Hotel and Motel Managers

Don't expect to manage a 200-room hotel sitting behind a desk. General managers make at least one property walk-through a day, inspecting the condition of the hotel. The rest of the day is spent returning phone calls, meeting with clients, and running from one department to another. Managers do not have nine-to-five days; they usually work an average of 55 hours a week. Weekends and holidays are no exceptions. Off-duty managers are sometimes called back to work in cases of emergency—night or day—and they don't go home until the problem is solved. Managers interact with many different people, such as hotel or motel staff, tourists in town to see the sights, business people attending conventions, and numerous other professionals in the hospitality industry. Not everyone is polite or reasonable, and managers must be able to "think on their feet" and work calmly in difficult situations.