Careers in Hospitality Management

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Looking for an entry level job or internship in hospitality management? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

I recently visited Walt Disney World in Florida and had a great time in the park exploring everything from Space Mountain to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It seems that exceeding expectations is the cornerstone of the Disney approach to hospitality. Disney is great at moving people through rides, making sure well-trained staff are available to answer any questions, and maintaining the park’s image with cleaning and painting. This flawless magical experience rides on the shoulders of their Hospitality Management team, who is responsible for ensuring that guests have the best experience possible.

Hospitality Management Careers

Photo Credit: Flickr user princessashley

Hospitality Management Career Guide Overview

  1. What a Hospitality Manager Does
  2. A Typical Day for a Hospitality Manager
  3. Salary and Career Progression for a Hospitality Manager
  4. Best Locations for Hospitality Managers
  5. Pros and Cons of Being a Hospitality Manager
  6. What You Need to Know for a Career in Hospitality Management
  7. Hospitality Management Resources
  8. Careers Related to Hospitality Management
  9. Companies with Jobs and Internships in Hospitality Management

What a Hospitality Manager Does

A Hospitality Manager makes sure that the guests they are accommodating receive the best service possible. They cater to guests so that they feel most welcome wherever the service is rendered, which could be anywhere from hotels to restaurants, to museums, to parks. Hospitality Managers can specialize within a range of different industries:

  • Restaurant Management (like Management of Food and Beverage Operations, Food Selection and Preparation, Food and Beverage Cost Control)
  • Lodging Operations (like Lodging Management, Hotel Operations, Resort Timeshare Management)
  • Global Tourism (like Tourism Management, Airline Industry, Sustainable Tourism)
  • Attractions Management (like Theme Parks Management)
  • Event Management (like Catering Management)
  • Food Preparation (like Basic Food Preparation, Food Sanitation, Beer and Wine Labs)

A Typical Day for a Hospitality Manager

While a typical day varies for a Hospitality Manager, it generally involved long hours and it might include these tasks:

  • Spending time answering emails
  • Talking with guests
  • Attending events like breakfasts with guests
  • Meeting with the staff
  • Strategizing and holding planning meetings
  • Scrutinizing the design of facilities or menu items
  • Determining the level of guests’ satisfaction by creating surveys
  • Handling guest complaints
  • Setting budgets
  • Train employees

Salary and Career Progression for a Hospitality Manager

A Hospitality Manager makes between $28,442 – $114,780 per year on average. Furthermore, the middle 50 percent of Hotel Managers earn salaries between $67,439 and $123,699. After a couple of years you can go on to become a General Manager, Regional ($44,870-$175,143 on average per year), Resort Manager ($25,491-$101,269 on average per year), Vice President, Operations ($61,916-$233,489 on average per year).

Best Locations for Hospitality Managers

Here are some hot spots for hospitality managers:

  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Honolulu, Hawaii
  • New York, New York
  • Arlington, Virginia
  • San Francisco, California
  • Miami Beach, Florida
  • Washington, District of Columbia
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Miami, Florida
  • Scottsdale, Arizona

Pros and Cons of Being a Hospitality Manager

Pros
  • Perks like free meals, laundry service, hotel rooms or parking
  • Higher pay in the long run
Cons
  • Long hours
  • Dealing with customers can be stressful
  • Advancing can mean relocating to a different hotel or branch in a chain requiring large-scale moves with a family every few years

What You Need to Know for a Career in Hospitality Management

To be a Hospitality Manager you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in hotel or hospitality management. You might even consider getting a master’s degree in a specialty area or an MBA if you’d like to become an Executive Hospitality Manager. Beyond that you’ll need to be able to take things in stride, have a great friendly open personality, and be a good leader and listener. You should also have solid financial skills.

Hospitality Management

If Hospitality Management still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.

Required Reading

Key Folks to Follow on Twitter

Blogs and Websites

Networking Opportunities

Job Search Resources

Careers Related to Hospitality Management

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Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Hospitality Management

Hostelling International USA Logo

Hostelling International USA - Hostelling International USA is a Silver Spring, MD based "non-profit membership organization that has been serving young travelers for 79 years strong.”

