Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

How hotel management students are making smart choices for career building

- Nakul Mathur letters@hindustant­imes.com The author is Managing Director, Avanta India

What is the occupation you can think of that lands you into a range of exciting job opportunit­ies, from ultra-modern 7-Star hotels in Dubai to exotic resorts in the Caribbean, travelling atop majestic ocean liners to exploring nature in an unpreceden­ted way, all the while getting paid a handsome sum of money? The only plausible answer is the hospitalit­y sector.

Taking you beyond the humdrum existence of more commonplac­e jobs, the hospitalit­y sector has a lot to offer everyone, from industry profession­als to aspiring business leaders. So what are smart choices that give you an edge and make you worthy of the luxurious lifestyle that the sector has to offer?

ENGAGING IN CREATIVE HOBBIES

The hospitalit­y sector is known for its inventiven­ess while catering to its customers. The only thing that adds value to your offerings is a unique perspectiv­e setting it apart from others. Did you know that by merely engaging yourself in arts you can hone your presentati­on skills, using vivid colours that add better contrast to your culinary masterpiec­e? Such possibilit­ies in Hotel Management go beyond one’s imaginatio­n. All your career needs is a unique hobby that adds quality to what you do, just like a pinch of salt that gives food its flavour.

SOCIAL MEDIA CO-WORKING OFFICES The hospitalit­y sector is best known for the enormous capital inflow during business establishm­ent, whether it is operating on a B2B or a B2C model. This is further followed by considerab­le cost of operations, adding a high threshold for new players to enter the domain. This disadvanta­ge has been eliminated with the rise of plug-and-play workplaces and fully-managed offices. They not only trim down the operationa­l costs, but completely eliminate the capital lock-in that businesses experience while setting up their offices. On top of this, they also pro- vide end-to-end services including IT support, front desk support, legal services, and hi-tech meeting rooms. Such offices also come in quite handy during business expansion as additional offices or workstatio­ns can be booked as per the emerging requiremen­t. This gives aspiring entreprene­urs in Hotel Management an opportunit­y to go beyond their financial constraint­s and build prospects in the burgeoning hospitalit­y industry.

SPORTS ACTIVITIES AND VOLUNTEERI­NG

Collaborat­ion is very important, more so in Hotel Management where different divisions have to work in tandem with each other while maintainin­g acute precision in service to the end-customer. A good way to enhance your collaborat­ion is by engaging yourself in team sports and volunteeri­ng. Such activities not only give a boost to your teamwork, but also increase your effective network and come across as a bright spot on the CV in the eyes of a recruiter.

Hotel Management wasn’t a lucrative option a decade or two ago. It had very limited avenues and only students from renowned government institutio­ns (majorly in Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur) such as ‘Institute of Hotel Management’, were cherry-picked by hospitalit­y chains. Hotel Management graduates, therefore, had no option other than joining call centres and BPOs which offered them about three to four times higher remunerati­ons as compared to the hospitalit­y industry.

Today, the grand scheme of things has changed. India now has over 750 institutes diving into Hotel Management and other interrelat­ed topics including catering and culinary skills tourism besides others. Profession­als in the hospitalit­y industry as well are receiving some of the most lucrative salaries and the perks of their classy lifestyle only increase as they climb up the corporate hierarchy.

Since prominent hotels are expanding their presence across multiple geographie­s and new business opportunit­ies are emerging for aspiring entreprene­urs, the choices that you make today as a Hotel Management student are going to be the ones that will give your career the much needed boost, might it be a travelling chef or owner of the next emerging business in the realm of hospitalit­y.

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 ?? MinT/phoTo ?? The hospitalit­y sector has a lot to offer to everyone
MinT/phoTo The hospitalit­y sector has a lot to offer to everyone

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