Marriott Hotels, which exploded in growth during the 1980s, growing from 100 properties to 600 worldwide, does most of its hiring for properties locally. The personnel office usually opens and begins advertising for positions three months ahead of the scheduled hotel opening.
"We have a profile of a 'Marriott' person, whether they come to us as a housekeeper or front desk person," one executive said. "We look for people who are energetic, like people, problem solvers, people who are interested in an opportunity to grow to their fullest extent, who work to their maximum ability." On average, the hotel hires one employee per room, a 400-room hotel would have 400 openings.
When the staff is put together, rather than sending neophytes to "school," Marriott forms a task force of the "best of the best" from around the world, including PBX operators, waiters/waitresses, housekeepers, and doorpersons. Someone might be taken from Torrance, CA, and sent to Hong Kong to help train and work side by side with the new staff for a two-month period to teach them "the Marriott way."
For the vast majority of employees who start in entry-level jobs, the jobs are precisely that-steppingstones to higher positions. Fully 40 percent of Marriott's management started out as housekeepers, waiters/waitresses, or doorpersons. Moreover, people can move from any position in Marriott to any other. The company, which earned $3.8 billion from hotel and food and beverage receipts in 1990, plus another $3.7 billion from contract services, employs 200,000 people worldwide, including 3,500 at headquarters.
A major growth area for the company will be the development of senior resort/living communities, employing an average of 150 people each. The company anticipates building 150 of these communities during the decade.
Small Properties, Big Opportunities
Small operations should not be overlooked, however. While there are fewer entry-level positions, the ones that are available could entail greater responsibility and put you in position to accept a higher position at a larger property. At Balsam House, an inn in upstate New York, a bus boy became a chef and a front-desk person assumed the position of a marketing and promotions specialist without the usual years and tiers of experience.
Small, independent properties may also be a better starting place because they cannot afford the same recruitment programs and high salaries to draw graduates of hotel management schools. But, while there may be an opportunity to rise to mid-management or gain diversified experience, there is a limit to how high you can rise in small properties since positions at the top tend not to turn over frequently, if at all. In contrast, positions in upper management turn over every few years at a major chain.
Another consideration is the mix of properties in a chain or hotel group. A company like Omni/Dunfey, which has virtually every size property, can give people opportunities very early on to take on responsibility as a general manager or a food and beverage director. In other companies, where there are only large hotels, the general managers tend to be older and it takes longer to attain the seniority required.
Other points to look for, include where the hotel is located which will largely determine the clientele, and the product mix, or how fast the company (if it is a chain) is expanding the reputation of the hotel and its professionalism, the track record in retaining people, its financial record, the philosophy of upper management, its human resource policies particularly those concerning promotion from within and its training and development programs, salary and benefits, and degree of specialization/generalization of function and tiers of hierarchy.
Stay in School
Even executives who rose up through the ranks or entered from other fields agree that some schooling is necessary to advance. While increasing professionalism and sophistication in the industry are part of the reason, sheer competition for new jobs is the most compelling one. A degree in hotel management can give you the edge in getting a job and put you on a faster track.
"A degree helps you move up quicker but won't give you a higher position starting out," said Beier. "We're not in brain surgery. We're in the job of selling a room, cleaning a bed. It's a simple thing."
In an effort to increase professionalism in the industry, the AH&MA created the Educational Institute. The institute produces resource materials for the industry and schools and administers its own in class and home-study programs. The courses, coupled with work experience, lead to a degree as Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Rooms Division Executive, Certified Engineering Operations Executive, Certified Food and Beverage Executive, Certified Human Resources Executive, Certified Hospitality Housekeeping Executive, or Certified Hospitality Supervisor.
Course selections include human relations, communications, food production principles, marketing, energy management, law, accounting, resort management, sales promotion, convention management and service, and food and beverage controls. Tuition is $175 for each course, with discounts for a multiple- course sequence. The program geared to people who want to enter the hospitality industry and move up from the entry level and to working professionals who seek to advance to higher management.
Because the hospitality industry is probably the biggest single segment in travel and tourism and because of the anticipated growth, hotel schools and academic programs are opening widely. The best-known four-year programs of hotel and restaurant management are at Cornell University, Michigan State, Pennsylvania State University, University of Denver, and University of Houston.
The Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE), a nonprofit organization, publishes a Guide to College Programs in Hospitality and Tourism (Wiley). This guide provides a list of colleges and universities across the United States that offer hospitality curriculums, as well as a list of a variety of scholarship resources and key industry organizations. The AH&MA provides information that answers questions about career opportunities.
Having a degree in hospitality is very helpful in obtaining a job in the industry since many chains and independents recruit on campuses.
