Career Trends: Lodging Managers

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.

Because hotels are open 24 hours a day, evening and weekend work is common. Most lodging managers work full time and are often on call. The work can be pressure filled and stressful.

Many applicants can qualify as a lodging manager by having a high school diploma and several years of experience working in a hotel. However, most large, full-service hotels require applicants to have a bachelor’s degree. Hotels that provide fewer services generally accept applicants who have an associate’s degree or a certificate in hotel management or operations. 

Employment of lodging managers is projected to grow 8 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree in hotel or hospitality management are expected to have the best job opportunities. Applicants can expect strong competition for most jobs.

This occupation supported 50,400 jobs in 2012 and 48,400 jobs in 2014, reflecting a decline of 4.0%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 1.4% in 2022 to 51,100 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 50,500, compared with an observed value of 48,400, 4.2% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 7.3% in 2024 to 52,100 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 51,200 jobs for 2024, 1.7% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation.