Introduction
This research paper will endeavor to discuss the history, career information, and positive and negative aspects of being an employee of various multinational organizations. This will cover mainly five hospitality organizations, namely Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Serena Group of Hotels, Stratosphere Las Vegas, Marriot Hotels, and Sheraton Hotels.
The Hilton Hotels and Resort
Hilton Hotels & Resort comprises a chain of luxurious hotels and resorts spread in close to 80 countries around the world, including the US, Egypt, Australia, Netherlands, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. The hotel chain was established by Conrad Hilton in 1919 but is currently managed by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Worldwide operates or franchises several other hospitality companies in almost every corner of the world, including the Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts, Embassy Suites Hotels, and Hilton Grand Vacations. As of 2010, figures showed that the hotel had more than five hundred branches across the world. Careers available at Hilton range from internship to permanent employment (Maxwell 251). The positions vary from high management level positions such as hotel managers down the ladder to positions such as customer service, safety, and sanitation, chef, dining room staff, among others. These positions may require the holders to have a different level of educational qualifications.
While some positions may require postgraduate degrees, others can be performed by lower certificate holders or persons who do not have any hospitality training but have gained some experience working in the industry. Working for this company has a lot of benefits; for instance, employees enjoy a rich legacy in the hospitality industry, and this will give them strong bargaining power in career development just by having worked at the hotel chain. There is also a great opportunity to gain rightful experience and skills through training and skills offered here in collaboration with world-class universities (Maxwell 251). The main disadvantage of working at Hilton hotels is that the positions are so demanding, and employees regularly have to work overtime, especially during major festivities such as Christmas and Easter. This makes the employees lose touch with the rest of the world and even family members. There is also little time for recreational activities and hobbies such as swimming.
The Serena Group
Serena Group of hotels consists of hotel chain found mainly in Africa and Asia. Countries of operation include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Rwanda, and Kenya. The hotels are one of the companies managed by the Aga Khan Development Network and trading by the name Tourist Promotion Services. Founded in the mid-1970s, the hotels have seen prompt growth. Recent data indicates that they own close to 40 properties in the two continents. The products offered here range from hotels, lodges, and resorts. This organization offers careers that are similar to the ones offered at Hilton since both are in the same business. Positions of managers and customer service are likely to be found here. Working at Serena provides employees with a wide range of diversity as it combines cultures from around the globe. The employees are recruited from different cultures, and this gives them an opportunity to learn various aspects, each from other, including talents. Since Serena only operates in Africa and Asia, this is a disadvantage to the employees since it offers them less or no opportunity to work or learn about aspects of the hotel industry in other continents such as Europe and the Americas.
The Marriot Hotel
The Marriot Hotel is run by American based global operator, Marriot International, Inc. this hospitality firm was established by Willard Marriot in 1927 and is still run by the founder’s family. The company, which mainly deals in hotels and lodges, has more than 3000 properties in the US and in 70 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, China, India, and the UK. The firm runs several brands such as Marriott Hotels and Lodging, JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Ritz Carlton, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott Execustay, The Marriott Grand Residence Club, and many others. Marriot offers exciting career opportunities at different levels. With hard work and relevant qualifications, the employees in the hotel industry can actually rise to become senior managers and even achieve the highest position, the chief executive officer of Marriot International. The company offers excellent career development through its Youth Career Initiative Program, where fresh graduates are recruited from various universities around the world and given on job training on their field of specialization to equip them with relevant skills according to the market demands. Workers at Marriot hotels have a chance of enjoying the best hourly work services, and this is evidenced by the hotel being voted among the “Best Companies for Hourly Workers.”
The company was recognized for having a sturdy work-life culture and best policies programs for the development of female workers (Chathoth 237). The working conditions at Marriot are also excellent, and this enables the employees to enjoy their work. Having a majority of their workforce on an hourly work program offers an opportunity for the workers to attend to other commitments during the time when they are off duty. They can even opt to enroll in classes in order to expand their knowledge of the hospitality industry practices. Plans by the company to expand its operations around the world are also job security, and employees are not scared by job loss since more labor force will be required as the company expands. According to a former chef at Marriot hotels, the disadvantages of working here include very little room for adventure, for example, a chef cannot follow seasonal ingredients and has to rely on food supply from a thin list of specified suppliers. Secondly, workers have regularly complained of being paid a constant salary irrespective of how long they have been in employment.
Stratosphere Las Vegas
Stratosphere Las Vegas is a hotel and casino based in Las Vegas. The enterprise was founded in the mid-1990s by Bob Stupak but is now owned by Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds after a purchase concluded in 2008. The firm’s brands include Stratosphere Tower Shops, X-Scream, SkyJump Las Vegas, Insanity, and Big Shot. Initially, Stratosphere was intended to be a massive business to be enjoyed by riders on the tower’s column. The hotel offers different careers relevant to hotel industries and other jobs in its casinos, such as bookmarking. Staff can enjoy exciting social scenes from their workplace since this tower is always used in shooting movies and other cultural attractions. In this hotel, there is little career development as compared to other hotels like the Hilton. This is because the employees are less skilled, and the management has not put in place programs to offer extra training to employees.
Sheraton Hotels
Sheraton Hotels are one of the oldest hospitality brands in the world, having being founded in 1937. Its main brands are hotels, hospitality, and tourism (Mak, 120). Apart from the careers offered by the hotel industry, which has been covered in the early discussions, Sheraton hotel also offers job opportunities in the line of tourism and hospitality. These include professions such as drivers, tour guides, travel agents, and consultancy services. Other job openings available at the group hotels include guest service agents such as front desk officers. In the tourism sector, jobs such as airport representatives are required to cater to traveling customers. Some of the advantages of working at Sheraton include working under different departments such as its hotels, tourism, and so on. This makes it accessible for the employees to have exposure and experience in different work environments. Secondly, the company offers excellent facilities for its employees, such as excellent rooms fitted with a fridge, fax machine, and photocopier. Sheraton is also known for offering attractive remuneration for its employees.
Besides, they offer training, development, and growth of employees. The main disadvantage is brought by the fact that their branches are spread worldwide, including the United Arab Emirates. Due to their transfer policies, especially for top managers, an employee can be deployed in any branch far away from home that she/he may not be comfortable with. However, this could turn out to be an advantage since it can allow an employee to interact with different cultures and be able to work in different work environments. This greatly enhances one’s curriculum vitae as they rise up the career ladder.
Works Cited
Chathoth, Prakash K. et al. “Assessing dimensions of organizational trust across cultures: A comparative analysis of U.S. and Indian full service hotels.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 30.2 (2011): 233-242. Print.
Mak, Barry L. M. “ISO certification in the tour operator sector.” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 23.1 (2011): 115 – 130. Print.
Maxwell, Gillian and Lyle Gordon. Strategic HRM and business performance in the Hilton Group. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 14.5 (2002): 251 – 252. Print.