See the complete Hostelling International USA profile


Northstar Travel Media Logo

Northstar Travel Media - Northstar Travel Media is a Secaucus, NJ based “business information and marketing solutions provider to the $300 billion U.S. travel, tourism and meetings industries.”

See the complete Northstar Travel Media profile


momofuku Logo

momofuku - momofuku is a New York City based restaurant group that was started by chef David Chang and has won countless awards.

See the complete momofuku profile


Visual Data Systems Logo

Visual Data Systems - Visual Data Systems is based in Columbia, MD and serves "the Vacation Rental Community with Web Design, Online Marketing Solutions, and Reservation System Integration.”

See the complete Visual Data Systems profile


Liftopia Logo

Liftopia - Liftopia is a San Francisco, CA based company that helps "skiers and snowboarders get out on the slopes more often, and help alpine resorts generate incremental revenue.”

See the complete Liftopia profile


21c Museum Hotels Logo

21c Museum Hotels - 21c Museum Hotels is a company based in Louisville, KY that operates hotels “born out of a desire to integrate contemporary art into everyday life.”

See the complete 21c Museum Hotels profile


FareStart

FareStart - FareStart is a Seattle, WA non-profit that empowers homeless and disadvantaged people "through life skills, job training and employment in the food service industry.”

See the complete FareStart profile


The Culinary Edge Logo

The Culinary Edge - The Culinary Edge is a San Francisco, CA based consulting firm that helps restaurants strengthen their brands, extend their reach, and increase their profitability.

See the complete The Culinary Edge profile


Union Square Hospitality Group Logo

Union Square Hospitality Group - Union Square Hospitality Group is a New York, NY based restaurant group that offers everything from the finest dining in NYC to burgers, fries, and shakes.

See the complete Union Square Hospitality Group profile


FROSCH Logo

FROSCH - FROSCH is a New York, NY and Houston, TX headquartered company that provides “high-touch leisure and corporate travel to individuals and companies.”

See the complete FROSCH profile


Canyon Ranch Logo

Canyon Ranch - Canyon Ranch is a Tucson, AZ and Lenox, MA based resort and spa with an “innovative approach to health, wellness and holistic and integrative care.”

See the complete Canyon Ranch profile


Entertainment Cruises Logo

Entertainment Cruises - Entertainment Cruises is a company with “26 vessels serving eight cities with six unique cruise products.”

See the complete Entertainment Cruises profile


Alinea Logo

Alinea, Next Restaurant, and The Aviary - Alinea, Next Restaurant, and The Aviary are members of a Chicago, IL based group of restaurants that has elevated fine dining to amazing new heights.

See the complete Alinea, Next Restaurant, and The Aviary profile


HomeAway Logo

HomeAway - HomeAway is an Austin, TX based company that offers “the world’s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals."

See the complete HomeAway profile


buuteeq Logo

buuteeq - buuteeq is a Seattle, WA based company that offers an “easy-to-use web application that improves hotels' online marketing on the web, mobile, and Facebook."

See the complete buuteeq profile


The Webstaurant Store Logo

The WEBstaurant Store - The WEBstaurant Store is a Lancaster, PA based company that offers an “innovative, easy-to-use website to meet the purchasing needs of food service professionals."

See the complete The WEBstaurant Store profile


Collette Vacations Logo

Collette Vacations - Collette Vacations is a Pawtucket, RI based company that offers “more than 150 expertly designed, escorted tours spanning 50-plus countries."

See the complete Collette Vacations profile


Royal Caribbean Cruises Logo

Royal Caribbean Cruises - If you're all about luxury and relaxation, consider a job with the world's second biggest cruise company, Royal Caribbean Cruises, based in Miami, FL.

See the complete Royal Caribbean Cruises profile


Inspirato Logo

Inspirato - Inspirato is a Denver, CO based luxury destination club that provides access to high end properties, and they're hiring.

