May I help you? Researching the hospitality industry

By Hal P. Kirkwood Jr., associate professor of Library Science and Instruction Coordinator for the Management & Economics Library at Purdue University. He has presented at numerous national information and library association conferences. He was awarded the 1922 Helping Students Learn Award at Purdue University in 2005.

The hospitality industry is a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. It encompasses markets including lodging, casinos, restaurants, catering, convention centers and several other foodservice and travel industries. Employment in this industry spans the gamut from entertaining at Disneyland to cooking at McCormick & Schmick's to dealing cards at the Bellagio. The job may change, but one thing stays the same — the importance of people in the hospitality industry.

Not all hospitality jobs are directly service-oriented, as more and more companies utilize customer resource management software to data-mine for their best customers and their most effective marketing practices. The focus is strictly on providing service to visitors; if service suffers then attendance drops and profits plummet. Therefore most hospitality companies' biggest expense is payroll and its most important resource are its employees.

A current trend in the hospitality industry is the growing demand by consumers to be entertained during their entire experience at a destination. The entertainment factor is especially prevalent in restaurants, amusement parks, and in the gaming industry where it is important to differentiate yourself from the competition to attract customers. The growth of themes at hotels and restaurants is an example of this need to entertain completely. The desire by the hospitality companies to develop loyalty amongst their customers is another important trend. The development of frequent visitor plans and award programs develops a relationship between the company and their visitors and thus creates value for the company. Another trend is the extension of a company's brand in to the marketplace. This is a relatively new endeavor for companies; for example, several hotel chains are marketing their own brand of upscale bedding in retail outlets. This provides an additional revenue source and an additional marketing, and perhaps loyalty, avenue.

Industry research in the hospitality industry is complicated because of the broad array of sub-industries. There are several portals and associations on the Web useful for drawing a picture of the hospitality industry.

The US Dept. of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics has an excellent summary of the leisure and hospitality industry. In addition to the employment and wage statistics provided, it's possible to find average hourly earnings, employment projections and links to the Career Guide to Industries.

Hospitality Net is a resource-rich site with sections aggregating industry and financial news, full-text market and performance reports, and updates on associations relevant to the hospitality industry. A unique section is the multimedia section containing audio files of interviews and presentations from conferences of industry experts and executives.

Hospitality Trends is a similar aggregator site focusing on important trends in the industry. Sections include Development, Employment, Financial, Food & Beverage, Technology, and several others. The content is a mix of articles pulled from other sites and sources and a few articles written exclusively for Hospitality Trends.

The Hotel School at Cornell University has compiled an extensive list of hospitality, lodging and gaming links. The links site is an excellent source for browsing the broad scope of the hospitality industry as well as a useful source for finding non-US establishments, associations, and resources.

An effective method of research within the hospitality industry is to focus on the specific sub-industry. Portals and associations are available for all of the major and minor sub-industries within the hospitality umbrella.

HotelBusiness.com is a portal supporting the trade publication HotelBusiness. Use this site for current news and trends on the hotel industry.

A similar site is Hotel Online, which serves as a business-to-business portal with current news, business profiles and white papers, and a section called One-to-One that consists of a continuing series of interviews with industry leaders and decision-makers on key topics and issues in the hotel industry. 4Hoteliers is another hospitality and travel news portal.

The National Restaurant Association has an information-rich site with an industry fact sheet, articles on running your business, and information on the NRA annual convention.

The American Gaming Association has similar information with industry statistics, topical fact sheets, responsible gaming information, and much more.

The International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions provides a wealth of information on the trends and issues within the amusement park industry. Note most of the publications are only available for purchase.

As mentioned earlier, the variety of positions in the hospitality industry varies widely. After researching the specific industry you are interested in you will want to peruse the job boards and employment sites. Look to gather more information on what positions are available and where the opportunities are that you are most interested in pursuing.

Hcareers is an extensive hospitality and retail job site boasting 50,000+ hospitality openings available worldwide.

Hospitality Online is a training, supplier and employment portal in the United Kingdom with an international scope.

Culinary Cult is an extensive portal for job hunting in the hospitality industry.

Quintessential Careers provides a hospitality section devoted to employment opportunities.

Numerous other specialty sites and employment directories are available on the Web. The portals above will provide links to these other resources and listings.

Choosing to work in the hospitality industry once meant low pay and long hours. Recent commentary implies that, while the long hours are still there, the pay structuring is beginning to improve as the need to hire talented people increases to meet the ever-growing demand by customers and travelers. Conducting effective industry research, investigating the employment opportunities that are most interesting, and having a real passion and commitment to working with and for people in a service position will be necessary to succeed in this field. The hospitality industry is about people helping people enjoy themselves; you'll succeed if you enjoy entertaining and serving.

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