How to hire a hotel director

How to hire a hotel director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step hotel director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a hotel director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new hotel director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

Post a hotel director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a hotel director, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A hotel director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, hotel directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents hotel director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Hotel Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Hotel Director	Lodging managers ensure that guests on vacation or business travel have a pleasant experience at a hotel, motel, or other types of establishment with accommodations. They also ensure that the establishment is run efficiently and profitably.	$23-63
   Night Shift Manager	A night shift manager is an executive professional who is responsible for supervising night shift production to ensure that optimal customer services and cost objectives are met. Night shift managers must ensure that federal safety standards and environmental disposal protocols are followed by their employees... Show more	$12-20
   Resort Manager	A resort manager oversees the daily operations in a resort or similar establishment, ensuring optimal hospitality services and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include setting goals and daily objectives, establishing budgets and schedules, liaising with external partners such as vendors and suppliers, managing staff, and delegating tasks to maintain a smooth workflow... Show more	$12-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Reservations
   • Front Desk
   • Hotel Operations
   • Financial Performance
   • Revenue Management
   • PMS
   • Cleanliness
   • Booking
   • Direct Reports
   • RevPAR
   • ADR
   • Guest Rooms
   • Culinary
   • PBX

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage ADR (average daily rate) by increase or decrease daily rate base on market events.
   • Achieve solid market position for emerging property, setting the stage for outstanding results encompassing ADR, occupancy, and profitability.
   • Work on and create BEO's for the weekly events.
   • Determine the annual budget and oversight of all department finances.
   • Charge with oversight and implementation of new guest satisfaction survey program.
   • Complete monthly safety, AAA, and Forbes standards for overnight staff.

   More hotel director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your hotel director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A hotel director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a hotel director in Alabama may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level hotel director usually earns less than a senior-level hotel director. Additionally, a hotel director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average hotel director salary

   $80,960yearly

   $38.92 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level hotel director salary

   $49,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average hotel director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$106,968	$51
   2	Massachusetts	$103,437	$50
   3	Connecticut	$102,605	$49
   4	New York	$94,830	$46
   5	New Jersey	$91,640	$44
   6	Wisconsin	$90,310	$43
   7	Maine	$87,068	$42
   8	Washington	$86,653	$42
   9	Hawaii	$86,493	$42
   10	Nevada	$82,508	$40
   11	Minnesota	$81,376	$39
   12	Colorado	$77,586	$37
   13	Arizona	$76,791	$37
   14	New Mexico	$76,464	$37
   15	Texas	$75,643	$36
   16	Indiana	$73,830	$36
   17	Florida	$72,974	$35
   18	Pennsylvania	$72,233	$35
   19	North Carolina	$70,275	$34
   20	Illinois	$69,860	$34

   Average hotel director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Booking Holdings	$157,169	$75.56
   2	Biltmore	$116,046	$55.79
   3	Semtribe	$108,442	$52.14
   4	Jacobs Entertainment	$104,695	$50.33
   5	sbe Entertainment Group	$103,826	$49.92
   6	Penn National Gaming	$98,591	$47.40
   7	Waterford Hotel Group, Inc.	$97,418	$46.84
   8	Sycuan Casino Resort	$95,885	$46.10
   9	Hersha Hospitality	$94,833	$45.59	5
   10	Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts	$94,722	$45.54	4
   11	Mandarin Oriental	$94,380	$45.38
   12	Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants	$94,319	$45.35	13
   13	Sage Hospitality Group	$94,179	$45.28	8
   14	Hyatt Hotels	$94,048	$45.22	6
   15	DoubleTree by Hilton Portland	$93,158	$44.79	4
   16	PCH Hotels & Resorts	$92,651	$44.54	3
   17	Mainsail Lodging & Development	$91,945	$44.20
   18	Carnival Cruise Line	$91,863	$44.16	1
   19	Radisson	$91,713	$44.09	1
   20	DelMonte Hotel Group	$91,230	$43.86	2

4. Writing a hotel director job description

   A good hotel director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a hotel director job description:

   Hotel director job description example

   Compensation:

   $14 hourly

   Responsibilities:

   • Handle the hiring and training of housekeeping staff so that they can achieve and exceed our standards of cleanliness and customer satisfaction
   • Adhere to the department budget, oversee inventory, and order cleaning supplies
   • Ensure all cleaning equipment is in proper working condition and make arrangements for repairs as needed
   • Document areas cleaned by room attendants and report any issues such as room damage or maintenance requests to the front office
   • Manage the daily tasks of the housekeeping department, including cleaning guest rooms and public areas

   Qualifications:

   • Strong understanding of environmental services (EVS) including cleaning processes and how to use a variety of cleaning supplies and equipment
   • At least 2+ years experience in hospitality or guest services
   • Must possess excellent leadership, organizing, and customer service skills
   • This position requires a high school diploma or GED
   • At least 3 years of experience in a senior role in the housekeeping department

   About Company
   

   Founded in 2005, Rolling Hills Hospitality operates 15 hotel properties with a central focus on exceeding the expectations of its guests. Rolling Hills Hospitality has positioned itself as one of the premier hotel development and management firms in the region by embodying high operational standards while achieving a simplicity that can be applied to any business model. Through our management agreements, we are responsible for hiring, training, and leading over 300 employees throughout the Ohio Valley. Rolling Hills Hospitality currently maintains upstanding relationships with the nation’s top hotel companies, including Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt. Built on the principle of “if we take care of our employees then our employees will take care of our guests,” our goal is to create a fun working environment for our employees so that we are positioned for growth and excitement for years to come.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find hotel directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any hotel directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level hotel directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your hotel director job on Zippia to find and recruit hotel director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with hotel director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new hotel director

   Once you've decided on a perfect hotel director candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new hotel director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a hotel director?