What careers are available
to
hospitality graduates?
Many hospitality graduates go on to work in hotels; but what you learn with a hospitality business degree is transferable across a huge range of other industries.
An introduction to Hospitality Careers
Learn about the extraordinarily diverse range of career paths available to hospitality management graduates, together with tips and advice to make your career journey successful and rewarding.
What careers are available
Hospitality
The global hospitality industry extends well beyond hotels and restaurants.
Cruise lines, casinos, luxury villa rentals, theme parks, the sharing economy (e.g. Airbnb), and online travel agents are all legitimate career destinations for hospitality graduates.
What companies in these segments have in common is a constant need to keep ahead of consumer trends, as well as a relentless focus on delivering great service at a competitive price.
The knowledge and skills they need to achieve this come as standard with a hospitality business degree.
Typical jobs in hospitality
Typical careers in hospitality open to hospitality business graduates
Consumer technology
Consumer technology relates to any form of technology that is intended for use by consumers in the general public.
Think smartphones, personal computers, TVs, home appliances, software, and all the other digital elements that make up modern life.
For hospitality graduates, jobs in consumer technology relate to the “consumer” side.
You won’t need to know how to code, but what you learn about consumer behaviors and trends as part of your degree can open up roles in business development, marketing and sales strategy.
Luxury retail
Why visit a luxury store when you can buy most products online these days?
The answer is for the experience.
Luxury retailers know that hospitality graduates come ready-made with the soft skills (empathy, communication, etc.) that make them highly suited to designing and delivering unique customer experiences.
That’s why you’ll find Louis Vuitton, Tesla, Hublot, Moncler, and many other famous luxury brands among those who regularly recruit hospitality graduates.
Health & wellness
Wellness tourism is a market already worth in excess of $500 billion globally – and it continues to grow rapidly.
Spa managers who can bring hospitality know-how to their role are thus in high demand; we are also seeing the growth of fully-focused wellness retreats, many of them converted from traditional hotels and which combine a “classical” hospitality offer with bespoke treatments.
Finance
As with all business students, you will develop a head for figures as part of your hospitality management degree.
But it’s the soft skills that you develop in parallel which give you an unfair advantage within the relationship-driven world of banking.
And this is especially true in private banking, where customer-facing professionals look after wealthy and ultra-demanding clients from every corner of the world.
International events and entertainment
From film premieres to fashion shows; and from luxury product launches to business conferences – the world of event management is almost unique in its diversity and global scale.
Being an event manager is a demanding, rewarding and incredibly varied role, in which no two days are the same.
Event Management career
Learn more about working in Event Management
Sports
Professional sport stirs the emotions like few other forms of entertainment.
But behind the sweat and passion is a serious business in which money talks the loudest.
And one of the major income streams for professional sports teams, as well as global showpieces like the Olympic Games, is VIP hospitality.
Packaging and promoting these exclusive services is a role ideally suited to a hospitality management graduate, as is managing the VIP client experience during the event itself.
Entrepreneur
The incredible entrepreneurial opportunities in hospitality draw many people towards this sector.
Perhaps you dream of owning your own hotel, bar, restaurant, spa or nightclub; or setting up a chain of such properties?
Alternatively, you could add your bright idea to the many start-up businesses now developing new product and service concepts.
Success stories such as Airbnb and Zomato, as well as strongly-backed concepts such as TipGenie and Beekeeper all demonstrate how hospitality is an industry that’s ripe for disruption.
“Careers in the hospitality industry are very diverse and if you study at Les Roches, believe me, doors in lots of businesses will be open to you.”
- Katharina Resch, Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Red Bull (MBA graduate)
Learn more about hospitality careers
Empower your hospitality career
Equip yourself with the expertise, ability and international network to take your leadership career to the highest level, in hospitality and beyond.
Are hotel careers still a good choice?
The simple answer is yes!
The international hotel industry is huge. And it’s still growing fast, with total hotel stock forecast to grow by 10,000 between 2021 and 2023. This will create up to 200,000 new hotel management positions, given the fact that a hotel requires on average between 15 and 20 managerial staff.
Hotel capacity, by segment – 2020 – 24F
Millions of hotel rooms
Total spend on travel and tourism industry -2017-25F
CHF Billions
The same positive picture emerges when looking at the global travel and tourism industry’s prospects for the next few years.
There’s no doubt that the industry took a significant hit during the worst phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the chart shows, however, the bounce back is already under way, with expert forecasters predicting that total spend will have recovered to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. And from there, the predicted trend is up and up!
How do I get into hospitality with no experience?
There are – of course – entry points to most industries at the lower, unskilled end of the spectrum. Hospitality is no different. But it is a long way up from there.
Bachelor graduates from hospitality management schools have an obvious advantage; not just in the knowledge they’ve acquired from their studies, but also from the professional experience gained through the internships which are often included within their program.
