Career progression

Hotel Management Students
#1

Hello,

I started working in hospitality 3 years ago without knowing anything at all. Now I actually like the industry and I have started a 5 years degree on Tourism Management and Economics. I have learnt so much working for the same hotel for the last 3 years and I have developed few positions during this time. Currently I have a strong background in F&B and FO and now I have been promoted to a position not related to hospitality in the same hotel (Finance) and I don’t really know how I could progress from now on.

I started as waiter and then after couple of months working in the reception I was promoted as DM, position which I have hold for year and a half. So, I was expecting to grow vertically in the FO department, but I have actually grown to a totally different department which actually has nothing to do with hospitality.

I will be taking over the whole finance for the hotel (relatively small, between 200 and 300 rooms) and I will be potentially transferred to a very important hotel (60 times revenue) at some point next year.

I motivate myself setting a target for the following years, but right now I am really lost as this is very very beneficial to me but also unexpected. I will most probably learn in the next year more than I have learnt for the last 3 yrs, but I am not so sure this experience will be useful to grow in the hospitality side of the business. I mean, if in the future I jump again to the customer service side, which I am pretty sure I will, would I have any benefits because of this (valuable) experience in finance?

I’m worried that I will stay, let’s say, 3-4 years here, and after I move back to my motherland I will not have a chance to work as Finance, and I will have to move back again as hotelier, in which case I would have lost 3-4 of potential experience in hospitality. Anyone has any idea on how could this experience could be useful to me in the future and therefore help me establishing a new target?

Kind regards :slight_smile:

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#3

@E126 welcome to HotelTalk and thanks a lot for sharing your career progress… Happy to hear that you are enjoying the hospitality industry… :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

It looks like you have moved through the carrier pretty well so far. But didn’t quite understand the shift to Finance department though… nothing wrong in learning new things… may be this new role/exposure will also help you to be become a GM in near future… You will have to have some kind of finance background to move further as a Financial Controller… do you have some finance related degree etc.

Anyway all the very best and success…

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#4

Hi George,

Thank you for your kind comments.

The move is also very unexpected for me. It was not something I was looking forward to (although it is very welcome). In fact it was the GM who recommended me. I believe many factors have the decision making process: the UK staff shortage along with the fact that the company knows I was looking for a higher position in other hotels, so it is kind of a way for everyone to be happy.

I don’t have a degree, having started Tourism and Economics this year, and that’s precisely my concern: to grow all the way from the bottom in the Finance department I’ll need a lot of experience that I’m not going to get easily, and to grow in the hospitality side I’m worried that this “disconnection” with the hospitality will make it harder for me. So I’m kind of in the middle of the road to nowhere haha.

I think next year will be very interesting and decisive for my career, and will indeed clarify my ideas a little bit.

Kind regards.

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#5

@E126 Nice to read about your career progress. I started as a HK Maid and now working as a Floor Supervisor… I am not a career expert and as you are I will be also confused if I have to ever move to another department especially Finance or Accounts… lol :grinning: :grinning:

I wish you all the very best and success for your future role.

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#6

All the very best for your role in finance … I think it would be a good to learn all aspects of finance as well and that should help you become a decision maker in the future…

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