While there are so many job options in the hospitality industry, you may want to explore several different areas of the business to decide what suits you best. Depending on your personality and goals, you can make strategic decisions over time to find the right path for you.

It helps to ask yourself a few questions to help narrow the field:

• What do I want from my career?
• What do I value?
• What are my interests?
• What do I most like to do in my spare time?
• What are my strengths?
• What would I like to specialize in?  Technical or management roles?

You might do a little soul-searching with these questions as well:

• Do I enjoy being around other people?
• Am I energized by personal contact?
• Do I love to make others happy?
• Am I an energetic person?

Once you have some answers to these questions, you can better decide which avenues to pursue. Of course, you may want to re-visit some of these answers as you grow in your career to ensure you’re on a path to meet your goals.

For those who enjoy working with and meeting new people, hospitality and tourism sectors include sectors like:

• Accommodations: hotels, resorts, rentals, camping, etc.
• Food and Beverage: restaurants, catering, night clubs
• Travel: cruises ships, charters, airlines
• Tourism: excursions, tours, destination management
• Events: festivals, concerts, conferences, corporate meetings
• Sports & Recreation: competitions, private clubs, rentals
• Health and Wellness: spas, fitness, private clinics, hospitals

But what if you’re more interested in the business and technical side of hospitality? If you love to work with numbers you might enjoy the idea of using data to understand how customers intact with the business. A strong understanding of data and analysis can help drive sales growth and enhance customer retention.

If you enjoy the day-to-day administrative tasks that keep a business on track, you might want to consider an opportunity to work in marketing, sales, and media. It requires an understanding of your market and how to use various media outlets to grow sales and promote your hotel or resort. You might be the one creating content, monitoring social media accounts, managing press releases, or promoting special events at your property.

There are so many options. What appeals to you? 

• Are you a foodie? Do you love to create new dishes or are you interested in wines and cocktails?
• Do you enjoy customer service and working directly with guests?
• Do you love to travel? Flight attendants and cruise ship opportunities take you around the world.
• Do you enjoy planning trips for others? Travel Agents and Tour Guides fill that role.
• What about event planning? You could be a conference organizer or in-house planner. 
• Those who enjoy entertainment may be drawn to the casino or theme park venues. 
• Leisure and wellness is an area for spa directors and estheticians and can be combined with hotels and cruises or resorts.

More and more people are discovering the benefits of a career in hospitality. It offers fun and challenge in a variety of work environments. You can travel, work in cities around the world, and be exposed to many different people and cultures… and it offers plenty of opportunities to advance through the ranks quickly. Your choices can evolve over time as you experience the vast choices this industry has to offer and find your passion and fulfillment in your career.