Hotels and F&B Managers

Having worked his way from the kitchen as an executive chef into the boardroom as the general manager, Kung Teong Wah developed his career in the hospitality and F&B sectors. His responsibilities are massive, managing a hotel with 346 rooms, two restaurants, a cocktail bar, and a large banquet.

The evolution of hospitality, F&B and essential skills

Over the years, Teong Wah has seen the hotel and F&B sectors evolve alongside the proliferation of digital technologies and data-driven insights.

Teong Wah elaborates, “When speaking with hotel owners from an older generation, we talk about things the industry traditionally looks at, like service quality and occupancy rates. In contrast, hotel owners in their 30s want to know about digitalisation strategies, using data to drive channel revenue through marketing , and more. Having the experience and digital fluency to connect with hotel owners of both generations is a big advantage.”

Speaking about the skills that hospitality and F&B professionals need in the years ahead, Teong Wah highlights Developing People, Creative Thinking, Problem Solving, and Change Management as essential for management personnel. He then lists Communications, Customer Orientations, Learning Agility, and Digital Fluency as necessary skills for staff to be competitive in a digitalised economy.

Roadmaps for digitalisation and upskilling

In Teong Wah’s opinion, the keys to building successful hotel and F&B outlets lie in roadmaps. Specifically, digital roadmaps for the hotels’ technology investments, and skills roadmaps for staff to improve their skills and salary.

“In a modern hotel, a digital roadmap helps plan the investments to make in the hotel’s technologies, possibly over the next 10 years. It’ll also ensure that all the technologies in the hotel are properly integrated, so work can flow seamlessly.

“For instance, we make innovative use of robots to deliver  amenities, towels and ordering of in-room dining to guests’ rooms and this is only possible with end-to-end integration of our hotel room tablets, doorbells, guest room management system, elevators, and more. Failing to plan this entire chain properly could lead to bad technology investments that may hold us back for the next decade.”

Teong Wah also recognises that low salaries and ‘unsexy’ job roles like ‘waiters’ are key reasons why his industries lose their best talents. His solution is pragmatic, “We focus on capacity building and job redesign, especially with our front-end staff, so they can take on bigger job roles of higher value and are more fulfilling. We incentivise them to learn new skills, take on more responsibilities and reward them with the higher salaries that their expanded roles deserve.”

Thriving in a rapidly evolving environment

Sharing his thoughts on staying relevant in an environment that is continuously changing, Teong Wah reflects, “The days of lifetime employment in one career are behind us. Today, we can embrace technology and use it to our advantage.

“The good news is that we live in a country with an incredibly comprehensive training ecosystem. Take advantage of it and use your SkillsFuture Credit to stay relevant; in the career you have today, and the one you could be in tomorrow.”