Hotel Management Resume Example & Writing Guide

Whether it’s the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, or something a little more casual and closer to home, hotel management is needed in all corners of the globe. A position in hotel management gives you the best of the hospitality industry: the ability to interact with interesting guests, manage a hardworking staff, and take pride in a well-maintained building.

But the hotel management position in the establishment of your dreams won’t just fall into place. To land this kind of job, you’ll need a top-notch resume complete with the right experiences and skill set. Luckily, this hotel management resume example is here to help.

Here at Resume.io, we have a library of 350+ resume examples and writing guides to empower your job search. Our hotel management resume example, complete with our adaptable resume sample, will show you how to:

• Write a hotel management resume that stands out in a crowded industry
• Understand and overcome the resume scanners in use at many big hotel chains
• Choose the best resume format for hotel management and include the most important resume sections hiring managers will expect
• Use a hospitality resume example as a basis for good structure and design.

What does a hotel management professional do?

Hotel management professionals work in a variety of lodging establishments including hotels, hostels, motels, bed and breakfasts, resorts, inns, RV parks, and residential clubs.

Hotel managers are responsible for the cleanliness, safety, organization, guest experience, and maintenance inside their building. Some of the most common duties include:

• Financial planning, budget creation, bookkeeping
• Hiring, training and organizing staff schedules
• Coordinating building maintenance, repairs and renovations
• Helping front desk staff with guest needs
• Handling guest complaints
• Overseeing marketing and promotional materials

Since hotel management staff tend to such a variety of duties, flexibility, patience and great organization is key. Good time management and customer service skills are also essential since this is a people-oriented position. If you're targeting other jobs in the hospitality or catering sector, have a look at these other helpful resume examples:

• Server resume sample
• Pastry Chef resume sample
• Food Service Worker resume sample
• Barista  resume sample
• McDonald's resume sample
• Doorman resume sample
• Cook resume sample
• Restaurant manager resume sample
• Hostess resume sample
• Caterer resume sample
• Waitress resume sample
• Recreational Facility Attendant resume sample
• Food and Beverage Director resume sample
• Food service manager resume sample
• Concierge resume sample
• Bartender resume sample
• Sommelier resume sample
• Hotel Front Desk Employee resume sample

How to write a hotel management resume

Hotel management staff is at once concerned about safety, comfort, efficiency, cleanliness and customer service. Your ability to wear so many different hats must be made clear to the hiring manager as they evaluate your resume.

This hotel management resume example is designed to help you include the important sections without wasting a single word. Here are the essential components of any great hotel management resume:

• A summary that introduces you and highlights your selling points
• An employment history section that captures your career trajectory
• A skills section that bullet points your strengths
• An education section that explains your education journey

In the upcoming chapter, we’ll offer hotel management resume samples for each of these sections, but first, let’s explore how the current job market affects your application.

Job outlook for hotel management

It’s no surprise that 2020 was a difficult year for hotel management, with tourism arrivals falling by 74 percent. 

However, things have taken a positive turn in recent years. Tourism is back on form. In 2022, for example, more than nine hundred tourists traveled internationally; twice the number recorded back in 2021. That amounts to a healthy 63% of the pre-pandemic average, with experts suggesting that 2023 will see the stat soar to between 80 and 95%. 

An increased focus on customer service in hotel management will continue to be a big factor, as will learning and adapting to new technologies and softwares. On top of that, hotel management professionals will need to make safety a top priority and implement new strategies for identifying and slowing potential outbreaks. By conveying a mastery of these situations on your resume, you can show that you’re keeping up with changes in the industry instead of being left behind.

Hotel management summary example: A strong start

A great hotel management summary example is one of the most vital parts of your resume. Think of it as the check-in — a hiring manager is already evaluating your presentation and word choice to decide how the rest of the experience will be (or if they even wish to stay!)

Your hotel management summary offers a mix of your personality, professionalism, experience, skills and even education. In 3-5 sentences, you should describe your management style and highlight your most relevant accomplishments. From your summary, a hiring manager should be able to envision your smiling face and charming personality greeting them from behind the front desk.

Check out a resume sample for the summary section below.

Outsmarting the ATS

While you might still land a hotel management job by walking into the building and handing in a resume, these days you’re more likely to apply online – and pass through an ATS.

