My Journey Into Hospitality...

BY Nikhil Sindhu

Opinionated

My interest in the hospitality industry developed at a very young age mainly because my father was associated with this industry too. But rather than following the conventional methods of getting a hospitality qualification, I decided to take a different approach and hence after completing my 12th standard, worked in various hotels in different departments viz rooms division, food and beverage, and sales and marketing to gain experience and to see if my notions about the industry were anywhere close to reality. I was happy to know that they were and while working in the various departments, I also upgraded my qualification by taking up various short courses in French, computers and public speaking to name a few which have proved useful in the long run.

After getting two years of hands-on experience and good feel of the industry, I felt it was the right time to get some formal education in hospitality management. But I wanted to also continue working in the industry hence undertook some research on the various courses available which could meet my requirements.

The distance programmes offered by the Educational Institute of American Hotel & Lodging Association (EI-AH&LA) seemed to be the best option and I enrolled for their distance learning programme - the 12 course Hospitality Management Diploma covering diverse subjects viz variety of courses such as front office procedures, food and beverage service, hospitality sales and marketing, managing hospitality human resources, basic hotel and restaurant accounting in. The industry experience came handy and enabled to better understand the concepts and successfully complete the programme.

The blend of hands-on experience and EI courses benefited me tremendously. One of the reasons, in my opinion is the direct industry inputs that go into the development of each course. The knowledge gained was up-to-date, practical and accurate. As for the feasibility of the course goes, the fees I paid for the diploma, including course books, supplemental materials, helpful online course counselling, as well as online staff assistance, is a fraction of the cost of private college tuition.

While doing the EI diploma I was wondering what would be the next step. As most hospitality colleges worldwide give full or partial credit for EI’s distance learning courses, I decided to apply to colleges in the US for further education. After short listing a few colleges, I went ahead with Johnson & Wales University (JWU) - a well-known college in the US, renowned for their hospitality and culinary programmes - in Providence, Rhode Island. JWU has five campuses in different cities in the US, including one in Sweden. I was accepted into JWU in Providence for their BSc in Hospitality Management.

Going to JWU for my further studies has been an exciting experience for me. As I had completed my EI diploma with good grades, I was offered the Presidential scholarship from JWU for my first year. I was also able to get full credit for my past industry practical experience as well as the 12 course Hospitality Management Diploma. As a result I now have two years to complete at JWU before earning my degree in hospitality management. The opportunities at JWU are plenty and after completing the EI diploma and working in the industry, it has opened many doors for me.

It was during this stint with the JWU, I realised that the EI diploma and my industry experience had put me very much on par with the other students at JWU. In fact, the EI diploma and the practical training have laid a strong foundation for my future. After doing well in my first year at JWU, I have been awarded the Presidential Scholarship for my next academic year as well.

By maintaining high grades, I have been able to feature on the Dean’s list throughout the first year. As JWU owns and operates two mid-size hotels close to our campus, we as hospitality students get to work 20 hours a week at either of these hotels. This way we continue to work while studying. JWU being a career university has major hotel and restaurant chains viz Hyatt, Four Seasons, Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Olive Garden, TGIF’s etc who come on campus to hold expositions and to recruit the best students.

As part of the summer internship, I came to Mumbai to work in a hotel chain. In all the journey so far and the exposure has been really great and the future looks bright for sure after I complete my degree from JWU next year. Having given to understand that a career in the hospitality industry has attracted a lot of aspirants, I thought sharing my personal experience through the only industry newspaper in the country will help other young people both in the industry and in hotel management institutes.

(The writer will be happy to be of any assistance to the hospitality aspirants and can be contacted at nikhil_sindhu@rediffmail.com)