Why human interaction is still relevant in growing hospitality

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The report reflects that South Africa saw a 7.2% increase in foreign visitors from outside the continent in 2017.

The International Congress and Convention Association ranked Cape Town as the best business tourism city in Africa, and Euromonitor International ranked Johannesburg among the top 100 city destinations in the world, with six additional four-star hotels are scheduled to open in Durban, Johannesburg and Malelane between 2019 and 2021.

"This is great news for people looking for a career path with unlimited growth potential," says Ronel Bezuidenhout, principal and managing director for Capital Hotel School.

"Today, there are roughly 124 different roles available across food & beverage, housekeeping, front office and chef departments. This industry is possibly the most diverse environment to cater to varied personality types, and this won’t change much in the future."

"Despite consistent technological introductions to the market, across an array of sectors, the hospitality industry remains one of the very few, that will always require human interaction," adds Bezuidenhout.

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According to Forbes.com, certain technologies like customer relationship management (CRM) systems have already been successfully rolled out, and Gartner highlights artificial intelligence (AI) like speak-to-order technology, augmented reality (AR) to better direct customers when on site; and biometric authentication (facial recognition) as key advancements to look out for in the future that will assist with the day-to-day, time-consuming tasks.

The true opportunity, however, lies in using people to focus on unrivalled customer service and rich, on and off-site experiences that will keep guests coming back.