New Look to the Hospitality Careers

By Anmole Singh

Looking for a career in the hospitality industry? Check out some new age hospitality career options in the article below.

Evolution of the modern day Hospitality industry came naturally to us, courtesy our expansive and rich history which is star studded by various empires and kings. All though divided by region, religion and food preferences, they were unified by their passion to deliver exquisite and “beyond-par” hospitality and warmth to their guests.

India once used to be a battle ground for only a handful domestic hotel companies like The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), EIH Limited, and ITC Hotels. The growth in foreign and domestic tourism numbers has only helped them bolster their arrival. While Foreign Travel Arrivals (FTA) numbers tripled from 1999 - 2014, the domestic visits grew six times (India Tourism Statistics, 2015). Tourism potential of the nation, stemming from diversity and the change in the socio-economic landscape, has attracted many international players. Today you can find major league international firms like Marriott, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Wyndham, Hilton, Hyatt etc spraying the sector with their huge array of specific market targeting brands. Financial year, 2016-17 saw hotel supply grow by 6.8% in India to almost 47,000 hotels with another 100 proposed to open in the next six months.

Food has lately become a popular motivator for tourism and is an aspect which today is widely advertised with a motive to boast arrivals. Catalysed by the recent emergence of food-based reality shows, interest in gastronomy has grown exponentially. It is on the podium when it comes to people showcasing lifestyle pictures on popular social media channels. Entering the food and beverage sector was thus a no-brainer for those looking for new entrepreneurial horizons. Today, all major tier-1 cities of the country house international ethnic restaurants and outlets serving global cuisine. Similar is the case with the evolution of bars and clubs serving extravagant looking concept cocktails. A research in 2004 showcased that one in every ten urban households ate out atleast once a month. This number has certainly inflated today given the increase in disposable income and options.

Given the projected growth of hotels and restaurants it is safe to forecast a growth in orthodox career opportunities in operational (food and beverage service, front office, culinary and accommodation management) and ancillary support departments (sales and marketing, event management, human resource etc). But, on the other end there have been examinations which suggest that Indian graduates lack skills that render them unemployable. This current scenario of lack of employable graduates translates into better compensated opportunities for those who achieve/ absorb the appropriate set of skills.

• Guest Service associates
• Servers
• Bartenders
• Chefs
• Pastry Chef
• Sales Managers

Development in travel and telecom infrastructure has morphed the novice consumer into an educated and experienced individual. An individual who now seeks experience varied from the last, an experience that invigorates nostalgia or an experience that betters the last. Operators attempt at achieving this via innovation in the products and services available for sale. The necessity and ability to innovate has enabled the careers of bartenders and chefs be recognised as ‘artists’. It has allowed the professions to cocoon out from the stereotypical dogmatic perception of someone who “pours-a-drink” or “just-cooks-food” to someone who plays a significant role in enhancing the experience.

Another product that has started to come to the forefront and is becoming a prominent mention in the menus is ‘wine’. Earlier only a mention in upscale restaurants, today wines from all across the globe feature in listings of every restaurant licensed to serve alcohol. A glass of wine is the latest fad that punctuates the holder with a perception of being someone with higher status-quo. But, continues to intimidate those who wish to order due to the lack of know-how. In an attempt to differentiate, today, up-scale restaurants hire ‘sommeliers’. Sommeliers are wine connoisseurs who have the required knowledge about wines and food pairing to advice the guest for wine selection. Thus, allowing guests to make a better informed decision to enhance the dining experience. This career path, though popular in western context, is new to join the league in the Indian setup. These wine experts not only have opportunities to work as sommeliers with restaurants but also are a definite selection for beverage retails, importers and promoters to market their products.

This rapid growth (of hospitality setups) in number not only indicates a direct impact on the escalating number of job opportunities but also the competition. The competition in the market is growing at a pace greater than the expansion of the market itself. Firms, to not just survive but rather flourish, have to strategize market capture while retaining the current share. Innovation, digitisation and social media marketing have been looked at as their go-to option. This has allowed the emergence of many new age career options in the hospitality sector like,

• Food critic and blogging
• Fooddesigning and photography (recognise the beautifully placed cookies on the packing of your favorite cookies?)
• Social media influencer
• Digital marketing expert

About the Author:

Anmole Singh

Anmole Singh is Assistant Professor at Vedatya Institute. He is a hospitality professional with extensive experience in restaurant and bar management with international exposure. He gained his professional experience working with international brands like Novotel and Le Meridien and HICC (South-East Asia's biggest convention Centre).

Anmole has completed his master's degree in International Hospitality Management from Manchester Metropolitan University and is currently pursuing Master of Arts in Tourism Management from IGNOU. A passionate food and beverage trainer, he is also WSET level 2 certified in wine education. He is also a member of the esteemed International Hospitality Honors Society, ETA SIGMA DELTA.