7 Reasons Hotel Management Could Be a Good Career Option For You

Hotels, like most hospitality businesses, have two sides.

First, there’s the guest-facing side. Calm. Collected. Accommodating. A kind welcome in the lobby. A quick check-in. Answering questions about the local area.

Then there’s everything happening behind the curtain. Complex. Fast-paced. A tangle of building maintenance, employee management, and problem-solving. And it all has to remain invisible to guests.

It’s this duality that makes a career in hotel management so enticing! Think it might be the industry for you?

If You Find Yourself On This List, Hotel Management May Be Right For You

1. You Love to Travel

Some industries come with special perks. In the hotel industry, one of those perks could be free or discounted stays at other hotels under your employer’s brand. (This benefit is more common at larger chain hotels, rather than independent boutiques.)

If you have family in another city or see yourself taking annual vacations, a career in hotel management could help you save money on those trips.*

2. You Want the Option to Work Around the World

Vacations are one thing. But what if you want to make long-term travel an integral part of your life? Hotels in nearly every city in every country across the globe need experienced and educated managers. This could give hotel staff the opportunity to travel nationally or internationally for their work.

Getting a work visa for a foreign country can be complex, so make sure you understand the rules and regulations around working internationally. You may need “visa sponsorship” from your employer in order to work overseas. And this might include proof that you have a unique set of skills that the hotel needs.

How can you get those skills? You can start with an Associate of Occupational Studies in Hospitality and Restaurant Operations Management Degree. With coursework in listening skills, nonverbal communication, and cultural differences, Escoffier’s hotel management degree students may be well-suited to work in countries the world over.*

3. You Want a Career with an Optimistic Job Outlook

The number of hotel management jobs in the United States is expected to grow by about 9% between 2020 and 2030, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is on par with overall economic growth, making it a strong industry.

But hotel managers aren’t limited to the United States. A hotel manager could follow tourism trends, seeking employment and bringing their skills to hotels around the world that need English-speaking managers. This global travel economy gives hotel staff a much larger pool of potential job opportunities!*

4. You Thrive in a Fast-Paced Work Environment

No two days at a hotel are quite the same.

Some tasks may carry over from day to day, like checking in guests, answering phone calls, reviewing reports, and attending staff meetings.

But then there’s the unexpected. Guest requests. Employee call-outs. Broken equipment. You never quite know what the day is going to throw at you. And working in a customer-service environment, time is of the essence. Hotel managers must be excellent at efficiency and keep the pace up if they’re going to ensure their guests are happy.

One trick to managing it all could be new high-tech programs and automations. In Escoffier’s hospitality and restaurant management program, students may look at information technology and automation programs that can help them keep up with their task list.*

5. You Love Taking Care of People

There’s a reason that hotels call their visitors “guests” instead of “customers.” It’s an industry of service. Guests should feel cared for and welcome. This requires a balance between doing what it takes to keep the guest happy, and doing what’s best for the hotel. After all, a manager can only give so many discounts before the hotel’s bottom line suffers!

Finding ways to make guests feel special is a huge part of a hotel manager’s job. This could include greeting guests by name, leaving little extras in their room upon check-in, and always listening to their needs with the utmost attention.

6. You Love to Problem-Solve

From a practical perspective, hotels are complex. They can be large, with hundreds or even thousands of rooms across multiple buildings on a single complex. The world’s largest hotel is the First World Hotel in Malaysia with a staggering 7,351 rooms across two towering buildings! And each room has technical systems—plumbing, air conditioning, lighting—that must be maintained.

Then there are the public spaces. Elevators, gyms, spas, and pools must all be inspected, and equipment kept safe. There are the food and beverage operations, which could include several restaurants, bars, and room service operations. There are private events, like weddings or corporate conferences, which have their own unique needs.

Add it all up and what do you have? A recipe for chaos, if it’s not carefully managed!

Hotel managers are problem-solving pros. They can address a guest complaint one minute, call the hotel engineer to check the noisy A/C unit in room 463 the next, and shuffle a schedule to account for a sick team member after that.

If you thrive on juggling multiple responsibilities with a cool, calm demeanor, then you may have the makings of a great hotel manager. But some education can certainly help. Escoffier’s hospitality management degree includes a course in Facilities Operations and Compliance for an overview of building and equipment maintenance, and some of the regulations that hotels must follow.

7. You’re a People Person

Love to meet new people? Fascinated by what makes us different—and even more by what makes us alike? You could be a rockstar at hotel management!

A constant parade of new people enters a hotel on a daily basis. And unlike a restaurant, where the guests are only there for a couple of hours, hotel guests may be on-site for days or even weeks. If you love to meet new people and hear their stories, then a career as a hotel manager could be right up your alley.

That doesn’t mean that there’s no place for introverts in hotel management! On the contrary, introverts do incredibly well in one-on-one interactions. They can be wonderful listeners and observers, which can make them more empathetic and compassionate to their guests.

And to hone these skills, an education in hotel management can help. At Escoffier’s hospitality management degree program, introductory coursework in workplace psychology may help students to predict and influence guest and employee behavior, as well as working on those crucial communication skills.

Did You See Yourself On This List?

Then it’s time to get started in this exciting career! And there’s no better way than with an education. Escoffier’s online restaurant and hospitality management degree can help students explore the ins and outs of the hotel business while giving them the flexibility to continue working full-time or manage other commitments. Completed entirely from home with an in-person industry externship, this program can provide the education a future hotel manager needs without uprooting their lives in the process.

Ready to learn more? Get tuition details about this home-based program, and contact our Admissions Department to get answers to all your questions.

To learn more about a career in hospitality management, try these resources next:

• How to Start a Career in Hospitality Management
• Careers a Hospitality & Restaurant Operations Management Degree Can Prepare You For
• What Skills Do You Need for a Career in Hospitality and Tourism?

*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.