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Hotel industry?s fast-track career attractions

American Hotel & Lodging Association and WageWatch

American Hotel & Lodging Association and WageWatchA report released by the?American Hotel & Lodging Association and WageWatch shows that jobs in the hotel industry lead quickly to upper management positions, providing long-term careers with high job satisfaction levels.
The report highlights the success stories of the hotel industry?s employees, who experience significant opportunities for upward mobility and promotions.
Throughout the hotel industry, general managers, senior executives and even many CEOs begin their employment in hourly, entry-level hotel jobs.
According to the report, half or more of corporate executives began their hotel career in hourly entry-level positions and more than half of hotel general managers did the same. As the hotel industry continues to see dynamic expansion, so does the recruitment of today?s entry-level employees and tomorrow?s leaders.
?Hotel employees are the heart of the lodging industry. We would be nothing without the millions of people who ensure its success each and every day,? said Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of AH&LA.
?This report validates the great success story of our industry, one that sees countless general managers and leaders of our industry who started out in entry level positions.?
Further, the report shows the hotel industry provides long-term jobs with high employee satisfaction rates and low turnover.
* More than half of department managers started in hourly entry-level positions.
* Almost all of the survey respondents reported that at least some of their general managers started their careers in hourly hotel line positions.
* The majority of minimum wage employees are eligible for promotion after only one year of employment, serving as a gateway for new workers to enter the lodging industry.
* 90 percent of respondents said that salaried employees stayed with their company for an average of five years or more.
* 75 percent of respondents reported that hourly employees stay with the company more than five years on average.
?It is a great time to be in the hotel business. The industry experienced a record breaking year in 2015, with more beds filled and more jobs created than ever before. We are an industry that prides itself on fostering the track to upward mobility for its employees ? offering the resources and training necessary to advance up from hourly positions to management positions and ensuring that we provide good benefits,? added Lugar. ?With travel expected to increase this year and forecasts for the hotel business strong, we are not surprised to see more hotels ready and able to hire more employees.?
The full report can be downloaded at: http://www.ahla.com/uploadedFiles/_Common/pdf/WageWatch_Survey_2016.pdf