Don't have a hospitality degree? No problem!

Hi folks,

It's been a while. Hope all of you have been well. I'm just about to graduate from university in a couple of weeks, and have been thinking about my post-graduation life. I am currently recruiting for hotel positions, but I don't have a degree in hospitality. All I have are two internships with Four Seasons under my belt. I've been asked a lot, "Do you actually need a degree in hotels to work in the industry?"

Here are are my thoughts on paper, taken from an article I titled "There's Room at the Inn" and had published in Business Today, a student-run magazine at Princeton University.

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I think that the hospitality industry provides all the usual challenges of running a business, along with perks like opportunities to travel and interact with people from different parts of the world, unpredictable experiences, and an interesting lifestyle in addition. It surprises me to find that there are relatively few future hoteliers, compared with future doctors, lawyers, bankers and engineers, in liberal arts colleges and universities.

Perhaps this is due to the incorrect assumption that one needs to have a degree from a hotel school in order to break into the industry. While there are specialized hospitality-related skills that one is not likely to pick up from an Ivy League school, the truth is that a hotel is like any other commercial organization. It is a business that requires people skilled in management, accounting and finance, marketing, sales, and communications. The unfortunate reality is that many students in elite schools do not consider careers in hospitality, as other professional options are more attractive and obvious. As a result, there is a dearth of graduates from elite universities in the industry when in fact such talent is very much in demand.

Another problem is that many college graduates look at the industry and think, “Well, there are food servers and housekeepers,” and forget that positions exist in senior management and corporate development as well. Each hotel is a mini company, and each chain is a multinational corporation.

According to Randy Goldberg, executive director of recruiting for the Hyatt chain, many students don’t realize that a job in hospitality can be a lucrative way to avoid that office cubicle. He says that a front-office manager at the Hyatt Regency Chicago can be making between $60,000 or $70,000 a year, and a general manager can expect an income in the six-figure range, depending on the size of the hotel. At the Four Seasons, a recent graduate will likely start as an assistant manager making about $40,000 per year. It may not seem much to begin with, but there is a great deal of upside. It is not unusual for hotel general managers to live at the hotel with their families, in addition to receiving private school tuition for their children, and a personal chauffeur, among other benefits, in addition to salaries of $200,000 - $300,000.

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So, all you students out there - have a passion for hospitality? Studying Political Science? Engineering? Music? No problem. Get some experience in the industry - be it in restaurants, cafes, or hotels - talk to people, do well, and the doors will open.

Thanks for checking in. We'll see you again soon.