Contemporary Hospitality Industry: Skills, Roles, and Requirements

This report provides an overview of the contemporary hospitality industry, focusing on the essential skills and operational roles required for success. It begins by exploring the current and anticipated skill requirements for various positions, including kitchen staff, housekeeping staff, reception staff, and managers. The report highlights specific skills needed such as food preparation, hygiene, interpersonal skills, and time management. Furthermore, it investigates a range of different operational roles within the industry, emphasizing the contributions of each role and their impact on the overall growth and development of the hospitality sector. The report also mentions the different types of staff employed in the industry, including functional, operational, supervisory, management, and agency staff, and the varying staff requirements based on the size of the business. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of these roles in ensuring the smooth operation of the hospitality business.

The Contemporary Hospitality Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Explore current and anticipated skills requirements in the hospitality industry..........................1
2. Investigate a range of different operational roles within the hospitality industry.......................1
REFERNCES...................................................................................................................................4

1. Explore current and anticipated skills requirements in the hospitality
industry.
There are certain set of skills which are required for the role of kitchen, housekeeping,
reception staff and managers in the hospitality industry.
Kitchen staff-
They must be having skill of weeping, cutting, chopping, washing and cooking food
stuffs in way of preparing desserts and salads (Fraj, Matute and Melero, 2015). While how to
prepare food with keeping it hygienic and safe for customers is the current shortage that
hospitality industry is facing. Kitchen staff must be skilled in way of preparing healthy food with
keeping in mind hygienic and safety of customers.
Housekeeping staff-
They should be having skill of following and understanding hotel instructions so that they
could be easily putting task in order. They will also be requiring good interpersonal skill in
managing customers and supervisors. While currently they are not very much attentive towards
instructions received by managers and supervisors which they should be improving.
Managers-
They should be having number of skills to manage and supervise the working and
functions of whole staff. Skills that they need to possess are communication, conflict resolution
and leadership (Manager skills, 2018). While at current time they are having shortage of skills
which is faced by industry that is of time and priority management.
Reception staff-
There are certain skills which are required by the reception staff of hospitality industry
likes that of communication should be strong, dependability, time management skills and
technical as well. While there are certain current skills which is shortage in industry is facing as
whole like that of organiser and interpersonal skills as well. So company should be making
efforts in improving these skills which are lacking.
2. Investigate a range of different operational roles within the hospitality
industry.
Hospitality industry is having huge contribution into growth and development of country
like tourism industry of UK is the 8th largest in world. This hospitality industry will be
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representing leisure companies, hotels, restaurants and pubs which are contributing into 4% of
total GDP of UK. There are many wide range of operational job into hospitality industry and
each of the business or companies of this industry will be requiring staff members. While it is
noted that type and number of staff members will be depending upon the size of whole company
or that of business (Jauhari and Bharwani, 2017). Like 5 star hotel will require more number of
staff members than small restaurant or pub. While there are also different types of staff that are
employed within the hospitality industry including functional, operational, supervisory,
management and agency.
There is wide range of different operational roles into industry who are supposed to carry
on day to day task of business so that it is running smoothly. These operational role include like
the following:
Kitchen staff-
They are employed in order to serve all customers and guests with food for hotel or
restaurant they are the most important staff members of hospitality industry. Their job role is to
provide main service of serving food and drinks to customers who are visiting hotels. They are
the one who ensure that food preparation areas are clean and hygienic, utensils are washed and
the food or raw material is stored properly. They are at lower operational level whose
promotional possibilities will be limited only the staff will be getting opportunity to become
kitchen manager.
Housekeeping staff-
They are also employed to serve customers with essential requirements and other
activities. Their job role involves performing many activities like that of mopping, dusting,
sweeping and polishing so that they could ensure that all rooms are properly cleaned on regular
bases. They are also at lower operational level who is preforming the main function or task for
the hospitality industry.
Managers-
They are the one who is responsible to manager all task, activities and operations on daily
bases within the floor of company. They will be meant for train new staff members in their
overall activities so that managers could help in development of individual staff as well (Solnet,
Kralj and Baum, 2015). They are at the middle of operational role who could be given
opportunity to develop themselves for upcoming opportunities as well. So their role and
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responsibility will be checking whether all activities at ground level is been performed in correct
manner or not.
Reception staff-
They will be guiding all customers and clients so that they are not facing any sort of
problems and difficulties while their stay at hotel. They welcome the visitors with greeting them
on telephone or in-person also answering the inquiries.
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REFERNCES
Books and Journals:
Fraj, E., Matute, J. and Melero, I., 2015. Environmental strategies and organizational
competitiveness in the hotel industry: The role of learning and innovation as determinants of
environmental success. Tourism Management. 46. pp.30-42.
Jauhari, V. and Bharwani, S., 2017. An exploratory study of competencies required to cocreate
memorable customer experiences in the hospitality industry. In Hospitality Marketing and
Consumer Behavior (pp. 159-185). Apple Academic Press.
Solnet, D., Kralj, A. and Baum, T., 2015. 360 degrees of pressure: The changing role of the HR
professional in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. 39(2).
pp.271-292.
Online:
Manager skills. 2018. [Online]. Accessed through: <https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-
business/openforum/articles/top-5-skills-for-effective-employee-management/>.
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