The demand for trained hotel and hospitality management personnel is unabated, offering youth attractive career opportunities, sizeable pay packages and conducive conditions

Although the worldwide leisure tourism industry has taken a hit because of the prolonged global recession, business travel and medical tourism to India continue to rise. And the hotels and hospitality industry which offers a mere 1.14 million 1-5 star hotel rooms against the annual inflow of 6 million foreign visitors, is experiencing steady growth. Consequently the demand for trained hotel management personnel is unabated, offering youth attractive career options, sizeable pay packages, conducive working conditions and growth opportunities. Currently the aggregate employment in the organised sector hotels, catering and allied industries in India is 2.40 million and rising.

The minimum eligibility for admission into undergrad diploma and degree programmes in hotel management is a 50 percent average in the Plus Two school-leaving exam. However, the majority of private colleges which offer diploma certificate programmes are content with Plus Two pass certification.

Among the top hotel management schools are the 21 government-sponsored Indian Hotel Management Institutes (IHMs) sited in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Shillong, Hajipur, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Goa, Gurdaspur, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Shimla, Srinagar and Thiruvananthapuram, promoted by the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT), New Delhi, under the aegis of the Union government’s department of tourism. Admission into the bachelor of science programme in hospitality and hotel administration at these institutes is through a joint entrance examination held in May every year. To be eligible to write the JEE, candidates should have passed Plus Two in any stream with English. Private colleges conduct their own entrance tests.

Moreover, India’s top private hotel chains — Oberoi, Taj and Welcomgroup — have also promoted schools of hotel and hospitality management which offer excellent curriculums supplemented with high-quality training establishments — the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, New Delhi; Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad (Taj Group); and the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal.

For trained and certified hotel management graduates, there are opportunities galore not only in hotels but in other hospitality industries such as commercial airlines, leisure cruise companies, railways, hospitals, hostels, industrial canteens etc. Remuneration packages in this specialised sector tend to be generous. Graduates of top-ranked colleges and institutes are normatively signed up at Rs.20,000-plus per month. Graduates of other institutes start off at Rs.8,000-10,000. 

But career progression is fast. Within two years, you are likely to be promoted to the position of assistant manager at Rs.30,000-35,000 per month. A decade of hospitality experience is sufficient to become head of department (front office, F & B and housekeeping etc) at Rs.75,000-100,000 per month in reputed hotel chains. The next step in the hierarchy are positions of resident manager and vice president at which levels the pay and perks are fabulous. 

Parvez Shaikh is the F & B (food & beverages) manager of Mumbai’s 5-star Hotel Marine Plaza, sited on Marine Drive overlooking the Arabian Sea, and a constituent unit of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts which owns and/or manages 50 properties across India and boasts an aggregate annual revenue of Rs.400 crore-plus. Shaikh began his career in the hotels and catering industry immediately after secondary school in 1989, as a trainee in Mumbai’s Ambassador Hotel. Working night shifts and studying by day, he acquired a commerce degree from Elphinstone College and pressed on to complete a hotel management diploma programme from Mumbai’s Sophia Polytechnic in 1995. 

After acquiring a decade’s work experience at the Ambassador, Shaikh signed up with Holiday Inn, Baroda in 1999 and helped to operationalise the hotel. Three years later he moved to Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai, and in 2003 ventured abroad to work for the Marco Polo Hotel, Dubai. Following a six-year stint (2004-2010) as banquets manager at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai he moved to Chennai to work with the Hilton, returned to Mumbai’s The Lalit in 2011 and since 2012, has been with the Marine Plaza. 

According to Shaikh, the upside of the hotels and hospitality industry is the fast career progression, providing opportunities for interaction with assorted people — including celebrities and dignitaries — from world over. “It’s an industry offering global mobility and opportunities. But there’s a downside too. This is not a nine-to-five industry. Top managers need to make the sacrifice of working long and odd hours. On the surface, this is a glamorous five-star career. But behind the scenes, hard work, late hours, long shifts and a cool mind in all circumstances make it a demanding profession,’’ says Shaikh. 

However he has no regrets about the career choice he made almost a quarter century ago. “It’s a great and always interesting job because competition keeps us on our toes,’’ he says.

Indra Gidwani (Mumbai)