Hospitality Manager 101: Job Description, Salary, Skills, & More

This person oversees the hotel's daily workings, manages the staff, and ensures things at the back office run smoothly for a good experience at the front. They will usually be up and down almost all day, and they have to know the workings of the industry to be effective.  

One could start small as they build up skills usually gained on the job. We will discuss the educational background of a hospitality head, but it helps to know that the most effective way to get the best out of this industry and position is by taking up a smaller role and growing into the bigger challenges.

What Does the Hospitality Manager Do?

The hospitality manager job description differs from one establishment to the next, but there are standards that work everywhere. The primary skills you will need to do this job efficiently are customer care, operations management, people and customer management skills, and training management. You will be managing a team of diverse people, so you will need patience and all the people skills you can get to navigate that. The stores and purchases are up your alley while in this job, so you have to know how to keep tabs on the stock and the books in collaboration with the appropriate personnel. Training doesn’t happen all the time, but you will need to know when the team's skills need to be upped to meet the restaurant's or resort's demands.

Other duties of hospitality manager include working hand in hand with other managers to ensure the smooth running of the business at all levels. You will be hiring from time to time to keep the team in the best state, so you will collaborate with the HR manager. 

The prospects of work as a hospitality manager include: managing a hotel and/or casino, managing a cruise ship and/or resort, and managing a travel agency or company. 

Expectations in this Job

You will want to start by adding this skill to your resume so potential employers know you are open to opportunities. You want to put it there in ways that appeal to a hiring panel, and the best way to get noticed is by having a company that offers career change resume writing services make your skills visible, especially when you are looking for new challenges. They will highlight all aspects of the job and what makes you the right candidate for such a job. After getting a good resume written and securing the job, the duties that align with the hospitality manager skills may be stretched a little depending on what the company expects, and we will talk about that below. 

A hospitality manager salary averages $50,712 in the US, depending on skills and work experience. In the beginning, right after school, you might get a little over $40,000 annually after bonuses and other perks, but things can only get better as you scale the ladder. The hospitality industry does better in countries that do great at tourism, so you may want to spread your wings when overseas opportunities look better than at home. The salary can go as high as $170k as your skills, education, and experience grow, so it helps to keep building upwards. Casino workers are especially well compensated as the job is more demanding than a regular hotel. 

Education and Skills Requirements

Most organizations look for people with degrees geared towards people skills, but at some point, any degree that teaches management skills will do. You may want to study something on the side to help with the required soft skills or bookkeeping as they boost your ability to work better in your role. 

To start, you will need an undergraduate degree in the hotel business or any business management specialty, then build it up with professional courses in service management, facilities maintenance, food management, accounting, and human resources. The degree gives you a solid understanding of management and leadership while the rest of the courses make you all-round in the hotel business.  

As for skills, you may want to start at a small restaurant or as a night head at a hotel as you grow and practice what you learned in school. The process and journey may slow at times but are completely rewarding when you rise to the levels of a highly demanded manager.

Conclusion

We hope this article answers the “what does a hospitality manager do?” sufficiently, and you now know the requirements and rewards. One exciting factor you may want to note is that the industry is almost always hiring, especially at the higher levels, since there are more jobs than qualified personnel. It helps to work under a great person or mentor to build confidence and skills if you hope to rise to levels that will challenge your career sufficiently. You also want to remember the hours are long, so you will need a passion for your job to make it in this industry.