Learn about career paths and industries you can explore when you're interested in working in hospitality.
Hospitality is an industry that focuses on service delivery. A hospitality job involves working in a service-oriented industry, such as tourism, lodging, events, transportation, or food and beverage, and performing tasks that foster a relationship with your company’s customers.
Some entry-level roles, such as server or bartender, tend not to require formal education. However, more advanced positions, like those in hotel management, require a formal degree. Hospitality can be an excellent industry in which to advance with on-the-job experience.
Discover eight jobs you may want to explore if you’re interested in working in hospitality and their average salaries and educational requirements.
As you gain more experience, you can make more money while working in hospitality. Experience level requirements may differ from role to role, as can the educational requirements sought by potential employers.
Discover roles that require some experience and may substitute experience for education in certain instances.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹50,628 [1]
Requirements: Experience working in hospitality; a master’s degree in hotel management
Managing a hotel or resort typically means managing its day-to-day operations. This can mean delegating responsibilities to department managers overseeing housekeeping, the front desk, and maintenance, reviewing the facility's budget, conducting regular inspections, interviewing, hiring, and training new employees, and resolving problems as they arise.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹50,794 [2]
Requirements: Experience in the food service industry or a bachelor’s degree in restaurant management
Restaurant managers typically work at a club, bar, cafeteria, bakery, cafe, or anywhere food or beverages are made and served. Their day-to-day duties can include ordering ingredients and equipment, hiring and overseeing employees, managing kitchen staff, and ensuring the facility is compliant with local health codes.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹30,372 [3]
Requirements: Employers may prefer candidates with a bachelor’s degree
Sales representatives aren’t limited to the hospitality industry. Still, within that context, they often work for hotels, resorts, event facilities, and entertainment venues to help ensure those places do as much business as possible. In this role, you create meaningful relationships with customers, assisting them with their wants and needs. You ensure customer satisfaction and sell products and services to new and existing clients.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹29,567 [4]
Requirements: Completion of a diploma course or a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts or a related area of study
Chefs work in restaurants, hotels, and resorts, among many other locations. Essentially, they oversee the kitchen, ensuring staff prep food and execute orders, maintaining food and ingredient inventory, planning menus, and ensuring the kitchen is up to local health codes.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹47,447 [5]
Requirements: High school diploma or a bachelor’s degree in hotel management or a related field
A housekeeping manager usually works in a hotel, resort, or other lodging, though you can also work in schools and hospitals. In this role, you're in charge of the housekeeping staff. You’re responsible for ensuring the facility where you work is clean, and you'll also train new employees, create schedules, order supplies, and inspect rooms to ensure they're up to standard.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹60,557 [6]
Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a subject related to event management
Similarly to sales managers, event managers may work in many industries. In the hospitality industry, they're usually overseeing the planning of events like concerts, sporting events, and conventions. When you represent a site or location and an organisation asks to hold an event there, you'll help coordinate everything from catering to security. You'll likely need to set or work within a budget, and you'll be in charge of helping with any problems that come up at the last minute.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹62,155 [7]
Requirements: High school diploma or a bachelor’s degree in a field related to hospitality management
Concierges and chief concierges typically work in hotels and resorts, helping guests with services they might need beyond typical hotel offerings, like booking flights, finding a restaurant, or looking for something fun to do. Vast knowledge of the location and its offerings can be valuable for this type of work, along with great customer service skills. As the chief concierge, you'll also need to be comfortable managing the rest of the concierge team.
Average monthly salary (Glassdoor): ₹1,17,999 [8]
Requirements: A bachelor’s degree in hospitality, communications, or public relations
Flight attendants are also known as members of the cabin crew. In addition to flying between cities, you'll likely have to inspect emergency equipment, teach travellers how to use emergency equipment, serve food and beverages, ensure passengers are comfortable and safe during their flights, administer some first aid as needed, and coordinate with pilots.
Many industries have positions that involve hospitality work to some extent. Below are some key industries to consider.
*All monthly base salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of September 2024 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.
Entertainment and recreation facilities, like sports stadiums, spas, conference centres, theme parks, concert venues, and theatres, all hire hospitality jobs.
Entry-level jobs may include:
Waiter/waitress: ₹18,015
Host/hostess: ₹45,809
Security guard: ₹20,604
Advanced jobs may include:
Operational manager: ₹54,932
Event coordinator: ₹35,305
Theatre manager: ₹1,32,253
The food and beverage industry involves preparing and serving food and drinks to customers. It may involve work in restaurants, cafes, bakeries, food trucks, bars, breweries, wineries, or nightclubs.
Entry-level jobs can include:
Bouncer:₹1,77,347
Baker: ₹34,433
Bartender: ₹64,932
Advanced jobs may include:
Head chef: ₹2,13,464
Pastry chef:₹34,302
Bar manager: ₹1,33,212
Hotels, resorts, and other lodging facilities are major employers in the hospitality industry. You're there to ensure the comfort and safety of people who need a place to stay while they're away from home.
Entry-level jobs may include:
Housekeeper: ₹20,437
Customer service agent: ₹24,838
Receptionist: ₹23,657
Advanced jobs may include:
Sales executive:₹25,292
Marketing executive: ₹26,667
Resort manager: ₹89,181
If you want a hospitality job in the travel and tourism sector, you might work at a resort, on a cruise ship, or even on an aeroplane as a flight attendant.
Entry-level jobs include:
Tour guide: ₹27,091
Fitness instructor: ₹89,789
Travel agent: ₹71,380
Advanced jobs include:
Airport manager: ₹99,056
Pilot:₹5,75,619
Travel executive: ₹32,019
Hospitality jobs require different technical skills—or the specialised knowledge needed for a specific role. For example, if you work in a kitchen team, you must know how to cook food. On the other hand, a housekeeper needs to know cleaning and scheduling protocols.
Beyond the technical nature of each role, jobs in hospitality typically require certain workplace skills (sometimes called “soft skills”), such as customer service. Depending on how “front-facing” your role is, you may face dozens—if not hundreds—of customers and coworkers.
Other essential skills you'll need for hospitality jobs include:
Attention to detail
Communication
Cultural awareness and sensitivity
Organisation
Positive attitude
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Time management
Hospitality jobs typically require some formal education and excellent customer service skills. You may explore entry-level roles as you gain experience and work your way up to advanced opportunities.
To start or advance your career in the hospitality industry, consider taking a course or completing a Specialisation to bolster your knowledge. The University of North Texas’s Management in the Hospitality Industry course is a great introduction, or you can level up your skills with Bocconi’s Food and Beverage Management.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Hotel Manager in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/hotel-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,13.htm.” Accessed 23 September 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Restaurant Manager in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/restaurant-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,18.htm.” Accessed 23 September 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Sales Representative in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/sales-representative-salary-SRCH_KO0,20.htm” Accessed 23 September 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Chef in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/chef-salary-SRCH_KO0,4.htm.” Accessed 23 September 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Housekeeping Manager in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/housekeeping-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,20.htm.” Accessed 23 September 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salary: Event Manager in India, https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/event-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,13.htm.”
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