Hotel Restaurant Management

Salary:
Industry earnings. Earnings in hotels and other accommodations generally are much lower than the average for all industries. In 2006, average earnings for all nonsupervisory workers in this industry were $353 a week, compared with $533 a week, for workers throughout private industry. Many workers in this industry earn the Federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour or less, if tips are included as a substantial part of earnings. Workers in these lower paying occupations will see their future earnings increase on a phased-in basis to $7.25 per hour by 2009. Some States have laws that establish a higher minimum wage.

Food and beverage service workers, as well as hosts and hostesses, maids and housekeeping cleaners, concierges, and baggage porters and bellhops, derive their earnings from a combination of hourly earnings and customer tips. Waiters and waitresses often derive the majority of their earnings from tips, which vary greatly depending on menu prices and the volume of customers served. Many employers also provide free meals and furnish uniforms. Food service personnel may receive extra pay for working at banquets and on other special occasions. In general, workers with the greatest skills, such as restaurant cooks, have the highest earnings, and workers who receive tips have the lowest.

Salaries of lodging managers are dependent upon the size and sales volume of the establishment and their specific duties and responsibilities. Managers may earn bonuses ranging up to 50 percent of their basic salary. In addition, they may be furnished with meals, parking, laundry, and other services, and sometimes on-site lodging for themselves and their families. Some hotels offer profit-sharing plans, tuition reimbursement, and other benefits to their employees.

Benefits and union membership. About 10 percent of the workers in hotels and other accommodations are union members or are covered by union contracts, compared with 13 percent of workers in all industries combined.


Job Growth:
The hotels and other accommodations industry is expected to provide many new jobs over the 2006-16 period. New hotel construction and steady strength in the business and international travel segments will create job opportunities in an array of occupations in this industry.

Wage and salary employment in hotels and other accommodations is expected to increase by 14 percent, compared with 11 percent growth projected for all industries combined. Travel and tourism, having rebounded since the recession following 9/11, is expected to continue growing and result in a greater need for transient rooms. All segments of the hotel market are expected to see increases in the number of rooms, but the greatest number of rooms coming on line will be in limited service hotels that do not provide food service. Many of these newer hotels are being built in the suburbs where a growing population is increasingly based and a base of business establishments is being developed.

Employment outlook varies somewhat by service class of hotel and occupation. Growth of full-service hotels, casino hotels, and the small, but burgeoning, luxury hotel market that specializes in personal service will cause employment of lodging managers to grow much faster than the average. The accelerating trend toward chain-affiliated hotels should provide managers with opportunities for advancement into general manager positions, manager jobs at larger and busier properties, and corporate administrative jobs. Opportunities should be more limited for self-employed managers or owners of small lodging places, such as bed-and-breakfast inns, because of the competition from long-established chains as they move into new markets once friendly to the quainter properties. Job opportunities at outdoor recreation and RV parks should grow as RVs and driving vacations gain popularity in the United States. Also, gaming services and gaming manager occupations should grow as more casino hotels are built.

Employment of hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks is expected to grow faster than some other occupations in the industry in part because the growing numbers of limited-service hotels still require desk clerks. Employment of waiters and waitresses will grow more slowly—reflecting the increasing number of hotels and other accommodations that either do not offer full-service restaurants or contract them out to other food service establishments.