Advice needed at early stage

I’m a bit conflicted about giving a direct answer on this one.  When I look at CVs, I’m not impressed by degrees.  The guy that barely scraped by and graduated last in his class gets a degree too.  The paper itself means nothing unless an applicant can show me that they actually understand the business and can bring value to my hostel.  And a degree isn’t necessarily needed for that anyway.

Working in hostels is a great way to gain practical real-life experience.  You can learn a lot by reading about something in a book, but you learn it faster and understand it better by actually doing it.  You also take on a lot more risk, because if you make a bad decision it costs someone money, their reputation, or a bad experience for a guest.  Most of the time you won’t get hired straight into management though, so the things you learn may not be directly applicable to running the business.

The benefit of hospitality management courses is the perspective that they give you.  They give you a big-picture view of how the business works.  They teach you different approaches to various situations and how to think them through in a safe environment.  They teach you to understand the marketing, finances, HR challenges, etc. involved in hospitality that even experienced hostel workers rarely comprehend or even consider until they move up into management.  And even when they become responsible for such things they may still not understand them.  

I sometimes explain to new applicants that working in a hostel is very different from staying in a hostel. It’s exactly the same as the difference between going out for a nice dinner and being the waiter who serves that dinner.  Working as a receptionist and being responsible for a hostel business are similarly unequal roles, and one does not necessarily prepare you for the other.  

The best way to learn is to get theoretical education in a classroom AND practical experience in a hostel.  The more you have actually experienced in the business, the more you will be able to relate to the scenarios in your courses.  You may find out that some topic you previously considered to be irrelevant to hostels now gives you ideas about growing the business, securing supplemental income, or controlling costs.  Another plus is that everything you learn can be immediately applied in your hostel.  Working as a receptionist or a work exchange position would probably be beneficial, especially if you actively seek out ways to get involved and understand the management’s decision making process.  Alternatively, you might consider asking a hostel if you can do a “practical” or shadow a manager for a while to gain experience and insight into their company, kind of like an internship.  

Most of my own education came from on-the-job training, comparing notes with other hostel managers, and lots of trial and error.  It would have been REALLY helpful in a lot of situations to have some courses under my belt to provide a base knowledge.  In fact I still struggle with a lot of aspects of the business that I really should know more about.  Luckily I'm surrounded by people who have different areas of expertise to balance out those shortcomings. 

Hopefully some of that rambling made sense and helps you out a little bit  :)