Is Hotel Management a Good Field in LA? (Los Angeles, San Diego: transplants, best hotel)

[DavieJ89]

I'm considering moving to Los Angeles when I finish school. Wouldn't want to move to such an expensive city without a degree. I plan to study hotel management at UNLV in Las Vegas, and moving to LA post graduation is part of my 5 year plan....IF I can find a job. If I can not find a job in LA, I may take one in Vegas, or return to my hometown of Orlando.

For what it's worth, I have been to LA before several times. I lived in Vegas from 2010-2012 and visited California every so often as two women I dated in Vegas were transplants from Southern California (one from Woodland Hills, the other from Upland) I am aware of the traffic, cost of living, and the taxes that come with living in Los Angeles, yet I still find myself dreaming of living there, and I think having a degree will make that possible

So my question is this. Would Hotel Management be a good field in LA in terms of opportunities? Would it allow me to afford living in LA (close to the beaches, Santa Monica, Venice, etc)

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I'm considering moving to Los Angeles when I finish school. Wouldn't want to move to such an expensive city without a degree. I plan to study hotel management at UNLV in Las Vegas, and moving to LA post graduation is part of my 5 year plan....IF I can find a job. If I can not find a job in LA, I may take one in Vegas, or return to my hometown of Orlando.

For what it's worth, I have been to LA before several times. I lived in Vegas from 2010-2012 and visited California every so often as two women I dated in Vegas were transplants from Southern California (one from Woodland Hills, the other from Upland) I am aware of the traffic, cost of living, and the taxes that come with living in Los Angeles, yet I still find myself dreaming of living there, and I think having a degree will make that possible

So my question is this. Would Hotel Management be a good field in LA in terms of opportunities? Would it allow me to afford living in LA (close to the beaches, Santa Monica, Venice, etc)

It's not bad but San Diego would be better to be honest. But yeah, LA is a good place to do it. Anywhere where there's a high tourist crowd coming in is a good place to practice hotel management.

[MovingLar]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I'm considering moving to Los Angeles when I finish school. Wouldn't want to move to such an expensive city without a degree. I plan to study hotel management at UNLV in Las Vegas, and moving to LA post graduation is part of my 5 year plan....IF I can find a job. If I can not find a job in LA, I may take one in Vegas, or return to my hometown of Orlando.

For what it's worth, I have been to LA before several times. I lived in Vegas from 2010-2012 and visited California every so often as two women I dated in Vegas were transplants from Southern California (one from Woodland Hills, the other from Upland) I am aware of the traffic, cost of living, and the taxes that come with living in Los Angeles, yet I still find myself dreaming of living there, and I think having a degree will make that possible

So my question is this. Would Hotel Management be a good field in LA in terms of opportunities? Would it allow me to afford living in LA (close to the beaches, Santa Monica, Venice, etc)

Ironically, I have a similar dream. Instead, I am looking into Orange County. There are community colleges there with certificate and associates degrees in hotel management. While I suppose you could get a 4-year, that is still a good option. Many places to work in hotels in OC/Disney. I wish other people though could advice me on their own experiences. Good luck if you go, I'm planning on some time very soon or by the Fall.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I'm considering moving to Los Angeles when I finish school. Wouldn't want to move to such an expensive city without a degree. I plan to study hotel management at UNLV in Las Vegas, and moving to LA post graduation is part of my 5 year plan....IF I can find a job. If I can not find a job in LA, I may take one in Vegas, or return to my hometown of Orlando.

For what it's worth, I have been to LA before several times. I lived in Vegas from 2010-2012 and visited California every so often as two women I dated in Vegas were transplants from Southern California (one from Woodland Hills, the other from Upland) I am aware of the traffic, cost of living, and the taxes that come with living in Los Angeles, yet I still find myself dreaming of living there, and I think having a degree will make that possible

So my question is this. Would Hotel Management be a good field in LA in terms of opportunities? Would it allow me to afford living in LA (close to the beaches, Santa Monica, Venice, etc)

I would think it would be a good field in LA . I don't really know what hotel managers make I'm guessing it would depend on the hotel .

I would think you would be able to do fine .

[ProjectMersh]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I'm considering moving to Los Angeles when I finish school. Wouldn't want to move to such an expensive city without a degree. I plan to study hotel management at UNLV in Las Vegas, and moving to LA post graduation is part of my 5 year plan....IF I can find a job. If I can not find a job in LA, I may take one in Vegas, or return to my hometown of Orlando.

For what it's worth, I have been to LA before several times. I lived in Vegas from 2010-2012 and visited California every so often as two women I dated in Vegas were transplants from Southern California (one from Woodland Hills, the other from Upland) I am aware of the traffic, cost of living, and the taxes that come with living in Los Angeles, yet I still find myself dreaming of living there, and I think having a degree will make that possible

So my question is this. Would Hotel Management be a good field in LA in terms of opportunities? Would it allow me to afford living in LA (close to the beaches, Santa Monica, Venice, etc)

Hey Davie: Well, UNLV has one of the best hotel management programs in the country. So that is a good plan if that is what you want to study.

