hi all.

I am wondering, anyone here works in the Hotel before? For what i know, their salary comprises of base salary + 3/4 points. This points is actually the service charge or hotel performance. The more tenants or business for the company, the more value for the points.
Here's the tricks. Company save the EPF contribution due to the low base salary. Staff no need to pay for the income tax. Bonus wise is based on the base salary. So even the hotel declares 3 month bonus, the staff will be getting RM600+ only which is ridiculous. Furthermore, working hours is 6 days per week.

But still, so many people are working in the hotel. So i was wondering, what is so good in there other than free meals? Even after retired, the EPF that you and the company contribute won't last the staff for 1 year. How to survive?

What you mentioned above are mostly for service staffs. I'm not too sure regarding their pay but you know, they get a lot of tips especially when they meet with generous guests. In coffee house (from experience) they share the tips. All the tips given by customers are placed in a 'basket' and at the end of the shift, it will be divided among themselves. In one day each person could rake in between RM 10-25 (or more) and they hardly get anything less.

If you work extra time, you get OT too.

And for those who work in Room Service, it's even better. You don't have to share the tips! If you bring the food up, the tip belongs to you. Same goes with concierge and housekeeping. When housekeepers bring ironed clothes or help with cleaning services, some guests leave them with generous tips.

Is it good taking hotel management course... ? and also is it easy to find a job in hotel industry... ?

Yes.

I'm quite scared because my cousin graduate from tourism course didn't get a job until now...

There is no definite answer to questions like these. It depends on many factors.

First of all, what prompt you to take Hotel and Tourism? Interest? Which portion are you most interested in? Do more research on them.

In H&T, it is somewhat expected that the graduate work in either industry. Assuming you work in a hotel - which department do you suppose you will apply for? There's Front Office, Concierge, Housekeeping, F&B (coffee house, Chinese restaurant, Japanese restaurant, bar, room service etc), Sales, Marketing etc

In Hotel line, everyone starts low. Even though you may be a Degree holder, you will still need to service customers. For example you enter F&B. You are expected to work as a waiter (perhaps rotated between coffee house, japanese & chinese restaurants etc) for at least 2-3 years before being promoted (that also depends on performance and vacancy).

Same goes with other departments. It is necessary to understand the basic operations before moving up.

On another note, if you work in an international chain like Hilton, JWW Marriott, Sheraton, Shangri La etc chances of climbing up to General Manager or Director position someday is pretty low. Reason being these Directors are from the Group itself, sent over all around the world by their HQ. Usually every 5years they will bring in a new Director from another country.

Tourism is alright I guess but what sort of position are you looking into? Is your cousin choosy about it? When you opt to work for a travel agency, you will also need to start from below. It could be sales, admin, ticketing, tour guide, marketing etc and then slowly move up to business development positions (if that's in your field of interest). Usually these agencies are opened as SMEs and are pretty limited unless your cousin join Reliance Group with branches around and all.

Thanks for the info...

why people taking up jobs like that? Cause maybe if business is good, the earnings will be good since pay per point is higher.

Cause it's better than working as floor measuring expert (jobless) at home? Cause it's better than working as floor sweeper? Better than working as pyramid scheme conning people? working as construction worker?

Cause in the end of the day, that's a proven salary scheme for hotel owners and at least it is transparent and no hanky panky fraud scheme.

The Hotel industry like many is not just for everyone who wants a job.

Working in a Hotel actually requires you to really really like people and really really like serving people and put a smile on every customer that walks in at the end of the day.

It is not about the free food you get to eat etc etc etc...it is about the good experience that you can give to others, in which at the end of the day, you will feel good about yourself. And that is what keeps most of us working in a Hotel despite having to work long hours, irregular hours and "low pay". It is the satisfaction that counts.

Yah we work like hell at time especially on peak season, events here and there...blablabla...stress here and there what sort not...but at the end of the day..when you found out the promo is doing well or everyone loves the event...you will feel that its all worth it and the feeling of happiness and content will last a whole day and everyone remembers.

