The COVID-19 pandemic has been a bumpy ride for many people in the hospitality industry. For new graduates and professionals already in the field, new trends are affecting the skills you need to succeed in the coming years. This article will review what to expect from your career in hospitality next year.
New Trends Bring New Opportunities
The hospitality industry is on its way back from a tumultuous 2020. There are a number of changes in the industry that are creating new job opportunities as well as new workflows that may change your existing role. For example:
- COVID-19 created a greater emphasis on cleanliness and sanitation in the field. This has created a need for hygiene auditors and managers who carry the HACCP certification.
- Health and wellness are a bigger issue now. Hospitality companies that focus on offering a wider array of nutritious beverages and foods will likely be pleased with sales. This should increase the demand for wellness and exercise professionals as well as nutritionists.
- Guest experience will be at the forefront of everything we do in the future. Hotels that create unique experiences will create value and attract more customers. This could create more roles in guest services in the hotel industry.
- Sustainability is going to be more important than ever, so companies must create transparency around what they’re doing to take care of the environment. The hospitality industry will need more experts in this area to help them restructure their workflows to accommodate this trend.
These trends will require new job skills to help the hospitality industry as they go into recovery mode from COVID-19. Employees that exhibit the following skills will see more job opportunities in the field in the coming months:
- Multi-tasking skills will become more important. Organizations will likely look to employees to stretch their work effort to encompass wearing multiple hats. This will help cut labor costs for the next few months. Now is a good time to add on to your credentials to look more appealing to employers in the future.
- Up-selling skills are always valuable in the hospitality field. Since our guest count is down, hotels will look to maximize the dollar output from every guest. If you have cross-selling skills, this will make you much more valuable in the hospitality field in the coming months.
- Problem-solving and troubleshooting skills have always been a requisite for management in the hotel industry. This, however, is an industry-wide skill that is valuable to employers as they shift their business models to accommodate whatever is next in our COVID-stricken economy.
- Digital marketing and content creation remain the hottest skills today. Our online presence in the hospitality field will continue to be critically important. If you are a good communicator both in-person or digitally, these are skills to highlight for employers.
- Revenue and financial management jobs will likely blossom in the future. From data analysis to accounting, these “money” skills will continue to be important.
Gecko Hospitality specializes in staffing in the hospitality field. We match employees with the perfect jobs to move them forward in their careers. The Gecko team is standing by to help you in 2021. All you need to do is make the call. Let’s talk!
