2015’s Hottest Hotel Jobs:
The hospitality industry (including hotels, restaurants, meeting venues, etc.) is one of the largest job industries in the US, employing 8.6% of the total working population, approximately 12.5 million people [US Bureau of Labor Statistics]. In the last five years, over 1,200+ new hotels have opened their doors, 400 in the US alone, adding to the already existing 202,842 hotels worldwide [Booking.com]. Whether we notice it or not the hotel industry is on the brink of major changes, not only in the ambiance and offerings/promotions of hotels but also in the jobs/positions.
Graph 1
In the last year, the hotel industry has added 527,000 new jobs [Graph1]. Since 2004, they’ve added more than 2.6 million jobs to their already enormous workforce, as we can see in the graph below [Graph 2]; and that number is only expected to rise, as more and more people are traveling, particularly Millennials [US Bureau of Labor Statistics]. Much of this projected increase will be due to the need to fill the leadership and executive positions being vacated by retiring baby boomers as well as leadership positions in new hotels. Below the graph is a list of the top six most in-demand hotel jobs in the US, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as our own client’s data.
Graph 2
| Most In-Demand Hotel Positions in the US dfsfdsfdsfsdfsfssdfsdfssfdsdfsdff | |
| · Executive Chefs | · Director, Food & Beverage |
| · General Manager/ Managing Directors | · VP/Director, Revenue Management |
| · Director, Housekeeping | · VP/Director, Sales & Marketing |
While the demand for these positions is/will be high, the competition will also be high, especially for General Manager/Managing Director Hotel Jobs as more and more processes within the hotel industry become automated. The jobs expected to see the greatest increase in the hotel industry are Directors of Housekeeping and Chefs. Executive Chef Positions are projected to see a 6% increase in jobs in the next 6 years (approx. 6,000 jobs), while leaders of housekeeping in the hotel industry are expected to see around a 4.5% increase.
One of the more underrated positions in the hotel industry that will slowly become more prevalent and sought after are sales & marketing leaders. As Millennials begin to make up a larger portion of US travelers (50% by the year 2025), hotels will have to create new brands or modify current ones to cater to Millennials in order to stay competitive in the market. As such, hotel marketing and sales executives will be tasked with a much larger role than simply advertising and running hotel promotions. They’ll have to devise and implement new creative programs and offerings that pertain to what the new Millennial travelers want and expect, if they want to keep their rooms full.
With a wave of changes expected to hit the hotel industry, it’s important that hotel leaders and executives take the time to hire the best fit candidate for the job, whether it’s a new position or a replacement, and not simply settle for an okay candidate, because hiring the wrong person could cost hotel leaders hundreds of thousands of dollars. Find out how much a bad hire could cost your hotel.
Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 5/15/2015 [www.bls.gov/ooh/management/lodging-managers.htm#tab-6]
Current employment statistics survey [Chart]. (2015, May 8). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ceshighlights.pdf
Linton, I. (n.d.). Roles & responsibilities of a marketing manager in the hotel industry [Blog post]. Retrieved from Chron website: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/roles-responsibilities-marketing-manager-hotel-industry-34694.html
National Estimates Branch U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015, May). Current employment statistics survey. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Shallcross, J. (2015, January 8). The master list of worldwide hotel openings in 2015 [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2015/1/7/15136/51758/hotels/The_Master_List_of_Worldwide_Hotel_Openings_in_2015
Shuster, M. S. (n.d.). What is the future of hotels now that millennials are the largest generation (in the u.s.)? [Blog post]. Retrieved from Hotel Business Review website: http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/4366/what-is-the-future-of-hotels-now-that-millennials-are-the-largest-generation-in-the-us