As you all know, India is known for its hospitality – it treats its guests like its citizens. Hospitality is, in fact, ingrained in the very culture of the country and it has become one of the key industries in the country. Various hospitality management degrees and courses are available in India. However, people often confuse hotel management courses with hospitality management courses. Many people think that both of them are similar. But, are they actually so? Are they interchangeable? No, certainly not.
Though hospitality management and hotel management both deal with the service sector, yet they have a lot of differences between them. Have a look at the key differences between the two…
Prime Differences between Hospitality Management and Hotel Management
Hotel management looks after all aspects of handling the daily operations of a hotel. In a broad sense, this includes all lodging establishments like resorts, B&B, so on. India is an important tourist destination and hence, the hub of a huge number of hotels and their chains. On the other hand, hospitality management is a much broader concept that involves any sector dealing with people management. It can be hotels, casinos, business development, conferences, events and nightclubs.
The primary responsibility of hotel management professionals is to offer a pleasant stay to the guests at their establishment. They take off the guests from their check-in till their check-out. They have to ensure that every activity of their guests should be outstanding and worth the money they invest. A hotel manager has to supervise different departments like room service, front desk, guest service, concierge, housekeeping, travel desk and so on.
Hospitality management also means looking after guests but at a different setup. Hospitality managers in big organizations have to greet and meet foreign delegates and take care of them. They have to ensure that they have a successful visit.
Hotel management includes working solely in the travel and tourism or hotel industry. There is plenty of job openings in restaurants, resorts and hotel chains. Employment opportunity in hospitality management is varied and extensive. It is not limited to working in hotels only, one can show his skills in finance, HR, marketing and other administrative positions.
Hotel management is operations-oriented. Hotel managers are responsible for the smooth functioning of every department in a hotel. Thus, they get intense training about managing different departments of a hotel in their management degree. On the contrary, hospitality management is regarding people management. The aim of hospitality management professionals is to make guests satisfied and comfortable at a hotel, event, venue and so on. An eminent hospitality manager can take his client’s experience to a higher level.
Hotels function only when there are tourists. Since, India is a premier tourism hub, with the constant flow of tourists from all corners of the world, the hotel industry thrives and flourishes in this country. Therefore, the hotel industry highly depends on the tourism industry. Hospitality management is not dependent on any specific industry, it is about people. Many organizations, MNCs and IT companies employ hospitality managers for coordinating meetings, guest relations and events.
So, you can now understand the differences between the hospitality industry and the hotel industry.