As you know, the lower rungs of the hospitality industry do not pay that well. But if you plan to get a degree and shoot for managment it is another story. A recent survey (see link) showed that General Managers (GM) of the top luxury hotels in Los Angeles made roughly $175,000 to $225,000 per year in BASE salary. The annual bonus can add $50,000 to that amount (in a good year). Of course, it takes TIME to get to the GM level. And only the LUXURY hotels will pay that much. I think a more standard GM salary is around $100k to $150k per year.

HVS - The Cost of Luxury Leadership: Luxury General Manager Pay in North America

Also, note that once you get a few years working direclty at a hotel you can pursue other avenues within the hotel/hospitality business that can be more lucrative than just general hotel management. This includes asset management, hotel development and investment, etc.

Congrats on finding a field you like at such a young age (I am assuming you are just about to start college).

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

Hey Davie: Well, UNLV has one of the best hotel management programs in the country. So that is a good plan if that is what you want to study.

As you know, the lower rungs of the hospitality industry do not pay that well. But if you plan to get a degree and shoot for managment it is another story. A recent survey (see link) showed that General Managers (GM) of the top luxury hotels in Los Angeles made roughly $175,000 to $225,000 per year in BASE salary. The annual bonus can add $50,000 to that amount (in a good year). Of course, it takes TIME to get to the GM level. And only the LUXURY hotels will pay that much. I think a more standard GM salary is around $100k to $150k per year.

HVS - The Cost of Luxury Leadership: Luxury General Manager Pay in North America

Also, note that once you get a few years working direclty at a hotel you can pursue other avenues within the hotel/hospitality business that can be more lucrative than just general hotel management. This includes asset management, hotel development and investment, etc.

Congrats on finding a field you like at such a young age (I am assuming you are just about to start college).

That is interesting about the GM pay. I think that's considerably higher than most people would imagine...of course this is for the TOP hotels ..and how many top luxury hotels could there be ...versus UNLV hotel management graduates.. Also all the other similar programs in the country.

asset management, hotel development and investment sounds interesting for sure.

The idea of owning a boutique type hotel always sounds like it would be cool...renovating an older hotel or motel and making it cool. I'm sure it's a lot of work though!

[ProjectMersh]

Originally Posted by jm1982

That is interesting about the GM pay. I think that's considerably higher than most people would imagine...of course this is for the TOP hotels ..and how many top luxury hotels could there be ...versus UNLV hotel management graduates.. Also all the other similar programs in the country.

asset management, hotel development and investment sounds interesting for sure.

The idea of owning a boutique type hotel always sounds like it would be cool...renovating an older hotel or motel and making it cool. I'm sure it's a lot of work though!

Yeah, I know someone in the business. Not an easy business at all. Lots of hard work and it is a roller coaster ride as the first thing people cut out in a downturn is travel. So a hotel's cash flow can drop in a second.

To be sure, the luxury hotels are like the top 10% of all the thousands of hotels. So you are right that it is a tough climb. But a degree from Cornell or UNLV are given much more weight than a lot of other schools.

The hotel business is like a lot of others....the best way to get rich is the old fashioned way: inherit it!

[jm1982]

I think the Joie De Vivre hotel story is pretty interesting. He raised $1million and opened his first hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin, built it up to 30 hotels and then sold the company to an heir of the Hilton fortune.

Joie de Vivre Hospitality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He runs this site which is pretty awesome about the best festivals going on in the world.
http://www.fest300.com/

[ProjectMersh]

Interesting story. The key to his story was OPM (Other People's Money). Must have been a convincing salesman to get people to pony up $1 million bucks when he was just 26 (or he had wealthy family or friends).

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

Interesting story. The key to his story was OPM (Other People's Money). Must have been a convincing salesman to get people to pony up $1 million bucks when he was just 26 (or he had wealthy family or friends).

Yeah true, but I've read about a lot of people that have started business and it seems that it's almost always with other people's money --especially if they are young and haven't had time to build up savings.

Warren Buffet is one of the richest people and always viewed as a smart investor but he wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list if he was just investing in his 'own account' and didn't take on other investor's money. A lot of his wealth also came from buying businesses entirely ,rather than just investing in stock.

It does seem one has to be a good salesman, or good enough to get someone to give you the money.

Even if it's family and friends they oftentimes won't invest if they feel it's not a good idea.

Even the guy that started subway borrowed $1,000 from a family friend to start it .

He wrote a book about his story and about other people that start with very little like $10,000 and less and grew them into big businesses.

Amazon.com: Start Small Finish Big eBook: Fred DeLuca, John P. Hayes: Kindle Store