, innovate and work on constructive criticism. Someone working in the hospitality sector cannot be discriminative or introverted. Communication skills and ability to read body language of the guests are added skills that help individuals in the profession.
Kumar Shobhan is the general manager of Hyatt Regency, Kolkata. Source: Edugraph
Scope to acquire skills
An individual working in the hospitality sector gains several valuable skills with experience. Customer service excellence will be the first skill to achieve while working. A hospitality professional also learns to communicate both verbally and non-verbally as they are exposed to a mix of culture. With experience, a hospitality professional also acquires knowledge about various culinary techniques and application, nutrition, dietetics, hospitality business management and many other aspects of the sector.
Opportunities galore
Hospitality management is not about hotels alone. Hospitality opens up various avenues in sectors such as public relations, sales, event, marketing, human resource, entrepreneurship and tourism. In hotels, too, there are various job positions from the front office to housekeeping.
What makes a good hotelier
A good hotelier is passionate about one’s job and ready to dedicate his or her life to the profession. There will be extra work hours but enjoying the job makes it easy. A hospitality professional must have high integrity. Innovation and uniqueness are two important qualities of a good and successful hotelier. At the end, it is also important to remain grounded.
Post-COVID future
Hospitality was the worst-hit industry after COVID-19 but it has bounced back in the past six months as people have started traveling again. The hospitality sector is an important part of the Indian economy and the government is also focusing on developing the sector. There is a lot of potential in this industry and in a few years it will grow more.
Last updated on 11 Sep 2023
