Related Posts
More Posts
Is an MBA really worth it for a career pivot?
Additional Posts in Retail & Hospitality
Anyone need a job in Denver
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
The most important factor of large hotel chains is that you always have the opportunity to grow.
I think that totally depends on the job market, the city you’re in, and what position you’re looking for. I know the big hotels in my area are thiiiiirsty. The only thing that may make it more competitive is that they love to hire from within the brand—say, an employee in another city that wants to move. But right now, it feels like they can’t find bodies to fill even office level positions.
On the reverse, I had a coworker who had previously worked at a franchise hotel within a large chain (so it operated more like a small org despite the larger connection to the big brand). There was constant nepotism, drama, HR violations, inappropriate relationships etc. it drained the life out of her. When she moved to a corporate hotel with corporate oversight, she sighed a breathe of relief. From what I can tell, the big corporate hotels offer you advancement, opportunities to live in other cities, and corporate culture—the downside of which is that you become a worker bee in a giant organization that is incapable of thinking creatively, pivoting, or being flexible in basically any way. A smaller organization might have less internal opportunities for advancement, but might be more flexible and allow for new ideas and creativity. The downside is that some orgs may allow “too much” flexibility like in my description above. Food for thought— if you start in one you can always transition to the other. From what I’ve seen, hotels love it when ppl have prior direct hotel experience, and basically just poach ppl from other hotels. You’re not stuck, whichever one you choose.
I have worked in both ranks, but I feel that small hotels have less stress, and more time to strengthen your knowledge in some branches of the hotel business, as large hotels tend to be very demanding.
You'll definitely encounter more demanding employers if you decide to work for a large hotel chain, but there is value in associating yourself with a big name
Working for a small organization can be an extremely rewarding and personally gratifying experience, but you could potentially miss out on the perks and upward mobility of a large chain