See the complete Inspirato profile


Hotel Tonight Logo

Hotel Tonight - Hotel Tonight is a San Francisco, CA based company that offers deals on last-minute hotel reservations, and they're hiring.

See the complete Hotel Tonight profile


Tablet Hotels Logo

Tablet Hotels - If you love travel and luxury, then Tablet Hotels might be just the place to start your career.

See the complete Tablet Hotels profile


Rosen Hotels Logo

Rosen Hotels - If you get a job at Rosen Hotels, you can rest easy knowing that you're working for someone who firmly believes in "doing the right thing."

See the complete Rosen Hotels profile


Fontainebleau Logo

Fontainebleau - If you’re interested in the hospitality industry and love the idea of being in Miami Beach all year round, then you should check out Fontainebleau’s Careers.

See the complete Fontainebleau profile


Tasting Table Logo

TastingTable - If you love food and e-mail newsletters, than TastingTable is a great place to work whether it's on the editorial side or the ad sales side.

See the complete TastingTable profile


Macy's Logo

Macy’s - This year we’ve been influenced by the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so we’re going to take a look at entry level jobs at Macy’s.

See the complete Macy’s profile


Thomas Keller Restaurant Group Logo

Thomas Keller Restaurant Group - Browse through the jobs at all of Thomas Keller’s restaurants and see what suits you. There are some great opportunities.

See the complete Thomas Keller Restaurant Group profile


The Balsams Logo

The Balsams - If you have vacation on your mind, check out The Balsams and see how you can find a way to stay with them as an employee—or a guest.

See the complete The Balsams profile


Appalachian Mountain Club Logo

Appalachian Mountain Club - The scope of their work is really impressive, and if you want to be a part of it, you should check out the AMC’s Jobs page.

See the complete Appalachian Mountain Club profile


Blue Entertainment Sports Television Logo

Blue Entertainment Sports Television - Although BEST doesn’t get specific about what kind of jobs they offer, they do make a call for résumés on their Contact page.

See the complete Blue Entertainment Sports Television profile


AirBnB - San Francisco’s AirBnB hopes to be the eBay for space (think spare bedroom) and they're already profitable and looking to hire.

See the complete AirBnB profile


Charlie Trotter’s - Charlie Trotter is one of the best at what he does. And that’s why you should consider a job with him. He hires people at all experience levels.

See the complete Charlie Trotter’s profile


Priceline.com - Whether you're looking for a travel deal or an entry level job, Priceline.com has what you're looking for.

See the complete Priceline.com profile


Starwood - Starwood gets hospitality. They also get entry level recruiting. They make it dead simple for college students and new grads to find jobs with them.

See the complete Starwood profile


Levy Restaurants - Levy Restaurants\' job descriptions don’t offer a lot of detail, but we’re pretty sure that a number of their jobs can be considered entry level.

See the complete Levy Restaurants profile


hip consulting group - hip consulting group\'s Careers page says that they\'re always looking for new team members, and that\'s about it. They seem open to hiring new college grads.

See the complete hip consulting group profile


Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises - It’s ok if waiting tables isn’t something that you can or want to do, Lettuce Entertain You has other job opportunities for new grads too.

See the complete Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises profile


Clear - Clear is looking for Assistant Operations Managers in Atlanta and San Francisco. These jobs are geared towards people with a background in hospitality management.

See the complete Clear profile


Mina Group - The Mina Group manages restaurants in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, and Arizona and their CEO is one of the food industry's finest.

See the complete Mina Group profile


Orvis - Based in Sunderland, VT, Orvis is more than just a sporting company -- they are also very dedicated to conservation work.

See the complete Orvis profile


OpenTable - OpenTable, based in San Francisco, CA, is a site that lets you make reservations at some of the best restaurants in the country with the click of the mouse.

See the complete OpenTable profile


Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts - You're probably familiar with this luxury hotel chain that's located all over the world, but have you ever considered working for them?

See the complete Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts profile


Check out the latest job and internship postings in hospitality management.

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