Hospitality Management Job Types, Salaries, and Benefits

The types of jobs and levels of salary and benefits to be found in jobs within the hospitality field can be closely tied to several factors. First off, the size of a particular property can play heavily into the number and types of jobs available there as well as the associated levels of compensation. A 1,000 room hotel is likely to have more employees and a greater range of available job options, which can come with greater overall responsibility than say a small motel of 30 rooms. This isn’t to say that a high-end, niche boutique hotel of 150 rooms might not pay a general manager or department manager well, but in a more general sense, larger properties tend to pay better and offer more jobs and advancement options and opportunities than smaller ones.

Here are a few of the things that I learned about the job types, salaries, and benefits of hospitality work during my years in hotel management.

Location, location, location

The second major factor that can play into the types of jobs and benefit levels available within the hospitality field is the location in which the property with which you are working is situated. An urban area, which is more likely prone to larger properties, is also a typically higher wage paying environment as well. Size of property can of course be a factor, as can the cost of living, and customer/guest traffic. Meanwhile, locations found in suburban or more rural locations tend to pay lower wages due to possible decreased size and occupancy rates. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule such as secluded resort properties, boutique hotels, or locations that cater to a particular niche or higher-end clientele who are willing to pay more for quality; however, it’s more often the case than not that higher wages will come with more urban locales.

This means however, that wages can be quite different based upon the particular property, niche within the travel or hospitality industry, experience and background of the employee, as well as the particular aspect of the field being discussed. To give you a general idea of some of the wage levels found among particular management roles, we can reference the US Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2012 Occupational Employment and Wages report. While not specific to the hospitality industry, here are a few of the report’s mean annual wage findings for types of management occupations that could be obtained within the hospitality field:

Advertising and Promotions Managers — $107,060
Marketing Managers — $129,870
Sales Managers — $119,980
Human Resources Managers — $109,590
Training and Development Managers — $103,810
Food Service Managers — $52,580
Gaming Managers — $71,390
Lodging Managers — $54,800

Personally, I would pay more attention to the last three management categories (food service, gaming, and lodging) as a better gauge of management wages within the hospitality industry, as the other management category wage amounts listed may be more closely tied to direct industry earnings as opposed to what one might find in related roles within the hospitality field; although, as I mentioned, different properties and locations can come with widely varied pay scales.

Climbing the promotions ladder

You may not find yourself starting off as a manger immediately after graduation though. It could take you some time to work your way up the promotions ladder, and you may therefore initially find yourself starting off in a more supervisory role. In such an instance, you could find your salary is much reduced compared to what a manager or department head might make.

Here area a few more mean wage statistics for such available options from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 report:

First-Line Supervisors of Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Workers — $45,100
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers — $31,820
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers — $37,830

And of course, we can leave out what you might be shooting for as the end goal for your career in hospitality management…general manager:

General and Operations Managers — $114,850

And there can be all sorts of other benefits outside the standard monetary ones associated with a regular paycheck. There could be bonuses paid on performance standards or the meeting of certain financial or department-specific goals. There may be perks involved such as free meals, free dry cleaning, free parking or transportation reimbursement, free hotel stays or room discounts, the opportunity to meet and interact with famous actors, athletes or other interesting individuals, and a variety of other benefits involved in working within the hospitality industry. So while your wages may be an important aspect of working within hospitality, they might not be the only consideration.

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