Industry needs flexible graduates

National Report–Two years ago, hoteliers identified a labor shortage as one of the key issues affecting the hospitality industry. Boosts in supply were creating a surplus of positions that needed filled, minimum-wage labor was hard to come by and students weren’t pursuing hospitality careers in the numbers they had in the past.

Fast-forward two years and any labor shortage issues have taken a backseat to drops in demand, credit concerns and stressed mortgages. Throughout 2008 and 2009, low occupancies and falling average daily rates led to declines in operating cash flow, and many management companies actually trimmed staffs, cross-trained employees and implemented hiring freezes.

Skeleton staffs don’t bode well for hospitality students preparing to enter the market today. As if the long hours and weekends shifts in the hospitality industry weren’t unattractive enough, students entering the job world in today’s economy are forced to be more flexible than ever, often taking jobs outside of their geographical preference and much lower on the corporate ladder than they had hoped.

“We urge students to get into a company and display their value. We tell them to show their intelligence and let the company get to know them,” said Lalia Rach, divisional dean at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Center. “In essence, if you have a job offer from the company you want, I tell them it is my belief that if they take the position they’ll advance. They have to take a step back to take two steps forward.”

The best hospitality schools in the nation—the ones that attract the brightest students—are revising curriculums, installing cutting-edge technologies and getting more involved in the industry so faculty can network for their students. But despite best efforts to prepare students for success, advisors are forced to preach getting your foot in the door and working toward a promotion.

“Even though hotel companies have cut back management programs from their pipelines, there are jobs—sales coordinators, housekeeping managers—out there. They may not be the high-paying jobs from two years ago, but this industry is phenomenal at promoting from within,” said Brian Blake, director of professional development for the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at San Diego State University.

Blake said SDSU graduates from last May had no problem finding entry-level jobs and that almost all of them had since been promoted because of attrition.

Industry benefits
But suggesting students lower expectations certainly isn’t stopping hospitality schools from preparing graduates for whatever they’ll face on the job. In fact, the changing reality of the hotel industry coupled with a new economy has forced schools to revisit their teaching philosophies. At NYU, administrators have derived a new curriculum that focuses on finance, development and marketing because “the bottom line is you must understand the financial aspects of the business,” Rach said.

And having students enter the job market armed with management skills but willing to perform myriad duties at entry-level pay can only benefit hotels and management companies.

“It elevates the industry overall because they get the best and the brightest coming in,” said John Paulsen, VP at Tishman Hotel Corp., who earned his master’s degree from NYU.

Paulsen now is partnering with his alma mater, allowing students to tour the under-construction InterContinental Times Square and helping associate professor Jukka Laitamaki gear his class’ final exam around the tour.

Paulsen said he learned the most from the real-life situations he experienced while at NYU and wanted to offer current students the same opportunity.

“Getting them involved really prepares them to better deal with things in real life,” he said. “It elevates the quality of management.”

Laitamaki said internships and partnerships, such as the one with Tischman and InterContinental, give his students access to the industry and help them prove themselves. He also teaches them to adjust their expectations.

“Usually in our program the attitude is you’ve got to earn your way. The good thing is you can do those entry-level jobs while you’re still in the program,” he said.

Similarly, Joan Remington, interim dean at the Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said internships and work studies not only expose students to the industry, but also provide them with an entrée to entry-level and management positions. She said very few, if any, of FIU’s students have difficulty finding employment.

“Tracking our students over a five-year period indicates they have accelerated upward mobility in the industry,” Remington said. “This also holds true over the next 10 and 20 years. Many of our first graduates now occupy high-level management industry positions, own their companies and have achieved great success in their careers.”

Matt Moran is preparing to earn his bachelor’s degree from FIU in May. Outside of class, he works 30 to 40 hours a week helping organize the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, which partners with the school and last year earmarked $400,000 in festival earnings for student scholarships. Moran works in the grand tasting tent, alongside corporate sponsors such as Jelly Belly, Nestle, Cruzan, Robert Mondavi and Bombay.

“It’s one of the great gifts the school gives the students,” Moran said. “I wouldn’t have this chance anywhere else.”

Moran has decided to return to FIU for his Master’s degree, but because he wants more experience, not because he’s worried about entering hospitality in the midst of a downturn.

“With the hospitality industry, you have to be flexible. It’s kind of what you expect,” he said. “I’ve heard stories of people who’ve had issues after they graduated, but that’s either because they didn’t work hard enough or they didn’t have anything to offer.

“The teachers have given us the knowledge, now it’s up to you to set yourself apart.”