How To Become A Front Desk Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a front desk manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Front desk managers, also called front office managers, supervise and train the front desk employees and oversee reservations at various hotels and resorts. Excellent customer service and good communication skills are vital to this type of job. Front desk managers must ensure that company policies and standards are followed. These professionals may also have administrative duties, such as managing budgets, coordinating work schedules, and monitoring staff performance.

Education requirements often depend on the hiring company and role. Front office management may only require some formal training, an associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree. Large hotel chains prefer front desk manager trainees who have a bachelor's or master's degree in business or hospitality management. Some hotels frequently promote qualified candidates from within; a degree and relevant experience might be enough.

Typically, more than eighty percent of front desk managers employed in the hotel and lodging industry, in health clubs or medical offices, earn an average salary of $42,864 per year.

ScoreFront Desk ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,802

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 5.37%

Black or African American 10.04%

Hispanic or Latino 19.07%

Unknown 4.75%

White 60.13%

Gender

female 68.64%

male 31.36%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a front desk manager

Explore front desk manager education requirements

Most common front desk manager degrees

Bachelor's

46.8 %

Associate

22.5 %

High School Diploma

19.1 %

Start to develop specific front desk manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Front Desk Operations	16.06%
Reservations	14.59%
Customer Service	10.72%
Guest Service	7.53%
Room Availability	5.14%

Complete relevant front desk manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New front desk managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a front desk manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real front desk manager resumes.

Research front desk manager duties and responsibilities

Manage vendor relationships in support of CRM and sales reporting projects.
Serve as a point of escalation for guest problem resolution and manage all VIP special guests and execution of requests.
Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
Direct a team of three, successfully providing resolution to daily incidents, meeting SLA and KPI objectives.

Prepare your front desk manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your front desk manager resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable front desk manager resume templates

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