subject: Hotel Manager [print this page] Be they in Torquay or Barcelona, hotels needs managers to keep them running effectively.
The UK has an estimated 35000 hotels and guest houses, of all sizes, located in just about every town or village. Some cater for holiday makers and others for short stay and business travellers. Managers are needed for all these and in a growing industry, there are good job opportunities with intense competition for each one.
A good manager will handle just about everything from greeting guests (and ensuring their stay is happy and free of unfortunate incidents), carrying luggage, managing staff, organising fire drills, ordering supplies, maintaining health and safety standard and organising special events or evenings. They need to be efficient, organised, have an eye on the balance sheet and ready for anything.
Hotel management is not 9 to 5 work. Managers can be on duty during evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Some live in their hotels which means they could be called upon to deal with hotel issues at any time of day or night, whether actually working or not.
In large hotels, the manager may be in charge of a number deputy managers, who each deal with specific sub-sections of the hotel, like the kitchens, leisure areas or storage areas. In smaller hotels, managers working kitchen, bar, reception, etc, as required.
Salaries for trainee hotel managers can range from 12000 up to around 17000 a year. Some of the bigger hotel chains might offer additional benefit, including a pension or private health insurance, or accommodation at other hotels in the group.
When suitable vacancies arise, they tend to be advertised in trade magazines or on specific hotel group websites.
Aspiring hotel managers need at least a Higher National Diploma or equivalent qualification in retail management, leisure and tourism, retail or marketing, etc. It is also possible for trainee managers to be appointed via promotion from other hotel based jobs, and to undertake additional training to become fully qualified.
Experience of catering and hospitality is also a great help, along with the ability to converse in more than one language.