The industry needs passionate ppl. If you are not and you work in a hotel. You will naturally be under alot of stress and wont last long.

If you talk about starting pay..don't care whether you are in Service line or HR or Sales. What really makes a pay diff is whether you are under Management or Rank & File.

Rank & File are paid with a small basic and point system. for example Basic RM400 + 3points = RM1.5k. Sales personnel or HR personnel or what ever post you have, if you are under Rank and File that will be your pay. of cos...you get OT.

On the other hand, if you are known as Management like PR Boss...Sales Exe etc etc...you have a steady basic without OT. Meaning, you can be a Sales Exe in Management but you can still earn RM1.5k no OT. Why? Because to the Hotel..your basic RM400 (Rank & File)has been increased to RM1.5k basic. lol~!!!!

Job promotions in a Hotel is very very rare. Most hotel will not promote their own staff. But there are few Hotels which are kind enough to do so. They view it as grooming future leaders who truly understand the particular hotel work culture. Giants like Hilton, Shang etc etc etc are even rare in in-house promotion. So if you want to get promoted or raise up in this industry, you have to constantly hop from one hotel to another. This is the only way to succeed in the industry. Of cos, each time you hop, make sure you are offered a higher position. Sometimes you will need to hop back to your previous hotel for a higher post. Dont worry and dont feel a shame. This is all normal in Hotel. It would be even better if you have good human relations.

My boss always say "The Hotel Industry is so small. People always talk. So where you go and what you do aso people know. We might be competitors, but there are certain things that we Hotels do share among our-self." Which i think is pretty true due to some problematic staff cases, ruin their 1 reputation in 1 Hotel, spread like wild fire to the other Hotel..kesian the fella also ler hardly can work in Hotel nymore.

Anyway, if you work with the Giants, you will get a chance of being transferred to their numerous property worldwide that is if you are seriously damm good and holds high position. And when you reach this level, yup. Pay are good. No worries d.

Do take note that when comes to pay, for entry level job or most job the pay among star rating hotels are almost the same. The difference between a 5 star pay and 4 Star pay is that 5 star gives you lower basic but higher Points. And 4 star gives you higher basic but lower points. but all in all your total monthly pay for rank and file is almost the same.

Management staff side, will depends on how you bargain in your interview and how much they are willing to offer. Besides diff of pay, the level of stress is also different and the exp gained is also different. You go figure out yourself. Ahahaha

I think thats all that you need to know, The rest you need to exp it yourself.

Good Luck! ^^

Ok then finally something i could contribute at..
I'm from hospitality idustry and still i... one of the internatioal hotel mention above.. hotel industry is somehow low pay is actually ur interest and passion..I have work in this industry for 3 years and now a service leader in front office.. current pay is 6++ + 3 and half point.. so average my pay is 1.4-1.6k in penang. but because he can do sales call up selling.. i usually earn up from 400-1500 commision.. ( cox i'm top sales every month)
but still it's actually consider low because if that particular month is a dead month with no traveler... then prepare to get salary like 1.4k even for a supervisor like me...

I been to interview last year and this year for my next level position (service manager/Duty manager) but i rejected cause the pay cant cope with my expenses.. the pay wise for the entry level manager is somehow within 1.8k-2.2k which is totally freak out ~ i got offer recently only for 1.9k.. imagine a manager with 1.9k salary that is why i'm still stuck as service leader

bottom lines... a hotelier is expected to earn low pay during starting.. then when u climb up to supervisor level u should have a medium range salary then the next level entry manager u earn peanuts.. then to senior manager considerable pay.. then department head only ok ok abit then director only can think of holiday once a year...


