How is the hotel industry right now in San Diego (mortgages, hotels)

[LexSteel]

I'm in my mid 20's and about to start working in the hotel industry but eventually want to move out to San Diego. I know tourism is a big industry out here and I was wondering if anyone knew about the job market and stability in terms of the hotel business?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by LexSteel

I'm in my mid 20's and about to start working in the hotel industry but eventually want to move out to San Diego. I know tourism is a big industry out here and I was wondering if anyone knew about the job market and stability in terms of the hotel business?

like everything else, it is down, but yes, San Diego is a tourist town so, with the upcoming season I am sure the hospitality industry is better than in some places. Are you a recent grad with a degree in hotel management or just interested in the industry?

NIta

[feverhost]

A friend of mine works at the Marriott and she said it's picking up a bit. It's definitely better than it was in 2009.

[LexSteel]

Originally Posted by nmnita

like everything else, it is down, but yes, San Diego is a tourist town so, with the upcoming season I am sure the hospitality industry is better than in some places. Are you a recent grad with a degree in hotel management or just interested in the industry?

NIta

I graduated college 2 and a half years ago, I have some friends that work upper management in a big hotel chain. Right now their trying to get me in the business, they told me once I get in it wont be hard for me to transfer to a branch out in San Diego. Hopefully I can make the move within the next year

[moved]

Don't forget about the local competition, there's lots of it. There are lots of college kids that work in the hotels.

[earlyretirement]

For sure the hotel and tourism industry has rebounded from the bottom. Honestly, it couldn't have gotten much worse in 2009. Just keep in mind California overall has a MUCH higher unemployment rate than the rest of the country. And don't go by the bogus numbers the government puts out. They are way low when you really factor in everything including underemployment and those that stopped looking or gave up.

Several hotels in California have declared bankruptcy or walked away from their mortgages. Competition is still probably really fierce in that industry. I do see the economy slowly improving but there are still a lot of problems out there with unemployment, many problems in Europe and the Middle East that could trigger another crises that causes Wall Street to plunge again. I'd say we aren't out of the woods yet so many will tread cautiously and won't open up their wallets again for another few quarters.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Hotels are just an area right now, that has more upside in SD than some other industries. I still fear there will be significant local competition for those jobs though.

When (if) the convention business ever picks up downtown, then for that area, a rebound is possible. But as of right now, conventions have not seen much of an uptick in size or quantity in the SD. I am still of the belief that we will never reach the saturation point we did back in the "good old days" as a restaurant owner told me downtown recently.

I am being conservative in my estimate but in my experience at 60% of a hotels annual revenue comes from meeting space use and booking rooms for those meetings. Everyone gets a slice of the pie (F&B, Rooms) when meetings are booked.

The discounts hotels were giving last summer in the downtown area were pretty great for people looking for 'staycations' or traveling by car. I would venture to guess that those deep discounts will be fewer this summer but still there.

[LexSteel]

Once I get my foot in the door then I'll see if things will work out, my contacts who work upper management have told me once your in and you put a little bit of time you can defenitely get transferred. So I guess I'll just wait and see but I'm really hoping to eventually make the move soon, thamks for the advise people

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by LexSteel

Once I get my foot in the door then I'll see if things will work out, my contacts who work upper management have told me once your in and you put a little bit of time you can defenitely get transferred. So I guess I'll just wait and see but I'm really hoping to eventually make the move soon, thamks for the advise people

Good luck. From my own experience working for Hilton and Hyatt, there are oppts always popping up all over the place for transferring.