High paying jobs in hospitality: what to expect and how to prepare yourself

The hospitality industry is large and incredibly varied, with lots of different paths you can follow as a hospitality professional. There are plenty of high-paying jobs in hospitality you can aim for if you’re considering a hospitality career, from management roles to luxury services.

In this article, we’ll go over the different high-paying career paths that you could take. We’ll also discuss what you can do to start a successful career in hospitality and tourism, including getting a respected hospitality degree.

What is hospitality?

Hospitality is all about giving a warm welcome to guests and providing the services they need and expect. As an industry, hospitality covers everything from beach-front resorts to hotels, B&Bs, spas, restaurants, bars and luxury villas with butler service.

Hospitality depends on friendliness, attention to detail, quality, expertise and innovation, all contributing to making sure a guest’s needs are met.

The hospitality industry is a huge part of the global economy. Tourism and hospitality are major businesses and in some countries, such as Thailand, tourism has a significant impact on GDP.

Hospitality is an industry that operates in almost every country in the world, which means it offers plenty of scope for travel and high-paying hospitality careers.

Why work in hospitality?

• Hospitality is an appealing industry to work in if you want to:
• Have the flexibility to work anywhere in the world
• Work closely with customers and help guests have a memorable experience
• Learn new skills in an ever-evolving industry
• Work in a fast-paced environment
• Build a successful career

What hospitality career paths are there?

There are lots of career paths you can consider in the hospitality industry, especially once you have completed professional qualifications such as a hotel management degree. These include:

• Hospitality manager
• Hotel management
• Resort management
• Event management
• Back-of-house and housekeeping management
• Food and beverage director
• Careers in luxury hospitality
• Revenue and finance management.
• Travel and tourism management

We’ll look in more detail at some of these later in the article.

What are the top high-paying jobs in hospitality?

As with most industries, the highest-paying jobs in hospitality are management roles. This could be working as a hotel general manager, a hotel and restaurant manager or working as an executive in a specific department, such as marketing, accounting or event planning.

Generally, these high-paying jobs require a specific level of education and will involve taking on a range of responsibilities.

Management and executive positions: top high-paying jobs in hospitality

If you’re looking for the top-earning positions in hospitality, you want to look at executive roles.

These tend to mean you will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of a hospitality business, including operations, staffing and protocols.

People in executive roles are also responsible for maximizing profit and monitoring financial reports.

Some of the executive-level roles you can look at include chief executive officer, chief operations officer and chief financial officer. These are specialist roles, each overseeing managers within their departments.

Hotel and resort management:

Resort or hotel management involves responsibility for the smooth running of a venue or property. This can include overseeing staffing, implementing marketing and sales strategies, ensuring high-quality guest services and monitoring the hotel’s financial performance.

This is a high-income hospitality occupation, especially if you’re working with some of the top hotel brands. Alternatively, working in a smaller hotel will usually mean a lower salary, but it could better suit some working styles.

Event planning and management:

For another well-paying job opportunity in the hospitality and leisure industry, you could look at becoming an event planner or event manager.

This can mean overseeing many kinds of events, such as conferences, galas, fundraisers, product launches, trade shows, weddings, birthday parties or concerts.

Event management needs a mix of practical skills and creative skills. Once you have a good grasp of these, there is plenty of scope for landing high-salary roles in event planning and management.

Revenue management and analytics:

Another lucrative hospitality profession is revenue management. This is all about analyzing the income and outgoings of a hotel, resort or other type of venue to maximize revenue.

You’ll be looking at supply vs demand, expenses and different pricing strategies.To work in this field, you’ll need analytical and mathematical skills as well as management skills.

It can be an ideal career path for people who like problem-solving and logical thinking.

Back-of-house and housekeeping management:

These roles are integral to maintaining the smooth operation and cleanliness of hospitality establishments.

Responsibilities include managing staff, scheduling shifts, and ensuring that rooms and facilities meet high standards of cleanliness and maintenance.

Housekeeping management positions offer competitive salaries and opportunities for advancement, making them attractive options for individuals with strong organizational and leadership skills.

Food and beverage director:

This role includes overseeing all aspects of food and beverage operations by working with head chefs, including menu planning, procurement, and service standards.

Responsible for maximizing revenue and guest satisfaction, food and beverage directors develop innovative culinary offerings and ensure exceptional dining experiences.