entry level - service associate - basic + point (usually 1 point to start with) = around 800-1.2k ( still can earn comm + tips)
supervisor - service leader - basic + point ( 3-4point) = around 1.4k - 1.6k ( still can earn coom + tips)
entry manager - service manager - basic = 1.8k - 2.2k
senior manager - asst department head - basic = 2.4k - 3k
department head - division manager - basic = 3k - 4k
Director - e.g. DOR - basic = 4k - 6k
Senior D - area director - basic - 6k - 8k


this is the salary report base on international hotel and penang area, area like KL might have additional 300-600 different but not more than that so i think at least i took the person minimun 8years - 10 years to be a director of xxxxx which i believe is already fast like rocket star

hotel job i can say it's all over the floor...even in my place we have still 5-8 opening for various department and reason been a single hotel occupied 300+ employee... mine is roughly 360 employee.. so i think if u have no interest or passion for this line.. please dun take H&T management... waste time & ur parents money... and very true they dun recognize cert.. the only advantage u have is when a promotion comes around the corner u will able to add a + into ur application.. other than that u start from the bottom and climb ur arsee up like me ( i'm dip holder )

Kelvin, That's means if people that have more experience in Hotel Industry can apply higher position...?? i'M STILL CONFUSED What course shud I take..........

This post has been edited by xpole: Mar 6 2010, 04:45 PM

erm.. sounds like that la.. i got 3 years exp & got offer for duty manager, training executive & senior reservation supervisor, the reason i rejected it because all need to be relocated and some pays me lower than what i earning right now.. they said dun think bout the money think bout the future.. they actually right but just that i cant cope up with my expenditure :cry:but if u pick up this course u must bare witht he pay wise as it's expected to be low compare to other industry.. and the only thing to get pay rise is only hopping from one to another like what others have mention to you but must sure ur commitment are not high, e.g. like me i got car instalment 380, broadband 96, house rental, 300 phone bill 90, insurance 180, cigi 200+ and girlfriend unlimited zzzzzzzzzzzzzz


not including food my expenses exceeding 1k, food around 600-800.. i eat like pig so i can say working enviroment is quite fun & challenging but pay wise & benefit cant compare to other industry except u are somewhat reginal director / area director or GM u will be earning 15k above with bangolow + personal driver + high end car + unlimited call + dinning credit in hotel but mostly this post will only be for the white guys.. as i can c in my MNC even the change every 5 years ppl coming are still white guys

so think twice.. if it's for the passion go for it, other wise think again

Kelvin, where do u work now??

DON'T EVER study hotel management course!!! people who work for 9years and at last become assistant manager with starting 2.5k per month.... imagine that when ur age is like 35 and u still earning peanut(equal to starting salary of a degree holder)...zzzzz

I DAMN REGRET ALREADY!!!!but is too late for me...

Malaysia average salary is 3k only, what do you expect..?

*Those who work in travel agent even worse, RM700-800 for graduate.... Even if you are experience worker, most of all also RM1200-1350 only. Except those who work in ticketing department and bringing tour, I have a friend who frequently bring group to europe, he can easily earn 5k++ per trip..

that's why, i seriously think the hotel workers in Malaysia is really underpaid. Not just the salary, even working hours is 6 days. I mean is kinda waste of time studying hotel management and getting peanuts salary. I know a friend of mine who studied hotel management and end up selling handphones.

get a tour guide license. my frd started 1 yr ago n she earned 10K+ 1 mth..
Basic guide fee is 150rm p/day. the rest r comm. fr getting the tourist to buy bateks, pewters, chocolates, watches, genting shows etc. + fat fat TIPS somemore.......................

This post has been edited by jeffW: Mar 9 2010, 07:19 AM

hi guys, can i know how to get the tour guide license????

hard to get????

*average salary in malaysia is 3k. SO YOU WAN TO BECOME THE AVERAGE PERSON WITH AVERAGE SALARY??

I have to say, when I pick up the course it was because I had profound interest in it. But during the course it kinda became boring... and then when internship comes, it was all hell and no play. Realized I didn't like service line and took a different course in my Degree. I would not say I wasted money in my Diploma because I learnt and experienced many different things.

