They oversee the work of the front office, clerical, accounting and finance, food service, housekeeping, and maintenance. However, a bachelor's degree is often preferred by some larger chains. Most opportunities for advancement are with the large chains such as Hilton or Best Western. New hires usually start as management trainees or in a hotel desk type job.
Promotion comes with experience.
Advancement can be accelerated with completion of industry sponsored certificate programs or additional college credits. The career outlook for this field is good. Employment of salaried hotel managers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2005 as more hotels and motels are built, however, the supply of trained individuals will be less than the demand for new workers. Business travel will continue to grow, and increased domestic and foreign travel will also create demand for additional hotels and motels. However, manager jobs are expected to grow more slowly than the hotel industry because a growing share of buildings will be comprised of economy properties, which generally have fewer managers than full-service hotels.