Key skills for hotel managers

Qualifications and training required

Relevant work experience is essential for entry into the profession; this can include hotel, catering, retailing, waitressing or bar work. A hotel/catering management or hospitality qualification can be advantageous. Graduates with non-relevant degrees could obtain a postgraduate diploma in hotel management or build up an extensive amount of experience. A management, languages, leisure or business studies, travel or tourism degree may also be helpful.

Key skills for hotel managers

Reliability and stamina are essential in hotel management. You will also need excellent numerical, verbal and written communication skills. Numeracy is particularly important for finance-related and office-based roles, while good interpersonal skills and customer service are vital for roles involving contact with clients. Knowledge of foreign languages can be an advantage.

Hotel manager: job description

Specific duties and the amount of customer or staff contact vary according to the size of employer: hotel managers in larger organisations may be mostly office-based, whereas managers of smaller establishments often have frequent contact with both customers and employees. Typical responsibilities include:

• recruiting, training and supervising staff
• managing budgets
• maintaining statistical and financial records
• planning maintenance work, events and room bookings
• handling customer complaints and queries
• promoting and marketing the business
• ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation and licensing laws

Rapid career progression is possible into higher managerial roles both within the UK and overseas. Promotional opportunities are generally best for employees who are willing or able to change job location, to specialise in one area such as marketing, sales or human resources, or to move into related areas of employment.

Typical employers of hotel managers

• Hotel chains
• Independent hotels and motels
• Residential clubs
• Resorts
• Inns
• Hotel and leisure groups

Tips for Getting Hired - Hotel Management

There are no shortcuts for successful career in hospitality industry; particularly, hotel management industry is open only for talented management professionals who can show their capabilities and calibre. The best way to get in hotel management is to do a degree course and if degree cannot be pursued, do a certification. An internship with some hotels helps a lot to candidates as it provides practical experience and right exposure to candidates. There are some paid internships and some non-paid internships available for hotel management graduates. Some hotels even hire simple graduates and hone their skills in hotel management.

Top Companies

Hotel management jobs coming from top notch hotels in India offer attractive career and growth prospects. Some of the leading hotel chains in India are as follows:

• Ambassador Group of Hotels 
• Mansingh Group of Hotels 
• Oberoi Group of Hotels 
• Peerless Group of Hotels 
• Sarovar Park Group of Hotels 
• Sinclairs Group of Hotels
• Best Western Group of Hotels 
• Casino Group of Hotels 
• Clarks Group of Hotels 
• Fortune Park Group of Hotels 

Positives/Negatives in Hotel Management

Despite being known as one of the most glamorous careers there are various flipsides of working in hotel industry and one of them is hotel industry too like any other industry is subjected to the overall state of economy; therefore, it gets affected if the economy is not doing well and travellers are not frequenting the hotel. Similarly, new jobs come at the place of existing jobs as working professionals either are given new responsibilities at new hotel or they retire.  Handling pressuring situation with cool and poise is mandatory for hotel professionals. Long working hours, rude responses from customers, hectic timings, etc are some major drawbacks of career in hotel management.

Different Roles, Different Names

• General Managers: Such professionals are responsible for all operations in a hotel.
• Resident Managers: Bestowed with the job to be available at just a call away.
• Executive Housekeepers: These professionals are expected to ensure cleanliness in the hotel.
• Front Office Managers: Most of the hotels own front desk, Front Office Managers manage the same.
• Convention Services Managers: These professionals work in close coordination with client and the conferencing facilities offered by the hotel for various conventions, meetings, seminars, etc.

Career In Hotel Management

Job Prospects

There are a lot of employment avenues for trained Hotel Management professionals in hospitality industry verticals like – hotels, cruise ships, catering departments in railways, airlines, banks or armed forces, airline cabin service, resorts, entertainment sectors and tourism department.

The key positions where the hotel management graduates are employed are Operations, Housekeeping, Front Office, Accounting, Food & Beverages, Food Production, Engineering/Maintenance and Security.

Some of the top notch hotel groups in India are – Taj Group, Le Meridian, Fortune Park, Oberoi, Ambassador and Clarks; to name a few. 

Pay Scale

Graduates from premier Hotel Management colleges such as IHM get a good starting salary of around INR 20,000. In addition to the salary, these jobs offer attractive perks and benefits with a glamorous lifestyle. 

Skills sets needed

Individuals with a friendly and extrovert attitude are a best fit for this profession. Good communication, planning and organizing skills are an additional plus. One should have a keen interest in food, travel and lifestyle.