Running head: CAREERS IN LODGING AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE 1

Principles of Hospitality & Tourism Management

Careers in Lodging and Food and Beverage Industries

November 17, 2013

Careers in Lodging and Food and Beverage Industries The American Hotel & Lodging Association, AH&LA is an association that represents the lodging industry, as well as its stakeholders ("American hotel &," ), whereas the National Restaurant Association, NRA, is the association that represents the restaurant industry (Gray, 2009). They both provide a host of services to aid in the development, organization, operation and success of the many restaurants or lodging companies they serve. They also provide thousands of jobs to people as well and the outlook of jobs looks more promising, which will be discussed later in this paper. According to the U.S. Industry Report in October 2013, service industries such as lodging and restaurant industries are experiencing growth in revenues which will in turn promote more non-management and management jobs (Hodges, 2013). The AH&LA and NRA’s web sites are portals to many of the jobs that are available. On the AH&LA’s website, there are over 70 categories of management jobs and search results yield 13,330 opportunities nationally and internally. Some of the management categories include Chef, Administrative, Events, Operations, Entertainment, Customer Service, Food and Beverage, Gaming, Hotel, Restaurant, Unit, Kitchen, and Rooms. There are many specific categories in these areas as well, including Restaurant jobs. For example, under the Chef category, there are five specialized areas such as a Banquet Chef, Chef de Partie, Executive Chef, Pastry/Baker Chef and Sous Chef. In the Food and Beverage Category, there are seven specialized areas such as Beverage, Catering, Events, Kitchen and Restaurant. There are General Manager (later referenced as GM) positions available in the Kitchen, Hotel, Restaurant and Unit categories. On NRA’s website there’s an astounding 97,931 management opportunities, nationally and internationally, in the search results ("National restaurant association," ). Comparing the two search results, one can see there are approximately 84,600 more management job opportunities on the AH&LA web site than on the NRA web site. On the AH&LA web site, the management job opportunities are listed by companies instead of categories. There are 30 different companies listed including Starbucks, Autozone, Pizza Hut, Petco, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, UPS, Radio Shack and the Army National Guard. Under the search boxes, there was a comprehensive list of companies all over the U.S. seeking openings for a General or Restaurant Manager. A GM is responsible for managing the daily operations of the business. In both the restaurant and lodging industries, they have to hire, train, develop, motivate and monitor the performance of employees. They have to monitor the budget and control costs. They both have to order supplies and ensure customers are satisfied with their services. They also have to be good communicators and in the restaurant industry, they must be available to work long hours. Restaurant GM’s work in restaurants and therefore have to be knowledgeable of food safety guidelines in addition to the other duties listed above. Lodging GM’s work in hotels and may work with other managers, such as restaurant managers, who may have to be knowledgeable of food safety. Also, lodging GM’s have to oversee housekeeping operations, while restaurant GM’s do not (Gray, 2009). Salaries vary greatly for GM positions depending on the company, size of company and level of experience of the individual. For example, Pizza Hut’s GM positions were offering $30,000 to $40,000 a year compared to Patricia & Associates which pays $45,000 to $85,000 a year. General Managers at Cinamon Enterprises, another restaurant, can earn up to $75,000 a year ("National restaurant association," ). On the AH&LA site, some many salaries ranged from $40,000 to $50,000 but that can greatly increase depending on how large the hotel is. For example, a large hotel in New York is paying from $120,000 to $140,000 for a GM position, almost two to four times the salary of some smaller hotels ("American hotel &," ). As stated in the first paragraph, the outlook of jobs in the restaurant and lodging industries are promising and are expected to grow within the upcoming years. Cook and preparation workers and food and beverage serving and related workers are amongst the 100 fastest-growing careers (Farr, 2010). Cook and preparation workers prepare, season and cook a wide range of foods and can work in grocery stores, restaurants, schools and hospitals. Food and beverage serving workers are basically waiters or waitresses. They greet customers, take orders and bring food and beverages to their customers. Related workers include hosts or hostesses or bartenders. There is little to no experience needed for these jobs, which is why they attract more youth. Most jobs just require a high school diploma and a good memory for related worker jobs because they must be able to take orders, and remember names and faces in order to not cause confusion and make mistakes. Approximately 35% of workers in cooks and preparation workers jobs are under the age of 24 and 21% of food and beverage serving workers are between 16 and 19 years old (as of 2008). Jobs continuously open for these types of jobs because most are employed part-time so people leave in search of full-time work. Also, the earnings growth potential is low. The average salary for cook and preparation workers or food and beverage workers only range from $17,000 to $24,000 a year and $16,000 to $21,000 for waiters, waitresses and bartenders (United & Jist Works, 2011). In 2008, the amount of food and beverage workers totaled 7,652,400 and is forecasted to reach 8,413,100 by 2018. This shows a 10% increase or increase of 760,700 