Who works in hotels?
 

One thing I've noticed is that in North America the sort of folks who typically work at hotels view their employment merely as a "job" as opposed to a "career." Perhaps it's because Americans have an obsession with upward mobility into the mythical middle-class so, as a result, there's some sort of stigma against having a "career" in service and hospitality. (A friend owns a fine dining restaurant and constantly complains about how hard it is to find an American applicant who actually knows how to serve or is willing to learn how to serve -- you know, how to set a table, how to pour a bottle of wine, etc.)

By contrast, if you look at hotels elsewhere, say in Asia, many, if not most, of the workers at upscale hotels are all 20-somethings who studied hotel management or hospitality in a vocational school, college or university. Most, at least front line workers, speak at least one, if not two, languages fluently or enough to converse and provide service.

With that said, I've also been fascinated by people-watching and trying to figure out just who works in a hotel.

Clearly for many working in a hotel is a career that allows them to start at the front desk or as an attendant in the executive lounge and work their up the ladder to a better job, perhaps some day as a hotel general manager. I doubt there are as many employees in similar positions at hotels in the United States who see their "job" at a Marriott or Crowne Plaza in Podunk, U.S.A. as a stepping stone.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

i do, the day before i have to present something

Overall, service in US restaurants is typically better than that in other countries IME.

Hotel employees in international hotels frequented by English speakers or other travelers likely are a cut above in terms of education precisely because fluency in more than one language is a requirement at those hotels.

I find US restaurants claustrophobic. A good waiter is nearby and easy to get service from, not at my table constantly topping off every drink and being in my face. I think of it as tip begging and as a foreigner I find it extremely off putting.

Maybe in the sense that the help are more attentive because of tips, but I don't appreciate being called "hun" or not having a place setting done correctly, let alone not having the wine presented and served properly.

American hotels and restaurants get away with poor service -- not necessary bad service, but poor service in that things are not executed properly.

Retired airline employee here (35 years) law enforcement prior. I work at a hotel here 2 or 3 week days driving the van. For me it is a retirement job that for the most part I enjoy. They are very good to me but if I weren't retired I wouldn't be able to do this do to pay. I know we have lost good people because of the pay. For me I know other places I could go if it were about the money, but for me I have the things (for now) money can't buy.

you will notice that it is totally different depending on type/location of hotel (and restaurant and retail and service etc)

declining standards is a cycle : consumers accept less, suppliers provide less ; dont think there is really a egg/chicken moment

As a customer, why on earth do you care whether the employees think they're at a "job" versus a "career"? Does it affect your experience there? If so, how?

and its less the employees than their employer's culture/practices

Because someone who is viewing it as a career is likely focused on doing well and moving up the ladder thereby providing better service and ensuring things are done correctly. They likely have been trained more because an employer is more likely to make an investment in an employee in it for the long run as opposed to someone who will leave after six months.

I think it could go either way. Someone who is just there for a "job" has good customer service skills, versus someone who is there for a "career" and tries to screw you over to make the hotel more $$$, since more $$$ = promotion.

I used to work for the luxury brand of an international hotel group. Most of my work was in Australia - and reasons why I viewed it as more of a career than a job was:

a) It paid well. Like, really well. While the hours were long, at the end of the week my paycheque was probably as substantial as most of the people who stayed at the hotels. I've worked in hotels in America and the pay rate is a huge drop - even when I depended on it, I felt uncomfortable accepting tips. My base rate in Australia as a waiter was $30 per hour, with paid lunch breaks etc. and only went up with different positions.

b) The people were great. Hospitality in general, especially in the upper echelons is made of well-travelled, open-minded, intelligent and resourceful people. It became very easy to build an international network and plenty of my former colleagues are now valuable connections to have as lawyers, executives, engineers etc. Ever since I've been in tech/corporate work, I find the people much more dull.

c) Opportunity for advancement, transfers (including international) were plentiful.

d) The benefits. Why would you need more money when you barely have to pay to travel? :P I could never bring myself to pay more than $100/night for a 5-Star hotel room. The group also had a "points system" whereas if you were ever personally mentioned on Tripadvisor/internal surveys etc you would get points, which could be redeemed on an online store like frequent flyer points. Got a blender, juicer, toaster and kettle out of that. Also discounts at the Apple Store and a tonne of other retailers and even other hotel chains.

e) Easy access to a lot of sex & drugs

f) The work was ultimately rewarding and I learnt alot of transferrable skills - everything from IT maintenance, service, food, wine, logistics and management have been critical in my later life. The annoyance for me was that (by design) guests/customers never got to see how much work was put into even the smallest details.

I missed it so much I even bought a restaurant a couple of years ago and always love it when I get a chance to go and work there!

WTH

The middle-class is not so mythical in America and its quality of life is much more attainable than in Asia. The opportunities in most parts of the world are not as rich as in NA, so a position affiliated with an international brand like Marriott is much more prestigious and competitive. Most educated 20-something everywhere in the world speaks a second language like English because it is lingua franca...

Haha. People act so surprised, but you have a bunch of people under high stress, working huge hours and not eating or sleeping properly and have to pretend to be nice to people all day and night - it surprises me that people could possibly be surprised at what goes on on the personal side of things. I'm too old for it now, but I loved that side of things at the time.