Hotel Manager Interview Questions & Video Guide

Introduction

Hiring the right Hotel Manager is critical in hospitality. The role drives guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and revenue performance for hotels of every size.

This guide provides practical, role-specific questions for screening Hotel Manager candidates. It includes basic, intermediate, and advanced interview questions plus five pre-screening one-way video interview prompts ready for use on ScreeningHive.

Hotel Manager Interview Questions

Basic Hotel Manager Interview Questions

• What previous experience do you have managing a hotel or lodging property?
• How do you define excellent guest service?
• Describe your experience with front desk operations and reservations systems.
• What steps do you take to ensure rooms and public areas meet brand standards?
• How do you handle a routine guest complaint from arrival to resolution?
• Can you summarize your approach to staff scheduling and shift coverage?
• What metrics do you track to evaluate daily hotel performance?
• How do you prioritize tasks during a busy check-in period?

Intermediate Hotel Manager Interview Questions

• A group reservation has been double booked and the hotel is full. How do you resolve the situation while protecting guest satisfaction and revenue?
• A department manager reports repeated late arrivals from a key team member. Describe the steps you would take to address performance issues.
• Occupancy is below target for the next month. What short term revenue and marketing actions would you implement?
• A VIP guest posts a negative review about service on social media. How do you respond publicly and privately?
• You discover recurring inventory discrepancies in housekeeping supplies. How do you investigate and prevent further loss?
• How would you lead a cross department initiative to reduce average check-in time by 20 percent?
• Describe a situation where you had to negotiate with a vendor to reduce costs without compromising quality.
• A health and safety inspection finds a noncompliance issue. What are your immediate actions and how do you prevent recurrence?
• How do you evaluate whether to upgrade a property management system or continue with the existing one?
• Explain how you build and maintain relationships with local corporate clients and travel partners.

Advanced Hotel Manager Interview Questions

• Design a plan to increase net operating income by 10 percent over 12 months. What areas would you prioritize and why?
• How do you develop a staffing model that balances peak season demand with labor cost control across departments?
• Describe your approach to implementing a new revenue management strategy across room types and rate fences.
• How do you create a culture of continuous improvement that sustains high guest satisfaction scores?
• Explain how you would lead a property remodel or capital improvement project while minimizing guest disruption.
• What KPIs do you include in an executive dashboard for ownership and how do you present performance variances?
• How would you evaluate and integrate new guest facing technology to enhance experience and capture data?
• Discuss a method for forecasting demand during an unpredictable market period and how you would set pricing accordingly.
• If you were tasked with converting a full service hotel into a mixed use operation, what operational and revenue changes would you plan?
• How do you develop leadership succession inside a property to reduce turnover risk and retain institutional knowledge?

Pre-Screening Video Interview Questions for Hotel Manager

These five one-way video interview questions are ideal for ScreeningHive. Each prompt is short and focused, letting candidates demonstrate communication, judgment, and role fit on camera.

1. Describe your most significant accomplishment as a Hotel Manager and the impact it had on guest satisfaction or revenue.

   This question evaluates leadership, results orientation, and the candidate ability to quantify impact.

2. How would you handle a late night emergency where multiple guests need immediate assistance due to a facility failure?

   This question assesses crisis management, prioritization, and guest care under pressure.

3. Explain your approach to reducing operating costs while maintaining service standards.

   This prompt evaluates strategic thinking, cost control experience, and commitment to quality.

4. Provide an example of how you developed a team member into a leadership role.

   This question looks for coaching ability, talent development, and cultural fit.

5. How do you use guest feedback and reviews to drive operational changes? Give a specific example.

   This evaluates analytical use of feedback, continuous improvement, and responsiveness to guest insights.

Conclusion

This question set helps hiring managers, recruiters, and HR teams evaluate Hotel Manager candidates across basic competence, operational scenarios, and strategic leadership. Candidates can use the list to prepare clear, role-specific examples.

ScreeningHive one-way video interviews enable faster screening, standardized evaluations, and reliable candidate comparisons so teams can focus on the best fits for their hospitality operations.