workers (Farr, 2010). If one chooses to continue working in cooks and preparation worker or food and beverage serving or related worker jobs, he or she may want to advance to management or as Chefs or Supervisors. Head Chefs, Head Cooks and Food Preparation Supervisors are usually the most skilled cooks and use their skills to develop recipes and prepare food. These jobs require more management duties as they may hire, train and supervise staff, estimate the cost of food and supplies, order non-food supplies, create work schedules, and ensure daily operations are run successfully. There is little change expected in these positions and average salary is only $24,000 to $40,000. The basic job requirement for Chefs, Cooks and Supervisors is that they must have work related experience (United & Jist Works, 2011). The outlook food and beverage industry looks promising, as well as the lodging industry. The outlook for Lodging Managers shows little growth (United & Jist Works, 2011), but hotel, motel and desk clerk positions show increase and are listed in the 100 most fastest-growing careers. Hotel, motel and desk clerks greet guests, book and cancel reservations, perform front desk duties and assist guests. There is no degree required for these types of positions as experience may come through on-the-job training, but some coursework or knowledge of hospitality is helpful. In 2008, the amount of hotel, motel and desk clerks totaled 230,200 and is forecasted to reach 261,700 by 2018. This shows a 14% increase or increase of 31,500 workers. There are millions of workers in the food and beverage industry compared to only thousands in the lodging industry; however, job growth is 4% higher for lodging jobs (Farr, 2010). With the increase of jobs in the food and beverage and lodging industries, restaurant managers and HR Departments will have to do more hiring. Human Resources represent the most valuable capital in the hospitality industry and should be integrated as part of a strategic business strategy. Because labor force training and skills development has been a major challenge in the past, recommendations for HR should be to focus more on practices such as training, motivating, providing attractive benefits and incentives and career advancement opportunities for employees. If more focus is in these areas, then companies will be able to avoid the constant influx of new people who will have to be trained for the same positions or may not be suited for the job. Also, companies can eliminate employees who are trained and talented who may leave in order to seek better opportunities. Keeping talented employees is vital because the food and beverage and lodging industries are strictly customer service based industries and are constantly experiencing technological and non-technological changes and increased competition. Changes in customer values and expectations are forcing managers to set increasingly higher standards and likewise, employee expectations are forcing higher standards as well. In addition, managers know that one of the most important keys to competitive advantage and company success is by hiring and maintaining skilled employees who can provide exceptional customer service (Popescu & Avram, 2012). The food and beverage and lodging industries have a positive job growth forecast for the upcoming years. Jobs in the food and beverage industry are expected to increase by 10% while jobs in the lodging industries are expected to increase by 14%. The American Hotel & Lodging Association, AH&LA, and National Restaurant Association, NRA, are two organizations that act as the foundation for and represent every segment of the food and beverage and lodging industries. Whether a lodging or restaurant business, big or small, stakeholder, manager or employee, these organizations offer membership to companies and individuals alike and membership can be very beneficial in company and individual success. The AH&LA and NRA web sites both act as portals to the thousands of management and non-management jobs that are available in these industries. Each site is great as most jobs on these sites have the qualifications for the jobs and the starting and ending salaries available and one can easily decide if he or she wishes to apply for them. These organizations also help businesses get started and network to be connected to other businesses and this in turn promotes industry growth. With the ever increasing amount of jobs becoming available, managers and/or HR departments must focus more on retaining, motivating, and keeping current employees rather than continuing to allow many skilled and trained employees to walk out the door to seek better job opportunities. This can be accomplished through setting up training and continuous training, offering incentives, attractive benefits and growth opportunities. If employees are happy, they are more likely to stay at their current jobs. And, as employees remain at their current jobs, they will gain invaluable experience which can ultimately provide the customer service needed to maintain customers in a competitive industry.

References
American hotel & lodging association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ahla.com/
Farr, M. (2010). 100 fastest-growing careers. (11th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: JIST Publishing.
Gray, J. (2009). Lodging, restaurant and resort management. (1st ed.). Chandni Chowk, Delhi- 110 006: Global Media.
Hodges, L. (2013). U.S. industry: Report. U.S. Industry Quarterly Review: Services – Others
National restaurant association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.restaurant.org/Home Popescu, C., & Avram, (Ratiu) D. (2012). New trends in human resource management in the hospitality industry. Proceedings of the Scientific Conference AFASES, 185-190.
United, S., & Jist Works, I. (2011). Ez occupational outlook handbook: Based on information from the u.s. department of labor. Indianopolis, IN: Jist Works.