Career Viewpoint: A Career Research Report on Hotel Management

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CAREER VIEWPOINT -
CAREER RESEARCH REPORT
2019

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................2
ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION....................................................................................................3
General Trends Which Will Impact On Your Chosen Profession/Industry............................3
The Skills / Knowledge and Experience Required.................................................................4
EVALUATION............................................................................................................................ 7
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................... 8
APPENDICES............................................................................................................................. 9
1

INTRODUCTION
The report focuses on the employment opportunity for the recently graduated in various
industries and suitable job roles. The Industry chosen for the current assignment is the
Hospitality Industry and the chosen segment is Hotel Management (Hoque, 2013). The Hotel
Management, in general, is all about managing the hotel and the roles and responsibilities in
this segment are associated with different aspects of managing the Hotel and its routine
operations. The entry-level for a recently graduated is at the deputy manager level and the
role of a Deputy Manager is the object of this report. The report will explore the general
trend within the hospitality industry in particular and Hotels in particular that affect the role
of a Deputy Manager within a Hotel. The influence of changes being identified will also
include any potential variations in the required knowledge and skills. The report will also
identify and exhibit the experience, skills, and knowledge required for the role of a Deputy
Manager within the Hotel sector. Lastly, the report will evaluate an actual vacancy for a
Deputy Manager in the author’s context, his experience and qualification. The report will be
based upon the primary and secondary research conducted in the previous section of the
assignment (Hoque, 2013).
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ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION
General Trends Which Will Impact On Your Chosen Profession/Industry
Globalisation can be considered to be one of the major change drivers of the hospitality
industry and hotels are not an exception (Brookes et al. 2011). The biggest influence on the
Hotel industry in Britain came from the Internationalisation of the Hotels and as a result
being exposed to the Hotel businesses across the globe and more specifically Europe. The
reputation of the UK Hotels being expensive and lacking in terms of modernisation was the
first aspect that was corrected by the Hotels operating within the UK. Another reason for
this change was the awareness of the guests due to their exposure to other European Hotels
regarding the expensiveness and lack of modern amenities in the UK hotels (Brookes et al.
2011). Also, the pressure put on by the industry watchdogs and the bad publicity in the
media. All these factors along with the mounting pressure from the globalisation led
Internationalisation and entry of international hotel in the UK market led to the
streamlining, modernisation, and improvement in the hotel and service quality within the
UK Hotel segment. One impact of this change was the lowering down of the Hotel prices and
changes in the billing system from per person to per room tariff (Sirirak et al. 2011).
The emergence of new technologies brought about by globalisation and internationalisation
was a surprise to the UK Hotels. The newly established Hotels started incorporating these
technologies like the access to the internet through Wi-Fi for the guest and the hotel alike as
well as using digital gadgets like tablets and laptops as part of the routine working (Dredge
et al. 2014). The other Hotels were obligated to adopt the advanced technologies and the
Internet in a hurry to survive and compete. When the use of technology especially the
digital technology took roots the efficiency and effectiveness of the service of the Hotel
improved drastically primarily due to fast and efficient communication (Neuhofer et al.
2014). The digital technology became a part of the hotel services. Devices like the
smartphones and tablets became a component of the in-room services and replaced as well
as supplemented several traditional items and services like the photo albums, room service
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menus with ordering function, lighting controls, weather and flight information, currency
exchange boards, etc. (Law et al. 2011).
On the employment front, the focus of the hotels shifted to employee retention through
training and competitive wages with a focus towards exploiting its workforce as a
competitive advantage (Hoque, 2013). This action was also spurred and supported by
various legislative changes such as Equality law and employment laws. The Hotels are
focusing on enhancing the knowledge and skill levels of its employees to make them
effective in delivering their responsibilities and hence provide exceptional customer services
and the thereby high customer satisfaction. Another major change that influenced the hotel
industry at large and employment scenario, in particular, is the proposed exit of the UK from
the European Union (Hoque, 2013).
The EU migrant workers form a major part of the UK hospitality/Hotel industry workforce
(Duda-Mikulin, 2019). They are 15% of the total workforce of the industry across the
country while in London this percentage is 40% (Filimonau and Mika, 2019). The low skilled
employees those are easily accessible to the industry as part of the EU migrant worker pool
may become inaccessible in the coming days. The uncertainty surrounding the Brexit and
the post Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU have already led to an increase in the
recruiting costs. Another uncertain aspect is the status of the EU visitors to the UK and
whether the number of international tourists especially the business travellers will remain
the same or will come down (Duda-Mikulin, 2019). The UK being a part of the EU has been
the base of many businesses European operations and after its exit, it's unsure whether
these businesses will remain in the UK. However, in spite of the reservations regarding the
Brexit, the UK hotel industry is doing well especially in tourist hubs like London and bath. In
terms of employment, the status of the hospitality and hotel industry as the third-largest
employer in the UK responsible for employing nearly 15% of the employable youth seems to
be safe and expected to continue in the future (Dredge et al. 2014).
The Skills / Knowledge and Experience Required
The Hotel Managers are responsible for directing the day to day operations of a Hotel. Their
responsibility is focused on ensuring that the hotel operates smoothly and efficiently
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thereby remains profitable. The managerial position within the Hotels is usually available in
its various functions such as Accounts, HR, Catering, Floor Management, Bar, Restaurants,
Kitchen, etc. Each role has a separate set of responsibility and hierarchy. However, their
primary responsibilities are more or less similar and include overseeing their respective
departments; supervision, organisation and management of the staff under them; customer
handling and complaint management; etc. In administrative roles, the Hotel managers look
after the financial performance and ways to make it more efficient and the promotion of the
hotel (Hoque, 2013). The basic abilities and attributes of Hotel managers include people
management, efficient communication, and problem-solving skills, calmness, and self-
motivation (Career Cruising, 2019; Taylor, 2017).
Basic Qualification for a Hotel Manager
The basic qualification that’s necessary for a Hotel Manager includes a Diploma or a degree
and sufficient work experience as a deputy or assistant Manager. A hotel or hospitality
management degree allows direct entry as a deputy manager and in some organisations
Assistant manager. Alternatively, one can join as a Front Desk Clerk that requires a high
school diploma and experience in the hospitality sector and progress through Front Desk
Supervisor after two years as Front Desk Clerk then onwards to Department Head after
working 2 years as the Front Desk Supervisor can become Hotel Manager after three to four
years as the department head in a minimum of two different departments (Job is Job, 2019;
Caterer, 2019).
Deputy Manager
It's an entry-level role for a degree holder and initial position is as a trainee. The primary
work of a deputy manager is to assist and support the manager in their day to day work of
coordinating, administering, and planning different operations of the Hotel. Experience in
the relevant field is recommended although not necessary. They work towards assisting in
handling administration, staff motivation, assisting in HR tasks like recruitment and
performance review, etc. Their prerequisite skills include effective communication skills
both written and oral, time management, decision making, problem-solving, people
management, leadership, and presentation skills. They must be knowledgeable about the
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Budgeting and managerial functions along with in-depth knowledge of the hospitality/Hotel
sector (Taylor, 2017; Job is Job, 2019; Caterer, 2019).
6