On another note, turning it into full time job - that would not be my choice.

Yeah the hotel that I had training - was a 5 star hotel. The GM and his family occupies one of the top floors (and I mean, whole floor - not just 1 or 2 rooms). He dines and wines in the hotel, under company expenses and has a chauffeur. Whenever his wife wanted to cook, all she needs is to ask the kitchen to bring some ingredients up (she don't even need to go to the market!)... there's also housekeeping to keep their place clean and do their laundry. How convenient is that?!


+1. Couldn't agree better.

The pay is low, extremely long working hours and you'll have to put up with customer tantrums/ complaints. Thus most of them are right, one really needs much passion to pull through the harshness of the industry.

Looks like I have to take another course....

lol is that you that u are refering to? sigh..pity u then... i can said if u use up 9years to be promoted to assistant manager with 2.5k starting salary most probably because u are incompetent... i spent 2+years in hospitality and promoted to supervisor.. now 3years i place my resume in jobstreet, jenjobs & pitchyourtalent and got offer training exec last year (while i;m stil 2+years) this year a duty manager & a senior reservation supervisor that one of them offer me 2.5k same as ur pay but i rejected cox i'm looking to change to sales divison hopping for sales manager post with min 2.8k-3k pay, keep me finger cross ( note i'm only 3years & 1month up to today)

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Added on March 8, 2010, 12:05 pmPenang, if KL i think entry lvl manager can get easily up to 2.8k-3k

This is where the fun part is... i love this challenging task as to solve guest complaint and then delighthing them turning from complain guest into one of our most loyal guest.. i felt very satisfied when i manager to solve

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Added on March 8, 2010, 12:09 pmIt's all bout the passion and keen interest..other wise think twice

This post has been edited by Kelvin5717: Mar 8 2010, 12:09 PM

I'm already a tour guide, just get my license few month ago, still newbie.

You need to apply from MOTOUR and then take the course(around 6month) and finally the exam... Some college are offering the tour guide course as well..

*3k is average salary for Malaysia, but in the reality still lot's of people are earning much lesser than 3k....

This post has been edited by skon9: Mar 8 2010, 12:11 PM

When I was placed in FO, there was this customer from the States who made a complaint. There were several things that made his stay unpleasant and he's a VIP guest. What I liked was that - when the manager offers to give him a discount and some complimentary vouchers, he declined and said, "I am complaining to you because I want you to know what went wrong. I'm not interested in any sort of relief that you offer me, I only want to notify you that these problems happened."

Boy, wasn't I impressed. Malaysians usually complaint because they wanted some sort of compensation in return.

i have a question. for me who graduating soon as a degree holder major hospitality management. this is what come into my mind

-since working malaysia, some of you think is pretty low. why don't try to work at oversea and the pay (should be the same). and while you save working overthere, you convert back you still get earn. beside that, you got the experience working at oversea.
- this is jst my opinion, if is not true pls notify me or correct me.

Different for everyone. Although you earn more overseas, your expenses is also higher there (eg. rental, food, entertainment etc). You need to be frugal to save money.

There are those with family locally and wouldn't want to work in foreign land. Plus, if you plan to go either Australia, US, UK etc your English better be fluent.

it is true that, pretty hard to save at oversea, so do in malaysia.

working in foreign land, it depends on the candidate whether to work or not...

certainly is true that, english need to be fluent, but we as an asia especially from malaysia have the language advantage by knowing several languages.

erm,i not referring to myself but i referring to a assistant manager who i meet when i internship at one of the top hotel in malaysia own by the richest guy in malaysia. that guy know SOOOOO much things and yet still need to wait 9years to get a peanut salary and the working time is like from 11.30am until 1am. No life at all. btw, that guy work at fine dining restaurant 1...can u guess how much wine and food that he know??i really feel sad for him that why i realise that im not suitable to work at hotel industry. i don't want to get AVERAGE SALARY!!

