December 7, 2024

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A comprehensive guide to job positions in a hotel

A comprehensive guide to job positions in a hotel

Guests in a hotel may only interact with a handful of people, but behind the scenes there are many different hotel staff positions. And, depending on the size of the hotel, this can easily translate to dozens of on-duty staff at any given time.

Let’s take a look at the various job positions available in the hotel industry.

Front of house positions in a hotel

Front office positions in hotels can range from managers to receptionists. Regardless of seniority, these are all customer facing positions and require excellent people skills.

Hotel manager

Of all the front of the house positions in a hotel, this is the most senior. The purpose of the role is to ensure that all guests receive high quality customer service. Duties include training and managing various other hotel front desk positions such as receptionists and concierge.

Key attributes for this role include great interpersonal skills, attention to detail, and supervisory experience in a similar role.

Assistant hotel manager

This is a more junior position but is still a supervisory role which requires experience in hospitality as well as a working knowledge of daily hotel operations.

Key attributes include strong people skills, attention to detail, good leadership skills and customer service experience.

Hotel receptionist

This is arguably one of the most important hotel positions. As the face of the hotel, the receptionist is the first and last person guests interact with. Duties include greeting guests, making bookings, taking phone requests and managing complaints. Depending on the hotel and the training opportunities available, this can be an entry level position. However, in many instances, experience in a similar role is preferable.

Key attributes for this role include strong people skills, excellent customer service skills, good IT skills, organisational skills, and the ability to use initiative.

Concierge

The concierge’s job is to greet guests and assist with queries. This can include making restaurant reservations, arranging transport and providing information about the local area.

Key attributes include people skills, customer service skills, patience, ability to use initiative and problem solving skills.

Reservation agent

A reservation agent is similar to a concierge but their duties are limited to making reservations for guests. However, as front of house operatives, reservation agents should also be willing to assist guests with other queries.

It’s worth noting that the terms receptionist, concierge and reservation agent can often be used interchangeably. Some hotels may have both a receptionist and a concierge while others may have a concierge and reservation agent.

Hotel management job positions

Though guests may never actually see some of them, a strong management team is absolutely essential to a hotel’s success.

Front of house manager

As we’ve already covered, the front of house manager at a hotel handles all customer-facing operations and is largely responsible for ensuring a positive customer experience.

Hotel general manager

This is the most senior of all hotel management positions. From handling complaints and supervising staff to scheduling maintenance and managing budgets, this role oversees all aspects of hotel operations.

Extensive experience in the hotel industry is required and key attributes include great interpersonal skills, leadership skills, excellent organisation skills, IT skills, thorough understanding of budgets and financial planning, and a working knowledge of health and safety regulations.

Operations manager

Depending on the size of the hotel, this can be another name for general manager or a position reporting directly into it. The overall purpose of the role is to manage day to day operations. Duties can include overseeing various departments, conducting health and safety audits, and managing budgets.

Night duty manager

This role ensures the smooth running of the hotel during the night. Duties can include managing a team, scheduling staff, processing payroll, and budgeting. It is a managerial role that requires extensive experience in the industry. However, as it can often involve working with a reduced team, the position also requires a can-do attitude.

Director of purchasing

This role involves purchasing all goods and materials required for the hotel’s operations. From toiletries and towels to food and beverages, everything that is bought and paid for goes through the director of purchasing. Duties include negotiating with vendors, managing contracts, quality assurance, stock taking, and accounting.

A degree in business studies is usually required as well as experience within the hospitality industry.

Human resources manager

Human resources oversee the recruitment process for hotel staff positions. They also carry out performance evaluations and manage staff contracts. Day to day, the HR manager is in charge of ensuring that all workers rights regulations are adhered to and may be required to assist with negotiations between union leaders and management in the event of staff disputes.

Revenue manager

A revenue manager’s job is to set hotel prices. Their main goal is to increase occupancy and maximise revenue. This involves constant analysis of the market as well as negotiating with third party booking platforms. Staying up to date with industry trends as well as technological innovation is an essential part of being a hotel revenue manager.

Sales manager

A hotel sales manager’s main job is to increase room sales. Whether it’s by cold calling, networking, competitor research, or negotiating partnership deals, the goal is to generate new business.

This position usually requires a degree in business or a similar field as well as previous experience within the hospitality industry.

IT manager

This role oversees all systems used to manage bookings, schedule maintenance and facilitate communications. As well as troubleshooting and maintenance of IT systems, the IT manager’s role involves planning ahead and making recommendations regarding new software and improvements.

Accounting manager

The accounts department oversees all incoming and outgoing expenses. From chasing outstanding invoices to creating budgets and financial reports, the accounting manager’s job is to ensure that all financial aspects of the hotel run smoothly.

This position requires extensive experience in the industry as well as a degree in accounting, finance, business or similar.

Security manager

The security manager oversees the safety of all guests, employees and assets at the hotel. This involves planning and coordinating patrols, managing surveillance systems, training staff for emergency procedures and supervising all other security job positions at the hotel.