Questions on Hospitality and Tourism Management Major

<p>Is this major good?
Will the future of this major be in good standing?
Is this a worthless major?</p>

<p>Hello everyone. I am a senior in high school and I am about to enter college for Hospitality and Tourism Management. Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of being a hotel manager (Like Mosby in the Suite Life of Zach and Cody). I always had a strong feel for the hotel industry, thus, why I am choosing to major in this. However, I do not want to be going into a major that might be weak. I just want to know what you (everyone) thinks about this major. Give me any advice, reassuring or not.</p>

<p>P.S.- I am going to attend San Diego State University (Honors Program too) for Hospitality Management (Over UC-Irvine, UC-Santa Cruz, and CSU-Long Beach). Hopefully going to San Diego State and majoring in this can land me a job or internship in this beautiful city :).</p>

<p>Hospitality pay is below average and the hours are long. Go into it if you are really passionate about the field. Otherwise, there are better options.</p>

<p>I know money isn’t everything but below average? :/</p>

<p>I am not one that knows a whole lot about hospitality management, but you have to keep in mind that you will be managing / running a 24/7 business, which likely accounts for the long hours. And the pay is probably relatively low because you don’t need much academic knowledge to manage a hotel or any generic store / business for that matter. Personal experience trumps academic standing I’d say.</p>

<p>Hotels are unionized but management isn’t. You will not be part of the union and you will see your waiters make twice as much as you do. However, if you really want to go into the hospitality business, my recommendation is to do corporate or sales.</p>

<p>A close friend is a sales executive for a large hotel conglomerate. When he has talked about his business, common factors for success seems to be personality, adaptability, being able understanding other peoples’ needs and ability to calmly think quickly and process information. These traits would be a plus for almost any sales/marketing job, but are essential in the hospitality industry. He did not graduate from a name hotel/hospitality university program.</p>

<p>The Hospitality and Tourism Management degree is very broad (in a good way). It really has three parts to it: hotel management, restaurant management, and tourism management. But, don’t be fooled… This doesn’t qualify you for a management position straight out of college. Most people with this degree have to work their way up the ladder. I have a friend in Frankfurt, Germany that is working the front desk for a major hotel and is working his way up.</p>

<p>This degree is very flexible because it covers everything under the hospitality sun, so you’re pretty much qualified for anything in the hospitality niche. But there is a catch… Your employer will have to train you to do specific jobs which qualifies you for different jobs in hospitality. So to qualify for jobs, you will have to gain experience through your employers.</p>

<p>And because everyone has the same base degree, double majoring can be beneficial.</p>

<p>As for hotel management? You will have to be pretty flexible. It will be nice when you are young, but, when you want to settle down and have a family, it might be a bit hard. Although, you can always change your career to another within the hospitality niche that offers more standard hours. I read that 50% of hotel managers make $60,000 to $120,000 a year and 10% of hotel managers make $150,000+ a year.</p>

<p>I agree with everything IThinkICan said except the salary which is misleading. When you check “hotel manager salary” they are refering to the General Manager aka the “CEO” of each hotel. It is unrealistic to expect a starting front desk manager or food and beverage manager (managers for each division) to be making 60k+ as their starting salary. Starting for managers at hotels is more realistically 35-45k.</p>

<p>[Salary.com</a> Salary Wizard- Do you know what you’re worth?](<a href=“http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Hotel-Manager-Salary-Details.aspx]Salary.com”>http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Hotel-Manager-Salary-Details.aspx)</p>

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<p>@Commentcomment: You’re referring to residential hotel managers. In that case… Yes, they do make less, but the median pay is around 60K. Just like in any job …sigh… they start you from 0 and make you work your way up the pay scale. </p>

<p>[Salary.com</a> Salary Wizard- Do you know what you’re worth?](<a href=“Salary.com Salary Wizard- Do you know what you're worth?”>Salary.com Salary Wizard- Do you know what you're worth?)</p>

<p>No, I am not referring to residential hotel managers.</p>

<p>The salary range I gave are real numbers from people who are currently working as entry level hotel managers. The information you get from salary.com is misleading. You never search for “hotel manager salary” because it will give you everything. If you are in the hospitality industry and want a more accurate salary search, you search by your division or field of concentration whether it is front desk, food and beverage, operations, ect ect.</p>