The hospitality industry has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; with bars, hotels, restaurants, and clubs closing for months at a time, every corner of the industry has been hit. Hospitality venues have recently been able to open up to full capacity for the first time in over a year, but what does this mean for professionals looking to work in hospitality sales?
How has the pandemic affected the UK’s hospitality industry?
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that the UK hospitality sector has been turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic; in fact, the sector lost around £220m in sales every single day from April 2020 to March 2021. As a result of this, finding a job in the hospitality industry hasn’t been easy over the past 12 months; with bars, hotels, and restaurants closed or running a reduced menu for most of the last twelve months, many servers, bar staff, and hoteliers found themselves furloughed, with few new opportunities opening in the sector.
However, as of July 2021, hospitality is on its path to recovery. For the first time in a long time, restaurants, bars, and hotels can open fully without the need for social distancing in place. This means that hospitality staff are back in business, quite literally. In some areas of the country, recruiters are actually struggling to fill roles such as servers and waiters in restaurants because of the hit the sector has taken.
What do roles in hospitality sales involve?
Hospitality sales is a varied industry that includes everything from entry-level positions as front-of-house waiting staff to more senior sales positions working in luxury events and hotels. In hospitality sales, you could be:
– Serving drinks in a bar
– Selling space in hotels and resorts for conferences and meetings
– Selling tickets or rooms
– Creating marketing and content to sell a hospitality brand
The incredible range of positions available in the hospitality industry makes it a popular career choice for confident, outgoing sales professionals who are enthusiastic about good hospitality. From entry-level roles in sales and marketing, successful candidates go on to working in regional and national management positions, or in business development roles.
How hard is it to get sales jobs in hospitality in the current market?
With the hospitality and leisure sector finally poised to start its long recovery, many businesses will be looking to recruit both experienced sales professionals and new starters. Across the sector, the easing of restrictions poses a unique opportunity for hospitality brands to get ahead of the competition via a brand new marketing strategy combined with proactive sales.
The sector is already seeing this boom, with many companies listing new sales jobs in hospitality over the past couple of months. The past year has seen professionals working in hospitality sales jump ship for other sectors, which has left hospitality sales with a talent gap that still needs to be filled.
If the current lockdown lifting is permanent – as many are hoping it is – this means that candidates seeking roles in the hospitality sector could enjoy unique career opportunities over the coming months.