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What does a hotel general manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

The hotel general manager is responsible for all aspects of operations at a hotel, including the daily management of staff and guests. They will act as an ambassador for the brand of the hotel and provide leadership and strategic planning. They ensure full compliance with hotel standard operating procedures, policies, procedures, and service standards. It is part of their responsibility to ensure that the monthly financial report for rooms, food, beverage, and admin related expenses are accurate. Moreover, they also handle and resolve guest complaints and act as a concluding decision maker in hiring essential staff.

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Hotel general manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real hotel general manager resumes:

  • Manage the successful implementation of new custom invoicing system, eRam credit software, and ADP payroll system.
  • Train and manage FOH staff and improve overall quality, organization and professionalism of restaurant and bakery.
  • Inspect guest rooms, public access areas, and outside grounds for cleanliness and appearance.
  • Coordinate reservations with several online booking services.
  • Provide management and operational oversight for the projects' logistics.
  • Coordinate the preparation of annual tax return with outside CPA firm.
  • Align the company's accounting system with GAAP; personally authore policies/procedures manual.
  • Set up a new accounting system that is compliant with the GAAP standard.
  • Reconstruct bookkeeping in QuickBooks for the construction phase and opening of one existing company.
  • Commit to and successfully partner with regional revenue department to exceed RevPar and EOY budget.
  • Track and be the point of contact for booking of large groups ensuring reservations/billings is correct.
  • Increase revenues and ADR using the skills learned through experience working in this very competitive tourist destination.
  • Interact with all departments and upper management to provide status updates on business flow relative to logistics.
  • Develop all accounting procedures and controls including A/R, A/P, G/L, cash management, and financial statements.
  • Calculate payroll deductions and process payroll and responsible for monthly, quarterly and year end payroll and sales tax forms.

Hotel general manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Hotel General Managers are proficient in Front Desk, Reservations, and Human Resources. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Customer-service skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Hotel General Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Front Desk, 8%

    Utilized strict organization and hiring of multiple hotel staff for all departments including maintenance, housekeeping and front desk managers.

  • Reservations, 7%

    Supervised management of housekeeping, front office, reservations, sale/marketing, security, building/grounds maintenance.

  • Human Resources, 7%

    Performed the function of hiring manager and Human Resources for the property, performing interviews and performing training for the hotel.

  • Cleanliness, 6%

    Secured exceptional ratings on staff performance and facility cleanliness during 2 hotel inspections.

  • Payroll, 6%

    Designed and implemented training courses for new hires and managers and was in charge of staff payroll and human resource management.

  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%

    Designed and administered guest surveys index system to measure customer satisfaction and retain competitive lead.

Most hotel general managers use their skills in "front desk," "reservations," and "human resources" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential hotel general manager responsibilities here:

Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in hotel general manager job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what hotel general managers do. Hotel general manager responsibilities rely on this skill because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." You can also see how hotel general manager duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "evaluated management practices, training and development programs, leadership principles and employee relations in human resources department. "

Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to hotel general manager responsibilities. Much of what a hotel general manager does relies on this skill, seeing as "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of hotel general managers: "addressed and resolved guest complaints in an efficient manner. "

Most common hotel general manager skills

The three companies that hire the most hotel general managers are:

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Compare different hotel general managers

Hotel general manager vs. Manager

Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.

We looked at the average hotel general manager salary and compared it with the wages of a manager. Generally speaking, managers are paid $4,045 lower than hotel general managers per year.Even though hotel general managers and managers are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require front desk, human resources, and payroll in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, hotel general manager responsibilities require skills like "reservations," "cleanliness," "quality standards," and "financial performance." Meanwhile a typical manager has skills in areas such as "food safety," "financial statements," "management," and "powerpoint." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Managers tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $71,781. In contrast, hotel general managers make the biggest average salary, $79,075, in the hospitality industry.On average, managers reach similar levels of education than hotel general managers. Managers are 0.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Hotel general manager vs. District manager

District managers oversee the operations of a group of stores or areas covered by the assigned district. They are responsible for ensuring that the sales, marketing, quality control, and people management of their community align with the company's direction. They review the district's financial statement, draft ways to improve the district's key metrics, and mitigate any challenges that may come their way. They are also responsible for hiring store or area managers and training them to ensure that they will be significant contributors to the organization.

District manager positions earn higher pay than hotel general manager roles. They earn a $34,213 higher salary than hotel general managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Hotel general managers and district managers both require similar skills like "human resources," "payroll," and "customer satisfaction" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, hotel general manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "front desk," "reservations," "cleanliness," and "quality standards." Meanwhile, a district manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "multi-unit," "performance management," "work ethic," and "store management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

District managers earn a higher average salary than hotel general managers. But district managers earn the highest pay in the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $119,906. Additionally, hotel general managers earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $79,075 annually.In general, district managers achieve similar levels of education than hotel general managers. They're 0.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hotel general manager vs. Unit manager

Unit managers are responsible for managing the nursing unit. They primarily supervise the daily care of patients and ensure quality patient care. Usually, they perform tasks like evaluating staff performance, conducting orientation for new staff, and training new members. Also, they manage schedules, minimize expenditures, and enforce health as well as safety regulations. Unit managers are registered nursing professionals with an undergraduate or graduate degree. They are honest, adaptable, and analytical professionals with strong management and leadership skills and relevant experience in nursing and patient assessment.

On average, unit managers earn lower salaries than hotel general managers, with a $2,135 difference per year.By looking over several hotel general managers and unit managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "cleanliness," "payroll," and "quality standards." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a hotel general manager is likely to be skilled in "front desk," "reservations," "human resources," and "customer satisfaction," while a typical unit manager is skilled in "quality care," "patients," "federal regulations," and "resident care."

Unit managers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $85,767. On the other hand, hotel general managers are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $79,075.unit managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to hotel general managers. Specifically, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hotel general manager vs. Day manager

A day manager oversees the daily operations of an organization, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. As a day manager, it is their duty to set priorities and goals, establish timelines and guidelines, manage budgets, delegate responsibilities among teams, and supervise staff performances, solving issues or concerns when any arise. They are also responsible for coordinating with night workers or managers, developing reports as necessary. Moreover, they lead staff to reach goals and implement company regulations and policies.

Day managers typically earn lower pay than hotel general managers. On average, day managers earn a $17,727 lower salary per year.According to resumes from hotel general managers and day managers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "front desk," "payroll," and "customer service. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A hotel general manager uses "reservations," "human resources," "cleanliness," and "customer satisfaction." Day managers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "pet," "cpr," "safety standards," and "staff management. "day managers reach similar levels of education compared to hotel general managers, in general. The difference is that they're 2.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of hotel general manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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