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Are you planning to start a career or change jobs in the restaurant or hospitality industry in 2008? Your prospects are good -- as long as you keep up with the latest trends and steer clear of niche jobs that may fall victim to the potential economic woes of the new year.
The hospitality industry will continue to churn out jobs in 2008, and turnover for positions such as hotel room cleaner and restaurant server will remain high. The restaurant industry added 400,000 jobs in 2007 for a total of 12.8 million workers, but that pace is expected to slow in coming years, according to a
National Restaurant Association forecast.
The second half of 2007 also illuminated a caution sign for food service. “The industry has been suffering from a slowdown for three to four months, but employment is still strong,” says John Foley, a restaurant consultant with AllBusiness.com.
A discouraging 40 percent of restaurants reported a decline in customer traffic in October 2007 compared to a year earlier, according to a
report from Hospitality Trends.
In the lodgings business, meanwhile, revenue per available room was only expected to rise by 2.9 percent for 2007, according to HOTELS magazine.
Will this industry malaise carry into 2008 as the overall economy teeters on the verge of recession? No one really knows, but here are some of the more actionable trends to watch:
- New Properties Will Drive Employment Growth: The opening of new and high-end resorts and their hotels, restaurants and other amenities will drive hospitality job growth in 2008. Jesse Stewart, the vice president of human resources charged with hiring 1,600 full-time workers over just a few months to staff up Gaylord Hotels’ forthcoming property in Prince George’s County, Maryland, laughs when he says, “I wake up about 3 o’clock in the morning thinking about it.”
- All-Inclusive Approach Means Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Whether guests want room service, a massage or help with their golf swing, the hospitality industry is hiring people to pamper quests. “Everybody works very hard these days, and when we go on vacation, we want to be babied,” says Craig Benell, director of revenue generation at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort and Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Culinary Schools Produce a Glut of Graduates: Food TV reality shows are all the rage, but the restaurant world may not be able to absorb the volume of creative talent coming out of culinary schools these days. “You used to see commercials for truck-driving schools on daytime TV,” says Foley. “Now it’s culinary schools.”
- Management Skills Needed by National Chains: Restaurants may need more hash slingers than gastronomic geniuses, but they’re also hard up for executive chops. “T.G.I. Friday’s doesn’t need a highly trained chef, but they do need management skills,” says Jack Cancila, coordinator of the hospitality and food service management program at Saint Louis University. “There’s always a need for managers and supervisors, people with communications, math and financial skills.” Still, even skilled managers will compete for work at top restaurant and hospitality employers. “If there’s any challenge for us in landing the right talent, it’s candidates being able to sell their homes to relocate for us,” says Shawna Powell, director of executive and sales recruiting at Gaylord.
- Convention-Centric Businesses May Fare Better in an Economic Storm: Hotels that depend on individuals booking a week ahead will likely suffer more in a travel slowdown, but hospitality firms that concentrate on the meetings business may be insulated. “We’re primarily a convention house, so we book our business years ahead,” says Stewart of Gaylord. “We’re not bullet-proof, but we’re in a much more solid position than if we depended on transient business.”
- Immigrant Labor Force and Reform Remain Relevant: Any immigration reform that might be sparked by the 2008 elections could have a profound effect on the restaurant and hospitality labor markets. “This industry depends on immigrant workers, both legal and illegal,” says Cancila. And this is a larger issue than the staffing of California, Arizona and Texas restaurants with Latin American immigrants. Cancila relays that a St. Louis hotelier told him: “If it wasn’t for the Bosnians, we’d be in trouble.” Whether that trouble would be good or bad for restaurant and hospitality workers is all a matter of where you’re coming from.