The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the field of service, which includes bars and restaurants, conference and events, amusement parks, hotels, transportation, travel, and many more. Succeeding in this dynamic field requires more than just academic training – it demands of a unique set of skills and qualities.
What does it take to make it to the top in the hospitality sector? Here is a list of the top 5 skills that employers look for in an ideal candidate. Make sure you’ve acquired these skills and highlight them in your job applications and during interviews!
Building and managing relationships
Success in the hospitality industry highly depends on the skill of a person’s ability to establish and maintain long-term connections with customers, guests, vendors, and fellow employees. After all, hospitality industry is all about satisfying customers by providing quality service.
Having the ability to build friendships and nurture relationships is crucial for anyone who wish to pursue a long-lasting career in the hospitality sector. Strong relationships have the potential to turn first-time customers into loyal customers, making ongoing relationship is key for success in this field.
Multitasking
In the fast-paced world of hospitality, you face all kinds of challenges everyday. It requires professionals to handle multiple responsibilities smoothly and simultaneously. For example, in hotel management, you might need to resolve maintenance issues, sooth a dissatisfied guest, and warmly welcome new arrivals – all within the span of a morning.
Maintaining composure and efficiency under pressure is essential. As a hospitality professional, you’re relied upon to maintain control of situations as they arise. To succeed in the hospitality industry, you need to be able to multitask, to handle the fast paced work environment and complicated work responsibilities.
Attention to detail
In the service industry, the smallest details make the biggest impact. These nuances define a guest’s experience, elevating it from ordinary to extraordinary. Achieving peak customer satisfaction, you need to ensure your services are ‘premium’ and personal, which requires meticulous attention to detail.
To excel in crafting exceptional experiences, every aspect must be managed – from ensuring fresh flowers to making sure the name tags for guests. A successful hospitality professional excels in addressing each detail with precision and care.
Interpersonal skills
In the hospitality industry, interpersonal skills, often referred to as soft skills, are essential. To be successful, you must deliver exceptional customer service, where a warm smile and genuine greeting can make a lasting impression. While academic training and work experience open doors, it’s your interpersonal skills that foster relationships with customers and colleagues, eventually driving long-term success and profitability.
Creating a welcoming atmosphere and establishing rapport are essential for thriving in customer-facing roles. Knowing how to greet people properly, how to make friends and host soothing conversations will help you work harmoniously with your customers as well as coworkers.
Communication skills
The most successful ones in the hospitality are those with excellent communication skills. Being able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing will help you solve a lot of problems. Exceptional communication skill is in high demand in most industries, but it is particularly significant and most important to have when working in the hospitality field.
With a hospitality career, you face a wide range of customers every day, and provide services to all kinds of people with all sorts of needs. You need to know how to communicate with people from a variety of backgrounds, ages, nationalities and cultures. It is therefore important that you are able to convey yourself in such a manner that represents the business you are in while speaking to customers in a manner that they can relate with.
Interested in studying Diploma of Hospitality Management?
Are you eager to receive a qualification that prepare you for managerial roles across the hospitality sector, whether in restaurants, hotels, or any other businesses?
If so, the SIT50422 Diploma of Hospitality Management (CRICOS Course Code: 111871G) might be just what you need!
Featuring practical placements both in and out of the kitchen, this program covers essential aspects of hospitality business administration such as inventory management, planning, budgeting and more.
Our Diploma of Hospitality Management course is offered at both our Brisbane and Parramatta campus. You’ll be trained by experienced instructors with years of real-world experience in the field, and guided by leaders who know you by name.
Want to learn more? Fill in this form, or contact AXIS Institute using the numbers below:
- Sydney – 02 8358 7277
- Brisbane – 07 2102 3553