If you are contemplating enrolling in a hospitality school in London, what are the likely challenges and opportunities you will face in hotel management?
HR hurdles for future hotel managers
Whether you are in degree final year or just beginning to work towards a hospitality qualification, it’s likely that HR issues will dominate your future management priorities.
It could take years for the sector to recover from the effects of Brexit. It’s estimated that hotels and restaurants will need to replace 60,000 hospitality workers when the UK leaves the EU, putting an end to European Freedom of Movement.
This becomes harder when you take into account lingering prejudices – partially a legacy of zero hour contracts and shift working. One survey found that 40% of parents would robustly dissuade their children from pursuing a career in hospitality.
Clearly, changing work conditions and attitudes may be the first priorities of any newly qualified hotel manager for some years.
What is the hospitality industry’s different sectors?
Big Data
That’s not to say the picture is bleak – far from it. The hospitality sector is still buoyant in the UK.
One of the ways future managers can continue to keep service standards high and ensure marketing is fruitful is to increasingly harness the power of Big Data.
There is a huge amount of information now available to decision makers. Analytical software, cloud platforms and increased data management skills can unlock the far more in-depth understanding of consumer buying cycles. For hotel managers, this can mean new insights into personalising stays and making the customer experience even stronger.
What is the future of hospitality? Embracing IT
Without a doubt, future hotel executives and owners will increasingly rely on technology – not just to control Big Data flow, but also to support customer relations and streamline operations.
Remote check-in and smartphone technology to access rooms are becoming commonplace.
Pundits believe the next big step forward in hospitality technology will be 24-hour interactive guest systems in bedrooms.
USA-based Angie Hospitality is the creator of the first fully automated guest room assistant for hotels and resorts. It is voice and touchscreen-activated and provides advanced connectivity. Guests can use the multi-lingual system to request in-room and additional services. This includes, for example, setting alarms, making phone calls and securing future room bookings. It can promote onsite facilities and cross-sell.
The lucrative events market can be supported by the new technology, with greater communication and interaction between organisers, delegates and hotel staff.
The system can also manage hotel resources in other ways, for example recognising when a room is empty, and adjusting lighting, heating and AC controls to save money.
Managers with foresight needed
Clearly, to manage a period of flux and transformation in the hospitality sector the UK, future executives need a grounding in IT and HR issues, whatever niche they eventually aim for in their career. To find out about hospitality qualifications and insights to be gained at Mont Rose College in Ilford, contact us today.