Yes, we have the advantage of speaking and understanding several languages yet if one can't speak well in English (again, if the choice of country is mainly English-speaking) where most of the guests are indeed English speaking, there is a chance they will only hire this person as a back-up or will not hire at all ^^;

Hmmmm must say here that this guy sounded professional. However... from another POV, he may be earning peanut salary but he enjoys what he's doing and he's comfortable with it. His pay is more than enough for him to carry on and he isn't complaining

Working in the restaurant, he may be getting generous tips (especially in fine dining and where you served the customers well) as side income. It's not as peanut as you may thought sometimes

erm,maybe he really like his job but i don't think he is earning alot. after divide the tips, one only get around rm400-500. yaya,he is really professional but i din use the word 'professional' on him cause it cant really describe how professional he is in that situation. imagine that he remember all of the wain in a fine dining restaurant...=.=''

well, nowdays has change. furthemore in malaysia here, not many people are giving tips. 2ndly, why would the customer give tips when the hotel already charged them 10% service charge?

It did happen the old times i guess, but not now. For those who are working in the Hotel, they will know. I have work before in 1 of the 5 star hotels in KL for about 3 months, and not a single customer give tips.

is true also. but aging of baby boomers, and they tend to travel oversea. on top of it, there is an increase of asia country visiting english country (especially from china, hk, taiwan, japan)

newbies here to this interesting topic of discussion & point sharing. Basically, what are the perks being normally offered in the hotelier line besides getting a basic paid? any mobile phone or car maintenance allowances etc.?

[quote=sweet_pez,Mar 9 2010, 09:07 AM]
Yes, we have the advantage of speaking and understanding several languages yet if one can't speak well in English (again, if the choice of country is mainly English-speaking) where most of the guests are indeed English speaking, there is a chance they will only hire this person as a back-up or will not hire at all ^^;
Hmmmm must say here that this guy sounded professional. However... from another POV, he may be earning peanut salary but he enjoys what he's doing and he's comfortable with it. His pay is more than enough for him to carry on and he isn't complaining

I remember my senior told me, one language has extra certain allowance.. ie: 500 or 1000? but nt sure..

From my personal opinion.. working in hotel is not easy.

I have repeated this many times. In tourism/hospitality industry, Its mostly for people with passion in service.. If you want to make a big money in short period of time, then this industry is definitely not for you..

Other than low starting pay, you have to work long working hour/no holiday during PH, facing all kind of faces and people.. Its very challenging industry..

Agreed with you SKON9....

[quote=superdeemon,Feb 2 2011, 10:26 AM]
newbies here to this interesting topic of discussion & point sharing. Basically, what are the perks being normally offered in the hotelier line besides getting a basic paid? any mobile phone or car maintenance allowances etc.?

[/quote]

Depends on position. If you work in service line where 100% of your time is inside the hotel, why would you need mobile or car allowance?

As for sales position then yes, there'll be travel allowance (petrol). Again, it depends. If it's conference/ banquet sales then you don't really need to travel much because most of the arrangement is done in the hotel. In fact your customers are the one travelling to look for you in order to visit the venue and confirm settings etc.

The perks? Lunch for staffs at the cafetaria are usually FOC. Sometimes dine-in at the hotel under company charge etc. Hard to say exactly what are the perks, highly dependent on department, position and the hotel chain.

[quote=leo_gaga,Feb 2 2011, 07:50 PM]
[quote=sweet_pez,Mar 9 2010, 09:07 AM]
Yes, we have the advantage of speaking and understanding several languages yet if one can't speak well in English (again, if the choice of country is mainly English-speaking) where most of the guests are indeed English speaking, there is a chance they will only hire this person as a back-up or will not hire at all ^^;
Hmmmm must say here that this guy sounded professional. However... from another POV, he may be earning peanut salary but he enjoys what he's doing and he's comfortable with it. His pay is more than enough for him to carry on and he isn't complaining

I remember my senior told me, one language has extra certain allowance.. ie: 500 or 1000? but nt sure..