EVALUATION
The vacancy being considered is of Deputy Manager at Hilton Sheffield in South Yorkshire,
Sheffield (Hilton, 2019). The reason for considering this role is that it will allow me entry to a
prestigious Hotel Group that could be a big step for my career. It will allow me to learn and
develop within a Hotel group that's known for its employee development program and with
employment practices that are the benchmark in the industry. Also, the international nature
of the group will allow a strong potential for career progression. I already have a
background in the Hospitality/ Hotel industry and with the Hotel; management degree I find
myself eligible for this role along with a strong start of my managerial role. This role seems
suitable to me as compared to other alternatives since it will allow me to become a part of a
prestigious Hotel group where I can utilise my experience and the current qualification to
fast track my career. Also, I can pursue this opportunity with a long term view. The role of
the deputy manager is not a new or emerging role but since one cannot run an organisation
without capable managers, I consider it to be future proof. Also, I will be constantly working
towards gaining the expertise to remain at par with the emerging industry and
organisational standards.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brookes, M., Altinay, L., Gannon, J. and Quek, M., 2011. Comparative historical analysis of
four UK hotel companies, 1979 2004. International Journal of Contemporary‐
Hospitality Management.
Careercruising. 2019. Hotel Manager. [Online]. [15 July 2019]. Available from:
https://www2.careercruising.com/careers/job-description/222
Caterer. 2019. Deputy Manager job description. [Online]. [15 July 2019]. Available from:
https://www.caterer.com/jobs/deputy-hotel-manager
Dredge, D., Airey, D. and Gross, M.J. eds., 2014. The Routledge handbook of tourism and
hospitality education. Routledge.
Duda-Mikulin, E.A., 2019. EU migrant workers, Brexit and precarity: Polish women's
perspectives from inside the UK. Policy Press.
Filimonau, V. and Mika, M., 2019. Return labour migration: an exploratory study of Polish
migrant workers from the UK hospitality industry. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(3),
pp.357-378.
Hilton. 2019. SEARCH OUR JOBS. [Online]. [15 July 2019]. Available from:
https://jobs.hilton.com/job/Deputy-Manager---Hilton-Sheffield/J3S16M746W2ZNW1R
KCG
Hoque, K., 2013. Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation
and performance. Routledge.
JobisJob. 2019. Deputy Manager job descriptionPost Job. [Online]. [15 July 2019]. Available
from: https://www.jobisjob.co.uk/deputy-manager/job-description
Law, R., Bai, B., Ip, C. and Leung, R., 2011. Progress and development of information and
communication technologies in hospitality. International journal of contemporary
hospitality management.
Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D. and Ladkin, A., 2014. A typology of technology enhanced tourism‐
experiences. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(4), pp.340-350.
Sirirak, S., Islam, N. and Ba Khang, D., 2011. Does ICT adoption enhance hotel performance?.
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 2(1), pp.34-49.
Taylor, D. 2017. 4 Steps to Getting a Job as a Hotel Manager. [Online]. [15 July 2019].
Available from: https://blog.capterra.com/4-steps-to-getting-a-job-as-a-hotel-
manager/
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APPENDICES
1) Deputy Manager – Hilton
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