Is a Resort Management Career Path Right For You?

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Resort management is a career that requires solid textbook skills as well as an entrepreneurial mind. It is a job that is as unpredictable as the clients themselves. They come to resorts to escape the banalities of life and have high expectations, which you must aspire to meet. The industry is not solely a profitable one. Just as much stock, if not more than profitability, is put in performance reviews.

This is a field one advances in, as opposed to instant qualification. The employer wants to see your skills in action, and wants to see that your intuitive business mind complements your textbook scores. A management level position comes with a reasonable degree of pressure and responsibility, and stress can be a factor. However, that’s true of almost any senior-level job in the market.

The Rewards of a Resort Management Career

There are many good reasons to stick with a managerial path, and one of the reasons is surely the low-stress level of your bounteous surroundings. Compared to an office, or a construction site, working in a relaxing and vacation-filled environment is almost the best setting for which one could hope. You’re not dealing with irate customers on the phone or at the airport, but at the resort when they are at their cheeriest. For a stressful job, (which it is to some extent) it’s the least oppressive environment you can find.

The Salary is Good

This is an industry based on “the high life,” and the bigger the resort, the more you make. Not only do they pay competitively for lodging managers ($46,810 median in May 2012), but they can also earn more if they are in a big city with a huge market (up to $78,000) as estimated by the PayScale Survey).

Career Advancement is All but Guaranteed

Nothing is guaranteed in life except the Men’s Warehouse (or is it, now that George Zimmer is gone?). However, it is safe to bank on your advancement in the resort management industry. This trillion-dollar industry reports that advancement usually comes from within, not newly hired employee-managers. At HotelJobs.com, it was reported that the Marriott International Hotel counts 3,000 current managers that used to be entry-level employees. Resort management allows you to meet new people, interact with many different personality types, and make a huge network of friends and acquaintances. This is anything but a lonely job. It really pays to be personable and people-oriented in a job where you’re surrounded by people needing assistance.

The work benefits are excellent because resorts know that they must keep their best and most reliable managers satisfied. No wonder then that some hotels provide 401k plans, dental coverage, tuition reimbursement, maternity leave and vacation pay.

The skills you acquire in the resort career path are rewards of their own, given that you are exposed to engineering, human resources, IT, and other technical fields.

Is the career path worth it? If you love the profession then yes, it is a good investment in learning a profitable career, and students would do well to study for a college degree in resort management. An associate’s or bachelor’s degree can help their endeavors and allow them to prosper at a level that’s comfortable and quick to advance.