From my personal opinion.. working in hotel is not easy.

[/quote]

Honestly I have no idea about language allowance. It's the first time I hear of something like this...

If you are in front office, and you work for a leading hotel, your pay is not just merely thousand over. On average, you can get more than 2k minimum. And if you are hardworking too, you get even more. Besides basic salary + service charge, you get to upsell the room, and from there, you get commission.
But, there are a lot of things to consider. If you are just looking for a job, this is not for you. Your life is basically IN the hotel only. Festivals can be celebrated, but with your colleagues

how about employee/employer job grading? are the grading standard across all hotels in m'sia? eg. b1 or c3 or e3 etc...or anyone can list the whole grading down here to enlighten any individual who would like to take this as their career?

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Featuring 443 stylish and well-appointed guest rooms with spectacular city views, key features and services include four seminar and banquet space, business centre, executive lounge and chic dining outlet. Guests can also unwind with recreational facilities such as an all-day restaurant and bar, swimming pool and fully-equipped gym. Do not miss the chances and experience to join the pre-opening team and add this valuable experience to your career qualification !!


1) Front Desk Assistant / Front Office Associate
- Male / Female
- Present looking
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2) Guest Service Officer / Guest Relation Officer
- Female preferable
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- At least 1 or 2 years related customer service experience preferable in hospitality industry.

for other vacancy please visit official site http://www.furama.com/bukitbintang/career/

For the right candidate, we offer an attractive remuneration & benefits package. Interested & suitably qualified candidates are invited to send their detailed resume together with a photograph to:- kelvin5717@gmail.com

Hotels are seriously underpaying their staffs. It is extremely difficult to get an admin position for a degree holder fresh graduate.

Don't take up hotel management unless you don't mind tolerating all types of customers.

Some might even throw cutleries to your face if you are in the service side. This happens to ALL hotels (4 star, 5 star)..The worse part of it is that you gotta maintain composure eventhough you are faced with that situation.

hahaha so are you encouraging ppl not to apply ? lol actually what you said is true however there are still ppl with passion for the job if you want it as a 'WORK" then do not join the hotel industry as you will be ELIMINATED in NO TIME ~ however if it's for the Passion and Career it will be different story as all job has their problem to face.. if you have the passion and burning spirit then you will overcome the all problem..
cheers

This post has been edited by Kelvin5717: May 31 2011, 10:24 AM

I am a Hotel Management student and so far, I think the hotel line is booming and I must say I am glad I chose this course. I have been through 2 internships and maybe that's a little too early to say I love the hotel industry but hey, which company is perfect?

You need passion. This I totally agree!

any1 can giv me sum opinion. I studied hotel mgt until adv. dip and I also hav Degree in business...and hv wrk in corp company for abt 2 yrs ++ consider want change field... do u guys agree/suggest i join bck hotel?

it has been a while since i last trained in hotel... i not sure the pay now... as i knw is base on service point. Is it now still da same? If i were to join can i get fixed salary? I mean not to get the (basic salary + service point) = our salary?

is all hotel... the pay is da same regardless 3-5 star hotel... 4@5 star hotel the pay ok or not?

If i were to join is it still da same , i hv to get the (basic salary + service point) even i hv wrk experience in corp company? can advise me? Is 5 star hotel offer fixed salary? whoever knw and clear abt this kindly to share... 10s

nope. five star fixed salary is for assistant manager onwards. i knew it cause i had work at rank 1 five star hotel among the five star hotel.

oh as i knw mid level like duty manager they also get fixed salary... the salary ok? but i think need many yrs to get this mid level post

interesting views from both aspiring hoteliers, non hoteliers, and hoteliers.

im a hotelier myself. took the usual route, after spm, went for college, get your paper qualification,then embark on to work. ventured firstly into front office, take home pay approximately rm900 per month (basic + service points). KL based, year 1999.
8 years later, i became the director of sales & marketing for a city hotel in brunei. todate, I have been holding this position for about 4 yrs ( in various hotels and various locations).

