How to Become a Hotel Manager: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Eligibility, Colleges, Jobs, Scope, Salary

Over the last decade, it has been observed that India has emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations. As per a report by IBEF, foreign tourist arrivals have increased from 5.78 million in 2010 to 10.93 million. Hotel Managers are professionals who look after day-to-day operations of a hotel from accommodation to catering. They are also responsible for  handling financial responsibilities such as managing budgets, controlling expenditure, analyzing sales figures etc. 

In order to become a Hotel Manager, candidates are required to pursue undergraduate or postgraduate Hotel Management Courses from any of the Top Hotel Management colleges in India. Admissions across any top Hotel Management Colleges are done on the basis of entrance exams such as AIMA UGAT, NCHM JEE, UPSEE etc. Candidates can also pursue certification or diploma courses in order to become a Hotel Manager. 

The average salary of a Hotel Manager is INR 4.15 LPA. However, with gradual experience and updated skills and knowledge it is expected that the salary of a Hotel Manager can grow from INR 7.13 LPA - 10 LPA. The highest salary of a Hotel Manager with substantial years of experience can go up to as much as INR 21.3 LPA.

Qualifications Required to Become a Hotel Manager

Candidates aspiring to become Hotel Managers are required to pursue relevant courses in Hotel Management followed by other necessary educational qualifications that need to be fulfilled. Discussed below are some of the essential qualifications for your reference, 

• Candidates need to clear 10th board exams followed by 10+2 board exams from a recognized board with minimum aggregate of 50% or above from any stream.in order to pursue a diploma program in hotel management.
• Candidates need to clear the entrance exams such as NCHMCT JEE (National Level Hotel Management Entrance exam conducted by NTA) to pursue BHM program.
• Candidates can choose from various UG and PG hotel management courses such as BHM, B.Sc in Hotel Management and Hospitality, MBA in Hotel Management etc. 
• Candidates can also pursue certification courses for the development of necessary skills, 

Know Everything About Hotel Industry

The turn-over for the hotel industry every year is $10 trillion globally, which means a huge work force is also included in this industry. The concept of the hotel industry is very limited in our knowledge, it is not just the luxury hotels and luxury restaurants. 

The hotel industry comprises resorts, guest houses, inns, motels, and hostels for short time accommodation. The global hotel industry sums up more than 10.4% of the global GDP. 

On the Indian Front, the Tourism and  Hotel industry is expected to reach INR 35 trillion by 2029 and contribute 9.2 % to the total economy.  

According to Statista, Taj Hotels are the strongest brand in the Hospitality Industry in India, while Oyo Rooms generated the highest revenue in 2018-2019 with a total revenue of USD 604 Million. There are over 1300 registered star hotels in India.

Who is a Hotel Manager?

Every hotel has numerous departments to run them efficiently, and the hotel managers look after all the departments. The job of the hotel managers seems easy, but it is a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. Hotel managers are directly involved in marketing, sales, promotion, accounts, budgeting, and recruitment.

The major job role for hotel managers are,

• Recruitment of new staffs in the hotel, their deployment and their training
• Keeping the accounts and controlling the budget
• Management, maintenance and reimbursement of staffs
• Maximising revenues, limiting expenditure 
• Customer service and complaint management

In the global hotel industry, the availability of the job for the position of hotel managers are as follows,

• With less than 1 years of experience the job scope in 10% 
• With an experience of 2-3 years the job scope is 60% 
• While with the experience of 3-4 years the job opportunity is 40%

Types of Hotel Managers

There are different types of Hotel Managers who have a different role to play in an organization. Discussed below are some of the types of Hotel Managers and what part they play to ensure the effective and efficient work in an organization. 

Property Manager

Food and Beverage Manager

Front Office Manager 

General Manager

Check out: All Hotel Management Courses in India

How to Become an Hotel Manager in India

To become a Hotel Manager, candidates can start their preparation from school. After clearing class 12th in any discipline, candidates need to prepare for the entrance exam to get into hotel management college. Candidates can choose to pursue undergraduate courses such as Bachelor in Hotel Management, BSc in Hospitality & Hotel Management, BHM in Culinary, BSc in Catering Science & Hotel Management etc. Post completing bachelor degree, candidates can pursue master’s in hotel management such as MHM, MTHM, etc. 

School Level Preparation: In order to become a Hotel Manager the steps that are to be followed are mentioned:

• Candidates need to clear class 12th in any discipline with minimum aggregate of 50% or above from a recognized board.
• Candidates also need to prepare for entrance exams to get into top hotel management colleges.
• Candidates can prepare for the entrance exam by taking coaching or referring to various entrance books.
• Candidates can check the exam pattern and syllabus online and prepare accordingly. 

