COURSES:  Colleges offering courses in hotel management mushroomed all over the country, with Bangalore alone boasting over two dozen of them. Most of the colleges offer a three year BHM (Bachelor of Hotel Management), which is likely to be converted into a four year course soon. 
Some offer diplomas, local as well as in collaboration with Swiss or American institutions, and some others offer specialized courses in specific departments of the hospitality industry.  The three major hotel chains of the country have their own colleges viz. Welcomgroup, The Taj, and the Oberoi.  These offer perhaps the best career opportunities, with many campus interviews offering Assistant Manager's posts with a starting salary around 10,000+. 

ENTRY: Entry to the three top schools mentioned above is difficult, and is through   entrance tests and interviews held on an all-Ie called for in March.  The fees tends to be on the higher side, averaging above one lakh per year.  Other institutions locally are easier to get into.  Christ and M S Ramiah Colleges, and the institutes run by Woodlands Hotel, Harsha Hotel etc. have made a reasonable name for themselves.  If one is looking Westward, those with Swiss collaboration such as Acharya Institute at Peenya Industrial Estate could be viable alternatives. 

A WARNING:  The industry attracts many people because of the glamour and five star ambiance.  Unfortunately many entrants do not realize that it is a professional course requiring a great deal of hard work and learning. Glamour forms only a small part of the profession.  Also, one needs to be aware that the mushrooming of colleges has created a surplus and many students, particularly from colleges which are not attached to a reputed hotel group, are having difficulty getting a job. 

APTITUDE:  To make a good hospitality manager, one needs to have good interpersonal and communication skills, neatness, a pleasing personality. Having creativity and an aesthetic sense helps.  One should be able to get along with people from diverse backgrounds and handle conflict situations. 
Work may require long and unconventional hours, and a disruption of family and social life. 

THE FUTURE:  Those joining courses in hotel management now need to be aware of the fierce competition for jobs in good hotels.  It helps if one is willing to go beyond the BHM and complete either an MBA or a specialized diploma, preferably abroad.  The tourism industry in India is growing at a sluggish pace, but opportunities abroad are reasonably good. As one very successful hotel manager remarked "beneath the suit and tie is a lot of perspiration and a great deal of donkey work which has to be done with a smile.  But I will not exchange this life for the routine of a 9 to 5 office job ever." 

SOME ADDRESSES: 

Welcome Group School of Hotel Management, Valley View, Manipal 576119 

Oberoi School of Hotel Management, 7, Shamnath Marg, Near ISBT, Delhi 

Indian Institute of Hotel Management (Taj Group), Rauza Bagh, Aurangabad 431001 

National Council for Hotel Management, Pusa Complex, New Delhi 110012