I’ve worked in and around hospitality since I was old enough to work. My parents built and ran a hotel from scratch based around a motivation to leave the rat race and an identification of an area that needed a serious uplift in bedroom quality. I would plug in when they needed me, predominantly peak season running April through to October. I think it’s fair to say that I didn’t have an instant love of the work but as a teenager, I was more focused on sport, so I don’t think any kind of work would have gotten much of a look in.
It wasn’t until the age of 21 that I fell in love with the industry. I was travelling the world with P&O Cruises at the time and suddenly, I had my eyes opened. We were delivering a high volume; high service level offer and it was pretty addictive pulling it off. Marry that with waking up somewhere different every day and the opportunity to lunch in new surroundings, smells and sights. I was in, for me it was the best of both worlds, deliver high quality service by day, lunch, and dinner in high quality local restaurants by night (Well, not quite on timing but you get the picture).
But there are a couple of things that stand out more than anything else that really helped skyrocket my love affair. The people I worked with and the realisation that with the right attitude and application, there’s no real limit in terms of where you can go, wherever you come from.
And that got me thinking (Again).
This really is the greatest industry on the earth, let me explain why.
Entry Level
There’s really no barrier here. You don’t need academia to thrive, you need a personality, a positive attitude and desire to learn. Got those, come on in, the rest will be taught as you go.
The industry is HUGE
In the UK it’s estimated that 1 in 10 people work in the Hospitality industry. That put’s the figure somewhere between 4.5 & 5 Million. What does this mean? It means that the opportunities are incredible for growth and with the industry still gathering pace, this opportunity isn’t going anywhere.
Travel
It’s an industry with no borders, your skill set will work in central London or a resort in the Maldives. If Travel is your thing, then the industry can offer you that effortlessly.
Talent
My word, it’s everywhere isn’t it? At all levels as well. What other industry do you get to work along side such personality diverse human beings but all with a common goal, to make your guests experience incredible. You’ll learn and get insight from people from all over the world, opening your eyes even further to what’s possible.
Endlessly Interesting
This is an industry where you get to solve problems and turn nightmare scenarios into dreams. All by a simple application of common sense. And if you don’t know the answers, someone around you will and you’ll learn. It makes for a “no two days the same” kind of career (But we do also have roles where you can have that if you prefer it that way).
Delivering people’s dreams through experiences
This is a language that speaks to every generation. People often forget that even though you work in the hospitality world, it doesn’t stop you being a consumer of hospitality. Speak to any legend of the industry and they’ll tell you about a time they holidayed somewhere and picked up a wonderful trick to make their own product and service even more incredible. It’s widely written that the Millennial generation crave experience, I think we all do. Imagine that feeling when you deliver something so perfect to your guest that they take that memory with them forever. Gives me tingles just thinking about it.
There’s so much written in the press about the negative elements of this industry (I’ll explore these in a future piece). I think we’re all more than ready to start talking about the reasons it’s so amazing, maybe a few of us have forgotten. I’d be really keen to learn what brought you to the industry in the first place and what it is that lights your fire these days. All levels.
Thank you for reading.