With competitive salaries and opportunities for creativity and career advancement, this role appeals to professionals passionate about culinary excellence and hospitality innovation.

Some management and executive roles to consider are:

Luxury services and personal concierge

There are plenty of prestigious hospitality job opportunities in the luxury sector. This end of the market focuses on providing exclusive, unique or personalized experiences to clients. For example, working as a personal concierge could mean helping arrange special services for individual guests.

There are also roles, such as luxury brand management, that involve ensuring a hotel’s services, marketing and branding are aligned with consumers looking for exclusive and prestigious products.

Luxury casino director:

Responsible for overseeing all aspects of the casino operation, including gaming, entertainment, and guest services, casino directors ensure an unparalleled experience for high-end clientele.

With generous salaries, bonuses, and perks, such as access to exclusive events and accommodations, this role combines business acumen with a passion for hospitality and entertainment.

Other luxury hospitality jobs:

Beyond hotels and casinos, the luxury hospitality sector boasts various high-paying roles. From executive chefs and sommeliers to concierge managers and event planners, luxury properties offer positions that cater to affluent clientele seeking unparalleled experiences.

These roles often come with competitive salaries, attractive benefits, and opportunities for career advancement in prestigious settings known for their exceptional service and opulent amenities.

If you’re looking to know how much you could earn, some roles to think about are:

Travel and tourism management

When it comes to high-paying careers in hospitality, hotels aren’t the only option. There are plenty of roles in tourism and hospitality outside these venues, including owning a travel agency and serving as a cruise ship director.

Running your own travel agency:

Owning a travel agency can be financially rewarding. As a travel agent or agency owner, you curate dream vacations for clients, earning commissions from bookings.

With creative freedom and the potential for substantial earnings, owning a travel agency offers both financial benefits and the satisfaction of making travelers’ dreams come true.

Cruise ship director:

A career as a cruise ship director is another lucrative option. Responsible for onboard entertainment and activities, cruise directors oversee guest experiences, organize events, and coordinate shore excursions.

This dynamic role offers competitive salaries, travel opportunities, and the chance to interact with passengers from around the world.

Other travel & tourism jobs covering hospitality

Beyond hotels, there are diverse opportunities in travel and tourism management. Roles such as tour operators, event planners, and adventure travel guides offer competitive salaries and the chance to explore exciting destinations.

These roles focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences and cater to travelers’ needs in various settings.

Some roles to think about are:

• Travel manager: $109,800 per year
• Tour manager: $84,731 per year

Why are high-paying jobs in hospitality in demand?

High-paying hospitality careers are in demand because they appeal to a lot of people. Careers such as hospitality management have benefits such as:

• The hospitality industry is growing rapidly, meaning there are more openings.
• There is a shortage of skilled workers in the hospitality field.
• There are plenty of high-paying jobs in hospitality, which you can get with the right qualifications.
• Hospitality management roles offer a lot of perks, such as being able to travel and work anywhere in the world.

Emerging trends and future prospects

Not only is the hospitality business currently booming, it also has solid potential for growth and creating high-paying jobs in the future.

With travel becoming more accessible and new hospitality businesses starting all the time, there are plenty of ways you could benefit from pursuing a hospitality management career.

Technological innovations are also creating new roles in hospitality, with staff needed to manage and implement these.

However, hospitality is a field where face-to-face interactions are important and, even with developments in technology, there will always be strong demand for highly trained individuals.

Can you make six figures in hospitality?

Yes, you can make six figures working in hospitality, though the salary range will vary between roles.

For example, a hotel manager in the US can expect to earn an average of $115,000 per year, while a food and beverage manager could aim to earn more than $104,000 at the top level of their field.

As always, the amount you earn will depend on how far you advance and the type of company you work for.

Larger chain hotels will often give you higher earning potential, while working for luxury hospitality companies may offer the highest remuneration.

Requirements for high-paying jobs in hospitality

If you want to get any of these high-salary positions in the hospitality field, you’ll need to have a compelling mix of high-end hospitality education, experience and skills and focused mindset with a can-do attitude, flexibility and determination.

We’ll look at the competencies and qualifications needed below.

Education and training

Most high-paying hospitality jobs will require you to have a hospitality degree from a respected hospitality school. This gives you credibility along with the skills and training you need to manage hospitality venues.