However, if you are already a graduate in another field, or you’ve worked in a different industry, and now want to switch careers into hospitality management, the best place to start is with a professional diploma. Think of it as a fast-track course, delivering the industry essentials that will give you a solid platform to make the jump and land higher up the career ladder.
How do I get into hospitality with no experience?
There are – of course – entry points to most industries at the lower, unskilled end of the spectrum. Hospitality is no different. But it is a long way up from there.
Bachelor graduates from hospitality management schools have an obvious advantage; not just in the knowledge they’ve acquired from their studies, but also from the professional experience gained through the internships which are often included within their program.
However, if you are already a graduate in another field, or you’ve worked in a different industry, and now want to switch careers into hospitality management, the best place to start is with a professional diploma. Think of it as a fast-track course, delivering the industry essentials that will give you a solid platform to make the jump and land higher up the career ladder.
Get on the fast track into hospitality
If you are aiming to switch careers into hospitality, the Postgraduate Diploma in International Hospitality Management delivers the knowledge and network you need.
How fast will my career progress as a hospitality management graduate?
To a large extent, the answer to this question depends on you. How fast do you want to progress up the career ladder; and how hard are you prepared to work to make it happen? Much will also depend on the industry, region and role you choose.
As a guide, here we list some typical roles on offer at each stage of the career journey:
As a guide, here we list some typical roles on offer at each stage of the career journey:
Junior positions:
- Public Relations Officer
- Front Office
- Marketing Assistant
Middle management positions:
- Food & Beverage Manager
- Export Manager
- Rooms Division Manager
- Real Estate Investment Analyst
- Events Manager
Executive roles:
- General Manager (hotels, airlines, golf clubs, casinos, conference centers, etc.)
- Marketing Director
- Management in Sports Events
What are the secrets to a successful career in hospitality?
There are many factors that will determine your success in the hospitality industry; but right at the top is passion.
What are the secrets to a successful career in hospitality?
There are many factors that will determine your success in the hospitality industry; but right at the top is passion.
It’s passion that gets you up in the morning. Passion that carries you through the toughest challenges and the longest days. There are few short cuts in this industry, and you must be willing to make personal sacrifices if you wish to be successful.
You also have to understand the business of hospitality – intimately. And this combines efficient, high quality operations with the “secret sauce” that will deliver truly memorable experiences to your guests.
Other essential ingredients to success:
Other essential ingredient to success:
Communication
If communication breaks down within an operational team, your well-oiled machine will quickly hit problems, leading to a rapid drop-off in standards. Communication with the guests is equally important, and this includes ensuring that the communication is appropriate to the nature and status of the establishment and its clientele.
Attention to detail
It’s often the little details that add up to a memorable stay, so your mindset should be that nothing is “too small” to make a difference. The same goes for financial performance – is there some detail in the numbers that indicates something you can change in order to enhance performance?
An innovative mindset
Hospitality is undergoing a period of intense digital transformation, revolutionizing the way brands engage with their customer base, the experience within the hotel, as well as in areas such as revenue management and sustainability/waste reduction.
“Hospitality is undergoing a period of intense digital transformation“
The successful leaders of the future will be the ones who understand how to embrace and exploit digital transformation, while having the attributes to lead their organizations and teams towards this digital future.
A strong professional network
The network you build throughout your studies is an asset you’ll carry with you throughout your life and career. This can include your faculty, fellow alumni, your colleagues and managers from your professional internships, contacts made during field trips, and all the other connections you’re able to make.
“I graduated from Les Roches in 1982. I like to think of it as the ‘Ivy League’ of hotel schools. It was the place where you could learn your craft; the skills of the trade. Since graduation, I’ve enjoyed a 30-year career in luxury hospitality.”
- Radha Arora, President of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
Why a thriving alumni community matters
One characteristic that unites the best higher education institutions is a strong and thriving alumni network. This is important, because
Alumni are proud of their achievements and proud of their alma mater. Many give plenty back in the form of mentoring to current students; sharing knowledge and expertise across the network; choosing other alumni first when recruiting, or simply offering a friendly face in a new city.
95%
of Les Roches Alumni are in touch with another alumni at least once a month
Les Roches Alumni is a global group now numbering more than 13,000 graduates, with its own dedicated Alumni Association plus a members-only platform that includes an online directory, news and insights, a job portal and exclusive alumni benefits.
- The beauty of being agile – alumna’s skincare brand is looking good despite challenges
- Alumni Views: Farhad Ahadov, follows his entrepreneurial dreams in the UK with Regibus International
- The power of a growth mindset – Alumna, Salma Miss, talks startup advice
- From two Alumni’s Passion for Gastronomy and Sustainable Living, Green and Gin is Born
Alumni news
“You can drop a message in the Les Roches group asking who is in London and a bunch of people are going to come up. You always have friends.”
- Lorena da Silva, Rooms Division Management Program, The Dorchester (BBA graduate)
