Hotel and Restaurant Management
“The great advantage of a hotel is that it is a refuge from home life.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Overview
Do you like to serve? If so, you may want to consider a career in hotel and restaurant management. Known collectively as the hospitality industry, hotels and restaurants perform the vital function of making travel more pleasant and enjoyable for vacationing families as well as traveling businesspeople. Just like any industry, employers are looking for candidates with the proper training and our accredited online hotel and restaurant management degree programs can help you advance your career from the convenience of home.
Hotel and Restaurant Management: Career Insights
- Hospitality industry employment is growing slower than average. However, certain kinds of travel, such as adventure travel, are projected to rise more quickly as Baby Boomers develop the wherewithal to take more exotic trips.
- Successful job applicants seeking to reach the top of their field will tend to have degrees in hotel management, restaurant management and hospitality management.
Certified Hospitality Supervisor
A certified hospitality supervisor typically has completed a 12-week training program designed to provide the basic introduction to running a hospitality service such as a hotel, motel or campground. Though not versed in the finer points of hotel management (e.g., hospital corners, proper placement of the mint), a CHS is perfectly qualified to help guests with basic services such as check-in, billing explanation, and finding the ice machine.
Franchise Manager
A franchise manager is in charge of a single franchise, that is, a business authorized to distribute products and services in a defined area. (A fast-food restaurant, typically, is a franchise.) Franchise managers typically need skills in operations, finance, and human resource management.
Guest Services, Banquet, Front Desk and Other Specialty Managers
Acting as the guest’s advocate, the Guest Services Manager is responsible for ensuring the success of all aspects of a guest’s stay at a hotel, amusement park or spa, from check-in through departure. Guest services managers typically have degrees in hospitality management. Typically employed by resorts, cruise ships and theme restaurants such as Medieval Times, a banquet manager’s job is to expedite the setup of the dining hall, organize the wait staff and make sure the food arrives in front of the guest hot. Depending on the situation, they may also work with, or take the position of a Director of Catering. The front desk manager is on the front lines – or behind them, actually, keeping an eye on the front desk clerks who actually greet guests at a hotel and direct them to their rooms. This front desk team plays a vital role in the guest experience, since the hotel never gets a second chance to make a first impression.
Director of Sales and Marketing
How do you generate demand for your hotel rooms? How do you consummate a sale to a company for their corporate retreat? If these questions intrigue you, perhaps you have a future as a hospitality director of sales and marketing, charged not only with creating the brand image for a hotel but then translating that into customer action. The DoS&M typically has an online degree in business administration, often a master’s. They are also responsible for directing sales coordinators, who typically work a specific deal through to closing, for example, renting out a facility for an office holiday party.
Food Service Manager
If food in large quantities is your idea of a good time, life as a food service manager is for you. Ordering, storing and ensuring the high quality of a restaurant’s or hotel’s food is the bailiwick of the food services manager – not recipes, preparation and cooking, but all the operational aspects around that.
Executive Chef
The executive chef sets the tone of the restaurant, from menu concept to recipe specifics to plate presentation. Often the chef also has direct contact with guests, wandering the floor during meal hours to accept praise from diners. The executive chief will invariably have studied at a culinary school and hold a restaurant degree; chefs with more than one degree get to wear a taller hat.
Chief Concierge
The concierge – a French term meaning one who assists guest with reservations and other needs – is the troubleshooter in a hotel, providing assistance in a wide range of areas to make the guest’s stay more enjoyable. A good concierge can snag hard-to-get restaurant reservations, recommend just the right entertainment or activity, and remove an unsightly stain using club soda and a cloth napkin.
Just like every career, hotel and restaurant management is a competitive market and requires serious education. If you take your career in management seriously, you’ll want to research accredited online degree programs such as the Associate of Applied Science in Hotel/Restaurant Management; Bachelor of Art – Hospitality Management; and Associate in Specialized Business Degree in Hospitality Management.
Click here for a complete list of accredited online Hotel and Restaurant Management degree programs