How to Become an Hotel Manager After 12th

Undergraduate Preparations: Some of the crucial steps that must be followed in order to be a Hotel Manager are as follows:

• Candidates must have completed 10+2 from a recognized board in any discipline either Science, commerce or arts.
• Candidates must appear for entrance exams such as DUET, CUCET, CUET, IPU CET, NCHMCT JEE etc.
• Candidates must choose an undergraduate course, if the candidates have chosen science field they can pursue B.Sc in Catering Science and Hotel Management or B.Sc in Hospitality Management, while candidates from arts and commerce stream can pursue courses such as Bachelor in Hotel Management etc.
• Apart from that, it would be beneficial for the candidates to pursue certification courses in hotel management and other relevant courses to gain necessary skills which will be helpful for the candidates to stand out.

Post-Graduation Preparation: The key steps to be followed to become a after completing Undergraduate courses in order to become a Hotel Manager are as follows;

• Post the completion of undergraduate courses, it would be beneficial for the candidates to pursue a master’s degree such as MHM, MTHM etc.
• To pursue a postgraduate degree, candidates will be required to appear for entrance exams such NCHMCT JEE, CUCET, MDU JEE etc.
• Candidates can also pursue a short term course such as postgraduate diploma courses in hotel management etc.
• Candidates also gain some work experience by internships or attending workshops which will be helpful in gaining experience. 

Hotel Management Courses

There are various hotel management courses which the candidate can pursue in order to become hotel manager. Apart from undergraduate or postgraduate course, candidates also have a choice to pursue certification courses such as:

• Sustainable tourism
• Food & Beverage
• Certificate in Food and Beverage production
• Certificate course in Hotel and Hospitality Management

Some of the top courses to pursue hotel management with all the relevant information are tabulated below for your knowledge. 

Entrance Exams

There are some entrance exams to get into top hotel management colleges in India. Some of the top entrance exams are tabulated below for your reference, 

Hotel Manager Jobs

Most of the company sectors in the hotel industry are private, the company sizes in hotel industry are following,

• More than 50 employees
• 50 - 100 employees
• 100 - 500 employees
• 500 - 1000 employees
• 1000 - 10,000 employees

About 155 - 18% of the hotel managers are appointed in the public sector, while 90% are appointed in the private sector and only 10% in the government sector. 

Find Out: Jobs After MBA in Hotel Management 

Hotel Management Job Boards 

When you look for a job, it is very obvious that you will look for the job boards, here are the best hotel management job boards. 

HC Careers 

HC Careers offer full-time, part-time, seasonal jobs for Hotel management students. The level of the job scope varies from entry level to managerial level. HC Careers is a job board that was founded in 1988 and since then it has been hiring hundreds of freshers and experienced employees. 

Hospitality Online 

Hospitality Online offers various job roles to freshers and experienced candidates belonging to the hotel management industry. It offers various positions such as foodservice, housekeeping roles, marketing, sales, IT and various other managerial positions. Hospitality Online is one of best competitors of HC Careers. 

Hosco 

Hosco offers jobs across the sub sectors of the hotel management industry. It has job profiles which offer jobs from entry level to senior level. Hosco was established in 2011, is a renowned part of the hotel industry. Its network helps the best hotel brands to connect to the best employees in the industry. 

Apply Directly to Hotel Chains

Another very important way to find out hotel jobs is to look for hotel chains. Employees seeking a job can directly contact the hotel chains and apply for jobs. 

Marriott International

The world class best international hotel brand is the Marriott International, it offers job roles from door attendant, valet to dual property senior sales manager. They have branches pan world, hence employees from any corner of the world can apply to Marriott group jobs. 

Accor Group 

The Accor Group is the world's largest hotel brand that owns 35 huge companies all over the world. The Accor group comprise of including Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, Pullman, Swissôtel, MGallery, Mondrian, Raffles, Banyan Tree, Ibis, Jo&Joe, Sofitel, hotelF1, Orient Express and Mövenpick.

InterContinental Hotel Group 

IHG has 5000 hotel properties across the globe, covering 100 countries in the world. They include brands like InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Company, EVEN Hotels, Six Senses Hotels, Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites, among others.

Wyndham WorldWide

They own 20 different brands in the hotel industry, which includes 9000 hotel properties and more than 40,000 employees directly employed under Wyndham WorldWide. They have names associated such as Wyndham, Ramada, TRYP, Baymont, Dazzler, Travelodge, Super 8, Days Inn, Wingate, La Quinta Inns, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Howard Johnson, Dolce Hotels.

Recruiting Agencies for International Hotel Management Jobs 

They are the agencies which work between the employee and the employers internationally. Candidates from any part of the world wishing to move to another part of the world will have to contact such recruiting agencies for International hotel management jobs. 

Hospitality Search International

HSI is an UK based recruiting agency which helps recruiters to find the best candidate from anywhere in the world. 

Korean Lorenzen

It is a recruiting and consulting agency, and they are partnered with the world’s leading hotel companies. They offer the best job profile to the job seekers and best candidate as an employee to the hotel management. 

Europe Hospitality 

They provide the best hospitality and hotel management jobs to the European employees in the European market. Job seekers will be able to upload their biodata or resume and let the employers choose.