UNIT 2

Working In The
Hospitality Industry
In the words of the Ritz-Carlton hotel company: We are
ladies and gentlemen taking care of ladies and gentlemen.

The Spirit to Serve: Marriott’s Way. Marriott has timeless

core values and enduring purpose, including the belief that
its people are number one: “take care of Marriott people
and they will take care of the guests. Marriott’s core
purpose— making people away from home feel that they
are among friends and are really wanted.

Kurt Wachtveilt, 30-year veteran former general manager of

the Oriental hotel in Bangkok, Thailand—considered by
many to be one of the best hotels in the world—was asked,
“What is the secret of being the best?” he replied, “Service,
service, service
 Making it Happen
People who work in the hospitality industry
must possess:
 Good interpersonal skills
 Sound communication skills
 Flexibility in working hours
 High level of technical skills
 Organisational skills
 Self motivation
 Teamwork ability and
 Well-groomed/well presented
 Hospitality Service Model

• Smile
• Make Eye contact
• Respect and welcome all guests
• Value the guest
• Initiate guest contact
• Creative service solutions
• End with a “thank you”
What is Hospitality Management?

• Food Production
• Hotel Management
• Food and Beverage Services
• Housekeeping
• Front Office
Some of the personal skills essential to succeed
in the Hotel Industry are

• An interest in food and changing styles

• A friendly and outgoing disposition
• Good communication and interaction skills
• Good organising abilities and an eye for
details
• Pleasant and cheerful personality.
Skills for Front Office Management
-Strong communication skills
-Good command over English, and other
preferred languages
-Ability to be on your feet for long hours
-An energetic and cheerful personality
 Skills for Housekeeping
•Excellent problem- solving skills
•Strong ability to grow and learn
•Ability to multi-task
•Good know-how of various
equipments
 Skills for Food Production
•Good knowledge of food and constant update of
trends in national and international cuisines
•Interest in cooking
•Ability to have a good focus on quality,
production, sanitation and food cost controls
 Skills for Food and Beverages Services
•Pleasant personality
•Knowledge of foreign language(s)
•Good command over English
•Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally
and in writing, to an array of diverse internal
and external clients
•Ability to establish, maintain and enforce
consistently high performance standards.
What skills do you need to
succeed in hospitality?

• People Skills
• Soft Skills
• Business Skills
 People skills
People skills are about much more than customer service.
A hospitality career requires you to work with – and
perhaps even manage – other people, all of whom will likely
come from different backgrounds and have unique ways of
working.
• Leadership
While you might begin your hospitality career as a waiter or
food and beverage attendant, there's ample opportunity to
work your way up into leadership roles with more
responsibility, such as Head Chef or Operations Manager.
To get to these kinds of positions, you'll need to
demonstrate you can lead teams of people to great
success.
Communication
• This is one of the most valuable skills for hospitality
employees. It's vital if you're working front-of-house, as
you'll be engaging with customers on a daily basis. But it's
also critical in back-of-house – after all, the secret to
success is great teamwork, of which communication is the
foundation.
• People skills are essential in the hospitality industry – not
only for interactions with customers, but with other
members of your team.
Dispute resolution
• Sometimes you'll receive complaints, encounter difficult
customers, or experience communication problems within
your team. In these instances, you'll need to be able to
show empathy and acknowledge the perspective of others,
as well as communicate your own standpoint.
 Soft skills

• Ability to work under pressure

• Hospitality is a fast-paced profession. While you'll catch the occasional
breather, during busy periods you'll be on your feet juggling many tasks, so
this skill is not one to take lightly.
• Stress and time management
• Because you'll be multi-tasking, your stress management and time
management skills should be impeccable. You'll need to know what to
prioritise, what can be left until later, and how to work to tight schedules to
meet customer expectations.
• When you work in hospitality, you'll be balancing more than just food and
beverages; you'll need to balance your responsibilities, too.
• Problem-solving and creativity
• The ability to come up with new ideas and ways to delight your customers –
whether that's through your service, the food you plate up, or the beverages
you serve – is always vital in the hospitality industry. It means when you face
a problem like an outdated menu, miscommunication or a tricky customer,
you'll be able to think on your feet to fix the issue as soon as possible.
• Creativity is a very useful skill in the hospitality industry.
 Business skills

• If you're looking to have a long-term career in hospitality and reach the stage where
you're running your own business, you'll need a whole host of other skills. Even if
you don't want to be the boss, hospitality contains many pathways that incorporate
business skills which will come in handy.
• Want to run your own hospitality business one day? You'll need to arm yourself with
valuable business skills.
• Marketing
• Marketing know-how is crucial to running a successful hospitality business. If you're
a business owner, you'll need to make sure people know about your business and
that you're encouraging them to return through traditional advertising, as well as
digital methods like social media, content marketing, Google Adwords and email
campaigns.
• Finances
• Similarly, financial skills like budgeting, accounting and taxation will go a long way
towards ensuring business success. The majority of businesses that fail in Australia
are small ones, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has found,
which many hospitality businesses like cafes and restaurants are. Having a solid
understanding of how to run your business from a financial standpoint before you
start will help ensure success.
• If you're dreaming of running your own hospitality business one day, you'll need
financial skills to make sure you stay up and running.
See you next week