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Unit 2 Exploring Careers in Family and Consumer Sciences
• advocate for labor relations
Large organizations within the hospitality
industry attract employees with diverse skill
levels, experience, languages, and ethnic and
educational backgrounds. Small- and medium-
sized organizations are realizing the need
for qualified, talented workers, and human
resources managers can help them acquire,
train, and retain good staff.
Marketing and Sales
If people do not know about a food service
establishment or lodging facility, how can they
become customers of the business? The hospi-
tality industry is competitive and requires care-
ful design and implementation of marketing
and sales programs directed to a target audi-
ence upon which their success depends. The tar-
get audiences may be consumers, travel agents,
tourism promoters, stockholders, or potential
clients. Sales and marketing managers in the
hospitality industry often specialize in lodging
or food service.
Careers in sales and marketing within the
hospitality industry include corporate market-
ing and sales positions, restaurant and travel
reviewers, travel journalists, advertising sales
for travel publications, and public relations
managers. Sales and marketing managers use
a variety of media in their efforts to reach their
target market. As in the past, word-of-mouth
marketing is important because consumers
make recommendations to other consumers,
travel agents, and tour company operators. They
share positive and negative experiences with
one another, and professional reviewers write
and publish their critiques.
Today, the Internet provides a wealth of infor-
mation to consumers about food service and lodg-
ing providers. Consumers may now browse an
almost infinite number of possibilities, and hospi-
tality service providers must find innovative ways
to stand out from the crowd. Many hospitality ser-
vice providers have joined together to offer “pack-
age deals” that discount lodging, transportation,
food, and tourist activities if booked together.
Preparing to Enter the
Field of Hospitality
The hospitality industry demands work-
ers who are energetic, flexible, creative, savvy,
service oriented, and good problem solvers.
All hospitality professionals must consider the
needs of the customer. Good customer service is
the key to success in this industry, and an ability
to work with and serve diverse colleagues and
customers is essential. Consider the academic
training needs and working conditions dis-
cussed in the following sections and compare
them to your own academic and work environ-
ment interests. Professional organizations can
provide insight into the hospitality field. Several
professional organizations, their websites, and
descriptions are given in Figure 7-2.
What Training Is Needed?
The hospitality industry is a fun and excit-
ing career field. However, competition for man-
agement positions is often keen. In prior years,
many managers were promoted from existing
staff. Some hotel and food service management
personnel are still promoted to high-level posi-
tions based on experience rather than formal
education. In hotels, it is helpful to possess expe-
rience or education in restaurant management
because many hotel operations involve food ser-
vice. However, hospitality management jobs fre-
quently require candidates with college degrees.
There are many university programs that pre-
pare students for management positions within
the hospitality industry, including hotel manage-
ment, restaurant management, nutrition, market-
ing, or retail management. A liberal arts degree
may be acceptable if the applicant has experience
at a hotel, restaurant, or resort. Certification pro-
grams offered by professional organizations, such
as the American Hotel and Lodging Association,
the National Restaurant Association, or Club
Managers Association of America, may distin-
guish you from other applicants.
Although advanced education is an asset and
a requirement for some hospitality management