4-2 Seven High-Paying Hospitality Jobs

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The top high-paying jobs in hospitality reach into six figures for professionals who combine industry knowledge, business acumen and people skills, according to data from Salary.com.

After shedding workers during the recession, the hospitality industry started to pick up in 2010. Restaurant chains began building back the teams it downsized in 2008, while casinos and other large sources of hospitality jobs stepped up campus recruiting of entry-level managers. The one area where dark clouds remain in the hospitality job market: budget hotels.

High-paying hospitality jobs almost all require three things: education, experience and solid leadership skills, says Bobbie Barnes, director of the Bob Boughner Career Services Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ College of Hotel Administration.

If you’ve got all three, you may want to steer your career toward one of these seven high-paying hospitality jobs. (Salaries listed are median and include bonuses.)

Casino Property General Manager: $218,300

To land a lucrative casino manager job, start with a four-year degree to get a broad-based education in business and hospitality, then pick up experience in the components of a casino resort -- operations, food/beverage, convention, hotel and entertainment. “Be passionate and eager to learn every aspect of the organization,” Barnes says. “There’s no clear path to general manager positions. Upward mobility is more like a lattice where you move over, go up or down, or make a lateral move.”

Regional Chef: $124,800

Regional chef jobs dried up during the recession, says Stephen Gibson, partner at Restaurant Management Recruiters in Atlanta. Many of those laid off took a step back to managing a single restaurant rather than the group of restaurants they oversaw as a regional chef.

If you’ve hung onto a regional chef position, a switch to a corporate chef job where you set the menu, purchase food across the system, and train senior leadership and chefs on new menu items is more secure -- and your salary could rise to $175,000 with bonuses, Gibson says.

Hotel Manager: $112,400

Hotel chains gravitate to candidates who have done it all: catering, front desk, housekeeping and management. Back that experience with a bachelor’s degree and an operational bent to increase your appeal to hospitality employers, says David James, an executive recruiter at Internal Audit Recruiters in Corona, California.

Avoid moving to a lower position as you rotate. “If someone who was a general manager steps down to become restaurant supervisor, that’s the kiss of death,” James says.

Regional Restaurant Manager: $95,800

Your salary as a regional restaurant manager -- who floats among a group of restaurant locations, hiring and coaching staff to improve profitability -- depends on the status of the chain.

A fast-food chain would pay a base of $75,000 to $85,000 and an upscale chain would pay $150,000, and midlevel jobs at both are plentiful, Gibson says.

Jobs are more plentiful for managers of individual restaurants and for entry-level regional positions (where you manage a group of restaurants) than for vice president and higher-level positions, he says. “There’s still movement in the higher positions, but not as much as there was before the recession,” he adds.

Head of Housekeeping: $77,000

“What’s more important at a hotel than a clean room?” asks Barnes. “It’s difficult work and requires a tremendous leader to manage that department.”

At the budget end of the market, hospitality jobs still haven’t recovered from the recession. “There are more people on the street vying for jobs from housekeeping to hotel manager,” James says. “There are a finite number of opportunities and an abundance of candidates.”

Executive Pastry Chef: $60,200

A pastry chef overseeing two or three cooks who produce the cakes, bread and pastries for a restaurant has a niche job within a hospitality job niche. Executive pastry chefs who develop dessert menus for a restaurant chain pull down the highest salaries. Pastry chefs in hotels may earn less. “I’ve seen hotel pastry chefs in the $40,000 to $55,000 range,” Gibson says.

Sommelier: $50,400

On the surface, a sommelier’s job is to share his wine knowledge with diners at high-end restaurants, but his real job is to sell wines. “They talk about what wines pair well with the entrees people are ordering and do their best to upsell wines,” Gibson says. Sommeliers are typically paid a base of $40,000 to $50,000, plus commissions based on the restaurant’s wine revenues.

Vocabulary

Word	Meaning	Example
acumen	shrewdness shown by keen insight	The top high-paying jobs in hospitality reach into six figures for professionals who combine industry knowledge, business acumen and people skills, according to data from Salary.com.
budget	a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them	Peter was on a budget; therefore, he didn’t want to buy the champagne.
leadership	the status of a leader	High-paying hospitality jobs almost all require three things: education, experience and solid leadership skills.
lucrative	producing a sizeable profit	To land a lucrative casino manager job, start with a four-year degree to get a broad-based education in business and hospitality, then pick up experience in the components of a casino resort -- operations, food/beverage, convention, hotel and entertainment.
beverage	any liquid suitable for drinking	They drank the yellow beverage without knowing its name.
mobility	the quality of moving freely	Australia and Canada were identified as countries with high social mobility.
lateral	situated at or extending to the side	Upward mobility is more like a lattice where you move over, go up or down, or make a lateral move.
regional	characteristic of a region	The regional leaders met in the capital city of Kiev.
partner	a person who is a member of a partnership	Stephen and George were partners: each owned a 50% stake in the restaurant.
cater	give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance	Hotel chains gravitate to candidates who have done it all: catering, front desk, housekeeping and management.
employer	a person or firm that employs workers	Back that experience with a bachelor’s degree and an operational bent to increase your appeal to hospitality employers.
executive	a person responsible for the administration of a business	The company executives held a four-hour meeting yesterday to discuss the issue.
supervisor	one who supervises or has charge and direction of	The supervisor was asked to fire a worker last week.
status	a state at a particular time	Your salary as a regional restaurant manager -- who floats among a group of restaurant locations, hiring and coaching staff to improve profitability -- depends on the status of the chain.
individual	being or characteristic of a single thing or person	The company is seeking a talented individual to join their team on a full-time basis.
entry-level	a first job with a company; a low-paying job	Most entry-level positions pay far less that other jobs with the company.
tremendous	extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree	“It’s difficult work and requires a tremendous leader to manage that department.”
sommelier	a waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant	The sommelier suggested that we have the German Riesling with our desserts.
entree	the principal dish of a meal	“They talk about what wines pair well with the entrees people are ordering and do their best to upsell wines,” Gibson says.
commission	fees paid based on percentages of sales	Sommeliers are typically paid a base of $40,000 to $50,000, plus commissions based on the restaurant’s wine revenues.