Hotel Management Jobs

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Introduction to Careers in Hotel Management

On a typical day, hotel management professionals act as supervisors, budget administrators, negotiators and crisis managers. In the midst of balancing these complex roles, they maintain the utmost composure—a positive, energetic attitude matched with a strong work ethic and expert organizational skills.

Utilizing their business training and people skills, hotel managers run entire hotels, motels and resorts, or they manage specific departments within these establishments. They set hotel policies, plan employee schedules, and determine budgets from the back office while making time to walk the public parts of the hotel, greet and talk to guests, inspect facility conditions and fill in at the front desk when short on staff.

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Career Paths in Hotel Management

Graduates of hotel management programs can enter the field as assistant managers or managers in small hotels or motel chains. In large hotels or resorts, hospitality managers often start as management trainees or assistant managers before advancing to department management roles where they oversee specific areas of hotel administration, such as guest services, food and beverage, conferences and events, and marketing.

Qualifying for Hotel Management Jobs

Individuals can start their hotel management careers with an associate's degree in hospitality management or a related specialty field.

Advancing to a position as department manager in a large hotel or resort typically requires a bachelor's degree in hotel or hospitality management and specialized training in a particular area, such as accounting, culinary arts or computers. Communication and multi-tasking abilities also impact an individual's chances for promotion.

Those with master's degrees in a specialty area or an MBA have the best chances of finding executive management hotel jobs.

Perks of Working in Hotel Management

Managing a hotel can offer exclusive advantages. For example, some establishments provide hotel managers with meals, laundry service and parking. Additionally, depending on the hotel, managers may receive medical benefits, profit-sharing and educational assistance as well as exceptional bonus packages.

In some hotels, managers can earn bonuses of up to 25 percent of their base salary. While salaries for hotel managers vary greatly based on facility size, location, and the manager's specific responsibilities or specialization, Salary.com reports that the middle 50 percent of hotel managers earn salaries between $68,000 and $124,756. The highest 10 percent earn $151,072 or more annually.*

Challenges of Working in Hotel Management

Throughout the stages of their careers, hotel managers typically endure long hours, including night, weekend and on-call work. The job also brings with it high levels of stress associated with handling guest complaints, coordinating extensive activities, turning a profit and solving problems at a fast pace. Furthermore, advancing in the field often means relocating to a different hotel or branch in a chain, which, in turn, could require large-scale moves with a family every few years.

Finally, those early years spent working as a trainee or assistant manager usually mean all the long hours and stress but only a fraction of the pay. Surviving this period, however, can lead to better hotel job opportunities and earning potential for the managers who meet the challenge.

Is a Hotel Management Job Right for You?

Hotel management offers exciting, diverse career opportunities for individuals with the credentials and energy to enter the industry. With hotel jobs available throughout the world, hotel managers can pursue a position close to home or across the globe, depending solely on where their career aspirations take them.

_{*HR data as reported by Salary.com for March, 2010.}