KL 5 star hotel market pay for a director of sales & marketing = +- rm10k per month+ perks (free meals, free laundry, free usage of gym, allowances, signing facilities, etc)

At present, the market pay for a director of sales & marketing for a 2nd tier city in china, 5 star chain hotel = +- USD5k per month. not also to mention other perks like housing allowance, free meals, laundry, etc, basically your basic needs are taken care of, and also annual return ticket to your home country.

A General manager for a 5 star hotel in 1st tier city china can fetch about USD10k a month, and usually comes with family package.

is this the best paying job in the world? No. my younger brother who is an actuary is paid SGD6k per month in singapore, at the age of 23. And im sure those working in oil rigs are paid even higher.

can a hotelier lead a comfortable lifestyle and retire with sufficient funds for a decent life? a definite YES.

Not everyone is cut out to be a hotelier. But ask MAJORITY of the hoteliers you know that have ventured to other industry, chances are they will still want to come back to the hotel line.

hmm it depends on which hotel ur going

in kl only a few hotels that has high salary for entry level staff
i work at one of those hotels as a waiter and every month.. i earn an average of rm 2.1 k .. after deductions

right now i jump to another hotel as a captain and earn around the same

so basically u just have to find the right hotel for u if u r looking for a decent salary for entry level

hi all...

the hotel industry is for people who WANT to serve others.... the MAIN passion is in the SERVICE provided by you to the paying guests... not the paycheck at the end of the month... although it helps to earn enough to cover your expenditures...

my story is as such : i'm currently in my mid-30's and had left the hotel industry some 12 years back.. I had to restart my "office" career from the bottom 1st as accounts assistant then accounts supervisor then moved to the Six sigma team of a major MNC... I left because i was bored... staring at presentations all day presenting them the next, talking to people on the phone all day and solving all sorts of problem for the company and what do i get.. a pat on the back and a "Well done!"... NOW, i am itching to get back into the Hotel industry now... for me ( and i believe others here agree ) there is no job out there where you get self-satisfaction (and a sense of accomplishment!) when you execute your duties and get PRAISE and LOYALTY among your guests...

In the late 90's i was part of the opening team in a 5 star hotel in Singapore (it was an international chain that left the global market in the 80's and came back into Asia under a different name... the chain is "linked" to a celeb!!).. we were unknown and many of my colleagues who embarked in the opening left (some for greener pastures, some because they were lazy!!).. i was attached to the F&B dept and deployed to the "Coffeehouse".. its a slightly different concept than normal hotel coffeehouses.. seating capacity 300+ indoors and 100+ outdoors (more like the hotel corridor than under the sun/moon)... when you're surrounded by 4 big chain hotel who's been there for years ( i mean more than 10+ years) and you enter, people don't give you much of a second look...
BUT our staff (those who remained..) took the extra steps of promoting our coffeehouse (and ultimately the hotel) wherever we went on our off-duty hours... Mind you 75% of the staff are malaysians you know...
go to the foodcourt, strike up a conversation with the person(s) at the next table (of course you must pandai lah.. otherwise people think you siao!) and ultimately mention your restaurant..
go to the clubs/pubs/other peoples restaurants and spread the word,
go to retail shops and window shop and drop the name of your restaurant...
go to the beach, mingle with other people mention your restaurant and hotel...

