What does a Reservations Manager do?

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read

A reservation manager is a front-line professional who handles hotel room booking and other tasks. Reservation managers facilitate the sales, bookings, and promotion of the products and services of a company. They quickly respond to phone calls and emails on room booking, apply room blocks, forecast room reservations, and update the arrival checklist. It is part of their job to review room inventory and allocate resources. Usually, they are employed by transportation firms, tour operators, car rental agencies, hotel chains, and travel agencies.

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Reservations manager responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real reservations manager resumes:

  • Manage Hotel/F & B/Spa reservation and PBX departments.
  • Lead salesforce in selling and upselling cruises via inbound and outbound calls as well as internet inquiries.
  • Manage payroll and scheduling, interview and hire new associates, score calls and coach associates on a daily basis.
  • Manage productivity from reservations staff by assigning additional tasks depending on call volumes and approve payroll.
  • Manage all GDS activity, including channel and inventory management, and report analysis and distribution.
  • Manage facility procedures relate to insurance and billing and solve patients' queries regarding their insurance renewal and expiry.
  • Assist in monitoring and implementing reservations standards on all Internet booking channels.
  • Oversee PBX office, assist security, answer all incoming telephone calls.
  • Provide good sales knowledge of product and services of all inclusive resorts.
  • Work closely with steamship lines, air lines and other freight forwarders.
  • Provide upgrades to clients that want to enhance their getaways to one of out luscious resorts.
  • Control GDS system room/rate availability; enter and maintain group room blocks; oversee guest history database maintenance.
  • Oversee VIP arrival lists and assignments for large citywide conventions to maintain and grow relationships with national and worldwide accounts.
  • Cross reference all reservation bookings to ensure accuracy, special requests are adhered to, and allocate all VIP room blocks.
  • Perform logistics functions for international shipments.

Reservations manager skills and personality traits

We calculated that 53% of Reservations Managers are proficient in Reservations, Data Entry, and Customer Inquiries.

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

  • Reservations, 53%

    Motivated reservations employees to continuously up-sell, resulting in consistently outperforming competition properties in RevPAR penetration.

  • Data Entry, 15%

    Completed data entry as required for equipment availability.

  • Customer Inquiries, 15%

    Maintain knowledge of products and services offered to accurately respond to customer inquiries and schedule appropriate appointment.

  • Booking, 2%

    Conduct weekly Revenue Management meetings where booking trends are evaluated for proper rate and availability control.

  • Room Inventory, 1%

    Assisted the Reservation Manager in increasing revenue, completing weekly forecasting, monitoring room inventory and attending departmental meetings

  • Payroll, 1%

    Managed productivity from reservations staff by assigning additional tasks depending on call volumes and approved payroll.

Most reservations managers use their skills in "reservations," "data entry," and "customer inquiries" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential reservations manager responsibilities here:

All reservations manager skills

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Compare different reservations managers

Reservations manager vs. Managing supervisor

A managing supervisor is an individual who is responsible for managing staff members and providing reports about their progress and development in the organization. Managing supervisors must represent the company to the external parties and should exhibit excellent leadership. They are expected to assist in the hiring process and selection of staff members for the company and train them on their new assignments. They must also maintain proper discipline among the staff members to avoid conflicts.

If we compare the average reservations manager annual salary with that of a managing supervisor, we find that managing supervisors typically earn a $5,521 higher salary than reservations managers make annually.Even though reservations managers and managing supervisors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require payroll, customer complaints, and inventory control in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a reservations manager are more likely to require skills like "reservations," "data entry," "customer inquiries," and "booking." On the other hand, a job as a managing supervisor requires skills like "patients," "oversight," "hipaa," and "excellent interpersonal." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Managing supervisors tend to reach higher levels of education than reservations managers. In fact, managing supervisors are 5.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Reservations manager vs. Assistant front office manager

An Assistant Front Office Manager welcomes guests and develops high-quality relationships with them throughout their stay. They supervise guest arrivals and departures with the front office executive and managers.

Assistant front office manager positions earn lower pay than reservations manager roles. They earn a $25,759 lower salary than reservations managers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Reservations managers and assistant front office managers both require similar skills like "reservations," "room inventory," and "payroll" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, reservations manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "data entry," "customer inquiries," "booking," and "hotel reservations." Meanwhile, an assistant front office manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "quality standards," "night audit," "front office operations," and "customer satisfaction." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant front office managers tend to reach similar levels of education than reservations managers. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Reservations 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.

An average manager eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of reservations managers. The difference in salaries amounts to managers earning a $15,046 lower average salary than reservations managers.reservations managers and managers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "customer inquiries," "payroll," and "guest satisfaction," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from reservations manager resumes include skills like "reservations," "data entry," "booking," and "room inventory," whereas a manager is more likely to list skills in "food safety," "financial statements," "management," and "powerpoint. "

Most managers achieve a similar degree level compared to reservations managers. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Reservations manager vs. Front desk manager

A front desk manager is an employee employed to manage a hotel's reception area, coordinate all front desk activities, and supervise the support staff. A manager is expected to handle guest complaints and schedule training for front desk staff. Apart from handling hotel guests, a front desk manager must be able to handle cash, accounting procedures, and general administration. A manager should also possess talents such as multitask, manage time as well as proficient in computer skills.

Front desk managers typically earn lower pay than reservations managers. On average, front desk managers earn a $32,895 lower salary per year.According to resumes from reservations managers and front desk managers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "reservations," "customer inquiries," and "payroll. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "data entry," "booking," "room inventory," and "revenue management" are skills that commonly show up on reservations manager resumes. On the other hand, front desk managers use skills like front desk operations, customer satisfaction, guest relations, and night audit on their resumes.front desk managers reach similar levels of education compared to reservations managers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of reservations 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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