Whether you’re looking at starting a career or changing direction, there are plenty of courses you can choose.

Combining real-world learning with insights from industry leaders, our degree gives you a competitive edge for establishing a successful, high-paying hospitality career

Experience

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Skills and abilities

To compete for the most profitable careers in the tourism sector, you should work on building skills such as:

Adaptability:

The tourism sector can experience rapid changes influenced by market trends, technological advancements and global events.

Professionals who can quickly adjust to new circumstances, embrace change, and pivot their strategies accordingly are better positioned to thrive in this fast-paced environment.

This helps with adapting to shifts in consumer preferences, implementing new technologies or responding to unforeseen challenges like natural disasters.

Excellent communication skills:

In tourism careers, communication is vital for building and maintaining relationships with customers, colleagues and stakeholders. Strong interpersonal skills, particularly in interacting with diverse individuals, are vital for delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Effective communication enables professionals to convey information clearly, listen actively to customer needs, resolve conflicts diplomatically and collaborate effectively with team members to achieve common goals.

Analytical thinking:

To succeed in tourism, you need to be able to interpret data, identify trends and make informed decisions to drive business growth. Professionals who can analyze market trends, consumer behavior and operational metrics are better equipped to develop effective strategies.

Whether it’s conducting market research, analyzing guest feedback or assessing financial data, analytical thinking provides valuable insights to anticipate market demands and stay ahead of the competition in the dynamic tourism industry.

Team management and planning skills:

These skills are vital for coordinating teams, delegating tasks effectively and ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget. Individuals must lead teams, foster positive work environments and implement strategic plans to achieve organizational objectives.

Whether it’s overseeing staff scheduling or coordinating logistics for events, strong team management and planning skills enable professionals to streamline processes, minimize risks and deliver exceptional results in tourism.

Teamwork:

Success in hospitality often depends on collective effort toward common goals. Collaboration, cooperation and effective communication with others are essential for delivering seamless guest experiences and achieving organizational objectives.

These skills help when it comes to collaborating with colleagues or supporting teammates. Ultimately, good teamwork will help build collaborative work cultures and drive collective success in tourism.

Dedication:

The hospitality industry is very competitive, so perseverance, resilience and a strong work ethic are rewarded.

Individuals committed to continuous improvement, personal development, and exceeding customer expectations are more likely to succeed. This can include ensuring guest satisfaction or staying updated with industry trends.

Problem solving:

These skills are critical in tourism for addressing challenges and overcoming obstacles that arise.

Whether it’s resolving guest complaints or managing unexpected disruptions, individuals who can approach problems methodically and implement effective solutions are highly valued.

By identifying root causes and collaborating with stakeholders, professionals can mitigate risks and enhance guest experiences.

Organizational skills:

In hospitality, you will need these skills for managing tasks and maintaining efficiency. This includes coordinating logistics, managing reservations, handling staff rots, and more.

Individuals must stay organized and meet deadlines to ensure smooth operations.

Customer service skills:

Thinking about customers is crucial in tourism for delivering exceptional experiences and exceeding guest expectations.

Individuals who possess strong customer service skills can build rapport with guests, anticipate their needs and build loyalty, ultimately driving repeat business and positive recommendations.

Whether it’s resolving complaints or providing personalized assistance, exceptional customer service is vital.

All of these skills are transferable across a range of hospitality management roles.

How to get high paying jobs in hospitality

If you want to change career and improve your chances of securing top-paying positions in the hospitality and travel industry, you should look at:

• Networking with people in the industry
• Getting professional certificates
• Gaining work experience in the field, even outside your area of expertise
• Being persistent and determined
• Professional development and further qualifications, whatever your current training

Ideal for career changers, our diploma merges industry expertise and challenging internships to provide the essential skills for making rapid professional progress.

Find your route to high-paying hospitality jobs

Many high-paying hospitality positions with excellent benefits are available to people with the right kind of qualifications and skills.

If you want to get these top-paying jobs in the hospitality sector, you’ll need to have a suitable hospitality degree and experience from an internship or work in the field.

Whether you’re looking for well-compensated roles in the restaurant business, hospitality executive roles, or other management positions, it is essential to build the right skills through training and experience.

If you’re still undecided on what kind of role would be right for you, read more about what you can do with a hospitality degree or business degree.