If you were asked, “What does a hospitality worker do?”, what would your response be? There’s often a misconception that working in hospitality means your career choices are:
a) A hotel manager
b) A receptionist
c) A room cleaner
d) A waiter

In fact, the hospitality industry offers a considerable variety of career opportunities covering a substantial range of skills and income levels. Over the next few weeks we’ll showcase a whole bunch of different hospitality jobs and find out what hospitality workers actually do, what skills are required and where their position fits into the grand scheme of the hotel’s organisational structure.

Where does my dream job fit into the bigger picture?

The organisational structure of a hotel varies depending on its size. A large hotel with over 500 rooms will have a network of numerous employees serving in a number of departments while a family run bed and breakfast might employ two or three people.

The organisational structure (and job opportunities) in a full service hotel:

It’s obvious that there’s a fantastic diversity of career and job opportunities in the hotel business, and that’s without taking into account the rest of the hospitality industry which includes restaurants, weddings, and tourism to name a few other options.

Should I be a specialist in one field or a jack of all trades?

A full service hospitality establishment (eg. hotel, sports resort, cruiseliner, etc.) is the place for specialists as there are more opportunities to have a niche-type job (for example, a pastry chef).

A smaller hospitality establishment (eg. bed & breakfast, guest house, small lodge etc.) is more likely to employ people who are willing to work across disciplines (for example, one chef who does full meals including desserts).

When you’re deciding whether to specialise in one area or go the multi-disciplinary route, remember it’s probably best to do something you love, enjoy and are passionate about as it will reflect in your work and give you irreplaceable job satisfaction.

What to expect from the “Who is” series

The “Who is” series will be an informative series of articles about different jobs in the hospitality industry. Keep an eye on the blog for info on hotel departments, hospitality careers and interviews with people working in the business.

Feel free to let us know if there are any jobs you particularly want to know about and we’ll see what we can do to feature them!

* The organisational structure in a full service hotel diagram taken from: “American Hotel and Lodging Association textbook: Hospitality Today”