What is a hotel director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a hotel director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $38.92 an hour? That's $80,960 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 18% and produce 9,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
ScoreHotel DirectorUS Average
Salary
6.3

Avg. Salary $80,960

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
9.7

Growth Rate 18%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.19%

Asian 9.62%

Black or African American 8.52%

Hispanic or Latino 11.32%

Unknown 5.11%

White 64.24%

Gender

female 24.95%

male 75.05%

Age - 46
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 - 46
Stress Level
9.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
2.5

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Hotel Director career paths

Key steps to become a hotel director

  1. Explore hotel director education requirements

    Most common hotel director degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.3 %

    Associate

    14.3 %

    Master's

    12.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific hotel director skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Reservations20.26%
    Front Desk12.22%
    Hotel Operations6.41%
    Financial Performance5.85%
    Revenue Management5.36%
  3. Complete relevant hotel director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New hotel directors 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 hotel director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real hotel director resumes.
  4. Research hotel director duties and 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.
  5. Get hotel director experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a hotel director. The most common roles before becoming a hotel director include general manager, front office manager team lead and hotel manager.
  6. Prepare your hotel director resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your hotel director resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a hotel director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Hotel Director Resume templates

    Build a professional Hotel Director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Hotel Director resume.
    Hotel Director Resume
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    Hotel Director Resume
    Hotel Director Resume
    Hotel Director Resume
  7. Apply for hotel director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a hotel director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Hotel Director Job

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Average hotel director salary

The average Hotel Director salary in the United States is $80,960 per year or $39 per hour. Hotel director salaries range between $49,000 and $133,000 per year.

Average Hotel Director Salary
$80,960 Yearly
$38.92 hourly

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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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