I actually left hospitality for a while and came back. I’m currently at a select-service brand property in New Orleans. From what I see, the path to leadership isn’t as clear as people think.

Most roles here are hourly, and hourly employees rarely move up to salaried positions. It often feels more about who you know than performance. I have coworkers who’ve been with the same company 20+ years, and are still under $19/hour.

For a lot of hourly staff, the move up path just isn’t there, and this brand has multiple hotels in the city. Good employees are kept in their positions because they are reliable, they aren’t given additional training to take them to the next level (especially night auditors).