Bachelor of Hotel Management is one among the popular undergraduate courses offered by various institutions in India. The duration of the course is 4 years. The main objective of the course is to provide technical knowledge and skills in diverse aspects of hotel management. The course study enables the candidate to gain adequate managerial and hospitality skills to meet the ever-growing demands of the hotel and tourism industry. Apart from these features, the course helps the candidate to build a good career in hospitality or service sector. The bachelor level course offers adequate entrepreneurial flair and commercial insight in candidates to start up their own ventures. The same shapes the professional and hospitable attitude in students to demonstrate their professional skills in the industry.
One of the significant outcomes of globalization is the tremendous growth in the tourism and hospitality industry. With India being one of the most popular travel destinations, the government too is encouraging and investing in the development of these industries. The course prepares students to enter the world of hospitality as leaders and managers with a strategic approach to business. Further, education and professional training gained in this field of Hospitality services enable the students to become entrepreneurs in the hospitality service as well. It combines management theory with hands-on hospitality courses, professional internships and a business specialization.
The hotel industry is a crucial part of the hospitality industry with a huge growth potential in the near future.The demand for hotel management professionals is already huge and is expected to grow more with the increasing number of hotels being set up in India and all over the world. Apart from its glamour, a career in hotel management has become lucrative and exciting, attracting more and more students to opt for it
A hotel consists main departments such as Operations, Front office, House keeping, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Engineering/ Maintenance, Sales and Security. Each department has a number of positions that one can opt for.
General manager who is the main incharge, is the coordinator and administrator, responsible for staff management, financial control, provision of services, quality control and customer care. Depending on the size of the hotel, general managers could have assistant managers to supplement their work.
It is the centre of all activities. Important functions of receiving the guests, making room reservations, handling correspondence and preparing bills and keeping accounts of the guest services are handled at the front office. The department is headed by Front office manager or Executive House-keeper who supervises and co-ordinates the work. Then there are Assistant Manager, Lobby executive, front office supervisor, information assistant, receptionist, bell captain, bell boy, doorman etc. to perform their assigned roles.
This department deals with both cash and credit transactions, i.e all the financial transactions like purchase of materials, offering of services to the guests etc. This department also compiles information required for budgeting, pricing of food and services and so on. Professionals like cash, cost and works accountants are given higher positions in the department. Chief cashier, cash clerk/bill clerk are the positions handled in this department.
A career as a housekeeper in a hotel can be challenging as it requires a great deal of organizational skill, the ability to communicate well with guests and staff, and the discipline of upholding service excellence.
The primary duties of a housekeeper are to clean and maintain their designated work area. This work area will vary from employer to employer; housekeepers commonly work in hotels, private homes, and assisted living facilities. At a large hotel, a housekeeper may be expected to clean several floors' worth of rooms; at a private residence, a housekeeper may be expected to clean a relatively small area. Regardless of location, housekeepers can be expected to clean bathrooms, dust furniture, replenish supplies of soap and paper products, clean doors and windows, replace light bulbs, change and launder bed sheets and towels, and other activities that contribute to ensuring their assigned areas are clean and welcoming. Much of a housekeeper's daily work is autonomous; housekeepers are given their assigned area and are expected to complete their work in a set amount of time. Housekeepers should also expect to have their work evaluated on a regular basis and will most likely be held to cleanliness
This department is the hub of the hotel industry and is responsible for all the food that is prepared and served in the hotel. The main functions performed by the department are- presentation, preparation and service of food and beverages involving kitchen, bar and baker. Overall incharge of kitchen is known as Chef de Cuisine,the incharge of section is called Chef de Partis and the one who supervises and coordinates the work of Chef de partis is known as Sous-Chef. One who cooks food is known as Cook, the person in overall charge of dining hall is called Maitre de hotel, Captain incharge of part of dining hall is known as Chef de Range, one who serves food is Demi Chef de Range or Steward.
The work of keeping the hotel, the rooms, the bars, the restaurants etc. clean and making it presentable to the guests and ensuring facilities and comfort to them is handled by this department. Those handling this department are Chief executive house keeper, floor supervisor, room attendants, linen supervisors, Maids etc.
This department keeps in touch with travel agents and tour operators as well as other potential corporate clients in order to sell hotel facilities. Advertising and Public Relations is also normally handled by this department.
Human resources specialists are responsible for recruiting, screening, interviewing and placing workers. They may also handle employee relations, payroll, benefits, and training. Human resources managers plan, direct and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. They oversee specialists in their duties; consult with executives on strategic planning, and link a company’s management with its employees.
HR specialists tend to focus on a single area, such as recruiting or training. HR generalists handle a number of areas and tasks simultaneously. Small companies will typically have one or two HR generalists on staff, while larger ones may have many devoted to particular areas and services.
Some typical daily tasks for an HR worker include:
There are many exciting jobs opportunities for hotel management graduates with the increasing competition in the hotel industry. Since a hotel has many departments such as Operations, Front Office, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Engineering/ Maintenance, Security etc. one can opt for a field of their liking and pursue a career and successfully grow in it.