To begin with, hospitality refers to the relationship between a host and a guest. It is a word that refers to treating strangers with love. Despite what the term means, there are tough days when it’s hard to love the strangers who come through the hotel doors.
If you are planning to join one of the top hotel chains after passing from a hotel management college, you need to understand the characteristics of the hotel industry at first. Here are a few things that none tells you about working in the hospitality industry.
There’s No Time To Waste:
People working in the hospitality industry hardly have a moment to relax or think. There are always dozens of people waiting at the front counter, dozens of mail to reply. Therefore, it’s always a go, go, go situation. You need to be quite active to keep up with perfection.
Scheduling Conflicts:
From hotel staff wanting to reschedule their tasks to bunking up their shifts at the last moment, the hospitality industry is full of chaos. However, most of the top hotel institutions are solving such problems with user-friendly software.
Customers Can Be Very Demanding:
As any hotel management school teaches, handling the guests is one of the main job roles of the hospitality industry. Simply put, some people are just looking for a free night and they will complain about every last thing even if there is no issue. As a hotel staff, you need to be ready to deal with these types of people who always want something extra for free.
Some Circumstances Are Not In Your Control:
Life is full of unwanted situations. For example, the weather might get miserable, your guest’s flights get cancelled or they might lose their luggage, you don’t have control over these circumstances. However, there are chances that guests will complain about every unwanted situation anyway. While you are not directly involved, you need to be polite and understanding in such instances.
Some Guests Come With Zero Manners:
You will be familiar with what we are talking about. While working on your shift, you get a phone call. The person talking on the other end wants to book a room but you are all booked up and the argument begins. Things get worse when your customers have no manners.
However, at the end of the day, working in hospitality can be pretty demanding in terms of mental, emotional and physical energy required for your job. Before joining the industry, don’t forget to enrol in a hotel management institute.