Hospitality Courses
The hospitality industry is comprised of many different potential career paths. Hotel managers, caterers and restaurateurs, for example, all work in the hospitality business. For a student interested in travel and interacting with other cultures, the hospitality field can be a natural fit as it could lead to many varied and exciting locations. Boutique luxury hotels in North America and Europe, exotic tropical resorts and faraway Asian destinations - all of these locales require a dedicated staff to ensure that things run smoothly. Positions exist with all types of companies, from small bed-and-breakfasts to 1600-room hotels. (cont.)
Hotels and resorts literally dot the globe, and as the economy recovers, travel is expected to rebound as well. In fact, the U.S. Travel Association is forecasting the travel industry to add 90,000 jobs to the American market in 2010. Hospitality coursework includes the business skills necessary to run a hotel or restaurant, such as accounting and finance. As the very name "hospitality" implies, students should also be interested in people. As the hospitality business is very service-oriented, so should be the students who wish to be successful. Responding to clients' wishes and needs while also managing unexpected bumps is required of the professional restaurant or hotel manager. Their number one priority is to give their customer the best experience and leave with only the most pleasant memories of their business. The hospitality field also requires that many different parts work together seamlessly. Students should be prepared for a career where they're asked to work in a team environment to accomplish a common goal. To be sure, it is a demanding profession, but one that can take a dedicated and hard worker around the country -- or even the globe.
