What is hospitality management?

Professionals in this field foster high levels of client satisfaction in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. They oversee the business’s daily operations to keep them running smoothly. These professionals typically have both client-facing and “back-of-house” responsibilities. Their regular job duties include the following tasks:

• Hiring and onboarding new staff members
• Ensuring excellent service
• Monitoring revenue
• Ordering necessary supplies
• Ensuring staff productivity and compliance with guidelines
• Meeting and greeting new guests/arrivals
• Resolving customer complaints
• Regularly inspecting public areas to ensure they meet the company’s health, safety and appearance standards

Managers typically oversee an entire facility. They may also operate in just one specific area, such as the front desk or revenue department.

There are flexible, online business degrees that can prepare you for a career in management. Typical management positions include:

• Business manager
• General manager
• Operations manager
• Store manager

Many of the skills required for a general manager role can also apply to hospitality management.

Those who work in general management do not always need a degree, but a bachelor’s degree can be helpful to prepare professionals with skills they need to lead.

Effective hospitality management relies on a mixture of hard and soft skills to do the job well. In-demand skills you need for management can include the following:

• Communication
• Leadership
• Effective problem-solving
• Quick, confident decision-making
• Strategic planning
• Negotiation
• Conflict management
• Financial literacy
• Time management

There are a few ways to start work in this field. The first is through a relevant bachelor’s degree. The second is with an associate degree or certificate specializing in business or hospitality. The third is by working for several years in the field and earning promotions.

Let’s explore how a relevant bachelor’s degree can impart necessary skills for a career in the hospitality sector:

1. Earn your high school diploma or its equivalent. This is a typical admissions requirement for all universities.

2. Decide whether to pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree. Associate degrees can take roughly two years to complete, while bachelor’s programs usually take four years. In addition, consider whether to pursue online or in-person classes. Online business degree programs can offer flexibility, such as the ability to work a full-time job and take classes at the same time.

3. Determine which specific bachelor’s program to pursue. An online business degree can often introduce you to many of the fundamentals of managing a business. In addition, you can choose to specialize in leadership and management via additional certificates.

4. If you have already earned a four-year degree, you may consider pursuing a Master of Management. In this program, you can fine-tune your leadership skills, strategic management competencies and ability to analyze and evaluate business data and research. 

An online business degree can prepare professionals with management skills, and University of Phoenix offers several options. Consider the following online degree programs:

• Bachelor of Science in Management: Explore the fundamentals of coordinating a company’s resources and activities. Strengthen interpersonal skills and gain exposure to marketing and leadership strategies.
• Master of Management: Further develop your management competencies and apply theory, diagnostics, creative management and consultation solutions.
• Doctor of Management: This program equips leaders with critical thinking skills that can help them creatively solve complex problems and maximize their leadership potential.

Request more information about these and other online business degree programs or apply to start a program today.

A: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the hospitality field that’s still being felt today. The sector experienced severe labor shortages, especially in hotels and restaurants, resulting from layoffs. Many of these locations have struggled to replace those workers.

These staffing concerns have led to stronger incentive initiatives to recruit and retain staff. Those same incentives can make a hospitality management career more appealing. If you love providing excellent customer service, creating memorable and personalized client experiences, hospitality management can be a great fit.

A: Salaries can vary widely depending on the location, level of experience and specific role. Higher-level positions such as operations directors for large, luxury hotel chains may command higher salaries. 

A: From 2021 to 2031, 1.9 million jobs (or 23.1% of all new jobs projected) are expected to be in leisure and hospitality, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, BLS does not differentiate which of these roles are specifically in management. So, there is a general demand in this field, but it’s unclear whether there is a specific demand in management.

BLS Occupational Employment Projections, 2022-2032 is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.