gosh!! there's so many ways to promote your place of work (and its the only job you can do that, where others can actually visit you!!)... you'd be surprised how it pays off!! within 6 months of opening, the restaurant averaged SGD$350k per month (thats running @55%-60% of capacity) we averaged ~SGD700k a month after a year of operations... thats only our outlet btw... i didn't feel the need to move around within the hotel much because my passion is in food and how i want others to enjoy that with me... although management stuck me in a rotation program that saw me doing front office, concierge, banquet, room service and housekeeping at least 6 days in a month for 9 months... Cross-training they called it..
Anyways i started as a Junior Captain and when i left 3.5 years later i was a newly minted Asst Restaurant Manager (i left before being confirmed)... Medical reasons made me stop F&B (i threw my back out, couldn't stand for more than half an hour let alone carry trays and stuff)... didn't want to move to other departments as it wasn't as exciting...

the moral of the story is to be a passionate hotelier you must let it encompass everything about you, eat, breath, live, sleep and talk hospitality... upselling, cross-selling, repeat business, entertain, engage are all keywords in a hoteliers dictionary... i.e. if you want to be successful and happy..

Examples:
1)if a customer consistently comes to your restaurant for lunch and dinner then suddenly appears regularly for breakfast... you'd be surprised to find out that your service during lunch and dinner encouraged him to recommend all his clients to stay at your hotel instead of your competitors.. thus his appearance during breakfast to meet his clients...
2)a group of regular customers (from an advertising firm) at a neighbouring watering hole (a well known German micro-brewery) change their weekly meeting place to your place instead... because you entertained a client of theirs so well that they continued to patronise your restaurant... plus we "entertained" them... nothing dirty hor...
3) Have the best Sunday Brunch in town with a solid CONFIRMED booking for upto 2 months in advance... Why? because we were the first to have a children's corner with FREE nanny service so that their parents could eat (and drink, mainly drink) peacefully..

All this came about because of the passion exhibited by ALL the staff in the outlet (including the trainees that was attached to us) some of them are in high positions in their home cities (Jakarta, Bandung & Bali)...

These are all the positives of the career in a hotel, no denying there are negatives too but why dwell on them and make yourself miserable... There were times when we had to handle ~1100 pax during breakfast service saja (6.30-10.30am)!! But when you see the tip being distributed at the end of the week!!! SMILES!!!! A month could match your gross salary!!

If you decide to enter the world of hospitality, enjoy your journey UP the ladder!!

Re-reading all the above makes it sound like i'm cheerleading my own past career and hospitality in general... but heck i am proud to have been part of a dynamic industry and seriously wish i could get back into the thick of things... although my wife would have something to say about that..!!

I wish I could have read this 4 years ago so I won't take Hospitality and Tourism course. Now a Degree holder and I got an offer around 1.3k+. ~.~'' as a fresh graduate. To all the people who think about doing Hospitality and Tourism course, make sure you think 10 times before doing so. Speechless after these 4 years.

This post has been edited by lsy_vic: May 19 2012, 03:35 PM

Agree.... hotel industry is not for everyone.. in term of pay wise it is very low wages unless u r in high mgt level position.. i have personally spent 10 years working in hotels as bellboy, front office assistand, guest service officer in sarawak, KL and spore... finally decided to change job to work in oil and gas in 2005.. currently work as a senior technician in oil company in singapore earning SG$130K per annum (RM390k) including overtime+ bonus + CPF...... a far cry from RM24k per annum max working in hotels.... work wise is only 15 days work per month compare to 6 days work per week in hotel..... lucky i made the wise move when i was younger or else i will be stuck in the hotel industry... currently own 5 property ( 1 bungaloo, 4 condo) in JB and KL. 4 car ( 2 SUV, 2 sedan)... my education level is only a diploma..... my current job pay is equall to a hotel GM pay in malaysia... and when i retired in anowther 10 years i will have few million ringgit i my bank acct....

This post has been edited by KH5157: Jul 24 2018, 10:10 PM

well working in Hotel industry is kinda stress up..
too much "free" OT.. I mean cannot claim one
seniors tend to "bully" those newbies... then don't forget about office politics... those "near" to boss is looked after well..

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This post has been edited by starry-starry: Sep 19 2019, 10:14 PM

Any Hilton staff here?Just curious to know