Briefing: Hospitality professionals start small & seize opportunity

In a Survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, more than half of respondents said 50% or more of their managers began their hotel careers in an entry-level position. Half said that 50% or more started in minimum wage positions.

With the growth the industry is seeing at the moment, job opportunities are coming in fast. Getting each new operation up and running opens up a variety of vacancies. New entry level roles could be the starting point for a great career for those applying.

In these videos four successful hospitality professional discuss handwork, dedication and passion for the industry:

More opportunities may become available within existing hotels if leaders are confident in the market remaining positive. The Barclays Employers’ Survey 2015 found that ‘77% of business still think that sales lead to job creation – as opposed to job creation leading to sales’.

It has been reported that the opening of the new InterContinental London – The O2 this year, would create 650 new jobs (including peak time temporary roles). The hotel is managed by The Arora Group under a franchise arrangement with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

A new hotel by the Beannchor Group in Belfast made local news for creating 100 new jobs, whilst in Glasgow a new Radisson hotel was reported to be bringing 60 new jobs opportunities to the area.

This summer, Travelodge created a new careers website in order to drive recruitment for 750 new jobs; 600 in existing hotel and 250 in new hotels to be opened before the end of the year.

One company pushing to get young people to start their career in hospitality is Hilton, which has an annual Global Career Awareness Month. In May they hosted 750 events globally reaching 90,000 young people.

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Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Major brands increase presence in Africa

The number of branded hotels in the African market is set to increase. According to a report from W Hospitality Group, Carlson Rezidor’s Radisson Blu brand has the most hotels in the pipeline (22 units), Hilton has 16 units, and Marriott has 11 units in the pipeline. Historically in Africa, financial and security constraints have often meant that projects in development are halted before they come to life. Despite this, there are clear intentions from major brands to enter new regions across Africa.

In this briefing hospitality industry executives discuss the hospitality market in Africa:

A special Market Report on Central Africa from Horwath HTL also states that, ‘more diversified global brands plan to enter the market’. According to the report 2,900 rooms are in the pipeline in Central Africa. This report also found that there has been an increase in business travel in this region.

Radisson Blu’s latest development is a hotel in N’Djamena, Chad. It will have 171 rooms, a health club, and conference facilities, and is due to open later this year.

Last month Hilton Worldwide announced an agreement to open its first hotel in Swaziland. The new hotel will be a Hilton Garden Inn and will be located in Mbabane. It will have 130 rooms and a dedicated event space.

Marriott International has plans to increase its presence in Africa. By 2020 it aims to have 150 properties with 19,000 rooms across 17 markets.

Current projections from the IMF’s World Economic Outlook say that GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa will be 4.4 this year, and in Nigeria will be 1.5. This indicates a slow-down in growth.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do so here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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