Why Hotel and Restaurant Managers Love Their Jobs

Hotel and restaurant management is a career for people with a talent for keeping a food or lodging establishment efficient and profitable. It can also be an excellent choice for adventurers who want to see the world, or live in a vacationer's paradise. Resorts, cruise ships, camps, inns, ranches, luxury spas, and hotels of all sizes employ specialists in restaurant and hotel management--and in many cases, relocation every few years may be helpful for advancement.

Hotel and restaurant management duties include daily operations, staffing and human resources, training, legal aspects of the business, accounting, finance, marketing, advertising, and public relations.

Hotel and Restaurant Management Training

As with most culinary arts careers, the best way to find a great job can be to combine career training with experience. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), graduates with degrees or diplomas in hotel or hospitality management should have a competitive edge in the job market. In addition to cooking classes, students in hotel or restaurant management programs also take business and management courses--many of which are available online. Many culinary schools help students find internships and jobs to provide training and experience to augment their education.

Hospitality Career Outlook

BLS predicts that by 2016, the number of food service managers will increase by nearly 11 percent and the number of lodging managers will increase by nearly 12 percent. Hotel and restaurant management salaries depend on career path and location. For instance, in 2007 the mean annual wage for food service managers was $48,660, while hotel managers earned a mean annual wage of $51,140.

Managing a hotel or restaurant can be hard work. Managers are usually the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night, and routinely work 50 to 60 hours or more per week. But managing a first-rate hotel or restaurant may be the perfect career for those who want to really exercise their business and people skills.