I was 18 when I 1^st stumbled upon the hospitality industry as a barman of the fun theatre restaurant in Sydney called Beachcomber Island !!! Looking back I have a number of takeaways in why the career is so different to many others. One of the main differences in hospitality is that career progression is more flexible. No matter what your studies or your starting point might be, people have the opportunity to work and experience different areas across the sector to understand what they enjoy and determine their strengths. I also found and continue to find hospitality more open-minded. People usually have traveled abroad, and they are more agile . They are not afraid of change, and they are willing to test and experience more things. This makes them better professionals throughout their career.

I had the pleasure of working nearly 2 decades with Hyatt International and I can say that the brand, the culture, the philosophy is the  nigh the same in all the hotels I worked in.

That said depending on the hotel and resort where you work, however, there are different challenges and a different local culture. So the approach is not the same in all the hotels around the world. In Sao Paulo , for example, it was a very dynamic and complex environment when we opened  in new area with lots of highs and lows. In order to be successful you needed  to be energized , totally dedicated as well as being a fast thinker to adjust to unforeseen changes.

Hyatt like so many chains had systems for talent management. Every year we would evaluate and identify our high performers – key people we need to retain. And there was always a development plan in place, preparing a leadership journey for the next few years – sometimes informally however also formally

Generation Z is great. They want to have a well-balanced lifestyle, and I admire that they are realizing this at a young age. It took me decades to understand that I need to have more balance, self-care and time with my family. They are not afraid to travel, to change and to relocate. Young people have academic knowledge, energy and an appreciation for diverse groups so they are contributing to the success of our organization in its new environment.

As said Gen Z are keen on having a balanced life. Beyond this, they place great emphasis on having fun, being authentic and embracing who they really are in order to feel fulfilled. Our HR Team in PM offers a plethora of events, challenges, celebrations and activities for our people to enjoy themselves at work, be themselves feel celebrated, accomplished and well taken care of.  We constantly need to educate ourselves if we want to remain competitive and if we want to relate to the people in our team and our customers.

Never stop learning. I believe until you die you need to learn. This is the power – knowledge. Things are moving and changing. You need to be open to the way you see things and learn. And learning doesn’t necessarily mean a degree. It could be reading, researching, exchanging and collaborating with other professionals. Learning is number one.

The second thing I always say is that no matter what you do, at the end of the day you need to make sure that you have fun and enjoy what you are doing. The one thing that will lead to success is to do things with passion. If you have passion and a love for what you are doing, there is no way to fail.