ATS or Applicant Tracking Systems are algorithms built right into many of today’s online hiring portals. Once you submit your application, the resume scanners will search your document for keywords and rank it against the other candidates. Only the top selection will be passed onto the hiring manager for review. That’s right – you could spend hours perfecting your resume only to be filtered out before it even reaches human eyes.

Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case. With a little foresight, you can beat the ATS and maximize your chances of landing the interview. Here are three key steps:

1. Understand the most in-demand skills and experience for hotel management positions
2. Read the job description closely and make note of any emphasized requirements or duties
3. Format your resume with clear section headers and an easy-to-read layout

Keywords are one of the most important factors when it comes to getting past the ATS. A keyword could be any skill repeated in the job description, a highlighted duty or even the name of the hotel. If you customized your resume to the exact position, chances are you already have many of the keywords you need right on your resume.

Employment history example: The building blocks

Hotel management positions are grounded in practical experience. That’s why your employment history section is going to be crucial in a hiring manager’s decision to give you the interview. For hotel management employees, previous job experience is a must so a chronological resume format is going to be a must.

Start by listing your current or most recent position, your title, dates worked and location. Underneath each header, you can create 3-5 bullet points that describe your duties and achievements. Try to keep as many unique bullet points as you can in order to show a range of skills and abilities. 

Whenever possible, write with strong action verbs and incorporate key numbers to quantify your accomplishments and prove your impact. Here are some possible sources of numbers for your resume:

• Size of staff managed
• Number of rooms in the hotel
• Number of daily check-ins
• Number of seats in hotel restaurants
• Square footage of building
• Number of stars hotel has
• Number of weekly guests

Below is a basic adaptable resume example of an employment history section for hotel management.

Skills example section: Your key abilities

In hotel management, your skills are at the heart of what you do. Since many of your skills can be incorporated into the bullet points under your previous employers, the skills section is a great place to give examples of technical skills, languages and concrete abilities. Of course, since the hospitality industry is all about customer service, you should sprinkle in a few of your soft skills and traits.

Below you can find the skills section from our adaptable hotel management resume sample.

Education example: A step ahead

While education used to be a small section on a hotel management resume, it is growing increasingly important as the job market tightens. While many of your skills can be learned on the job, having an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in hospitality, tourism or management can go a long way to increase your chances of landing an interview. If you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, you can leave your high school off your resume. See our adaptable hotel management resume example for a model of the best education section format.

Certifications and associations

If you are a member of multiple associations or have completed additional health and safety or management courses, an extra certifications and associations section can go a long way to show your commitment to the industry. If you only have one or two items for this section, or need to save space, this information can easily be incorporated into the previous section.

Choosing the correct CV format for hotel management

When choosing the best CV format for your hotel management resume, consider this question: what do you want to emphasize more - your past work experience or your skills? If your past employment is more important, then the reverse chronological resume format is likely your resume format of choice. It emphasizes the employers you worked with in the past and showcases brand names and important job roles.

To be frank, for most hotel managers, this is going to be the way to go. Most management-oriented roles are employment-focused and hotel managers also benefit from a resume format that emphasizes hotel brands (you probably know better than we do how powerful showcasing brands like Intercontinental or Sheraton can be on your resume).

In some rare cases, you may choose the functional resume format that puts your skill list first and foremost or the hybrid resume format that combines the two approaches. But these situations are few and far between.

If you don’t want to waste time fussing with word processors and graphic design software, a template can help you create an attractive format in a few clicks. For hotel management resumes, we recommend Resume.io’s collection of market-researched resume templates.

Simply add in your information (or modify our adaptable hotel management resume example), adjust your color scheme and download a perfect resume in a matter of minutes.

Key takeaways

1. A great resume is essential to landing your next hotel management position, especially as the industry continues to tighten and jobs become more competitive
2. Increase your chances of winning the position by demonstrating your knowledge of changes within the industry.
3. The summary is one of the most important sections for a hotel management professional since it’s the best place to show off your professional personality.
4. Beat the ATS by using keywords organically throughout your resume, paying special attention to use the exact wording from the job description.
5. Your format is likely the first thing a hiring manager will notice about your resume. When in doubt use our resume examples as an inspiration for your own professional application.