Banquet & Catering Manager Job Description
Hotels, restaurants, university clubs, conference centers, country clubs and other venues hire banquet and catering managers to oversee the dining requirements of guests during business and social gatherings. In addition to handling food and beverage requests, banquet and catering managers also act as the main liaison to audio and visual services, decorating groups and external vendors used to set up the event.
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Function
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Banquet and catering managers supervise chefs, house managers and catering staff during the preparation and arrangement of food for weddings, birthday parties, business meetings, trade shows and other social events. Their duties include planning, organizing and executing events based on their client's budget, audio visual requirements, schedule and other specifications outlined in the banquet event order. Banquet and sales managers often have sales duties that include tracking group deposits, paid and outstanding invoices, sales forecasts and overall sales volume. As part of the hotel management team, banquet and sales managers train and supervise cooks, catering assistants and sales personnel who help carry out administrative functions and event logistics.
Education
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Most employers require that banquet and event managers have a high school diploma. Luxury hotels and venues that specialize in fine dining, however, may prefer applicants with a bachelor's degree in hospitality management. College courses that focus on careers in the hospitality sector cover subjects such as catering and banquet management, hospitality real estate, risk and sanitation management, managerial accounting and food service management. Banquet and catering managers must also demonstrate previous work experience in hospitality services, catering and sales.
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Skills
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Candidates for banquet and event manager positions should have strong leadership, personal selling, negotiation and oral communication skills. The ability to interact with multiple groups such as marketing, accounting, human resources and catering is beneficial in this role. Moreover, catering and banquet managers must be good with math, and have a basic knowledge of budgeting and sales management. Project management and organization skills are essential, since banquet and catering managers coordinate all aspects of client dinners, meetings and catering events.
Salary
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The average salary for a banquet manager in the United States ranged between $34,735 and $51,793 according to a June 2010 PayScale report. Average commissions for the role fell between $4,759 and $19,305.
Potential
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During the 2008 to 2018 period, job prospects for banquet and catering managers will be most favorable in full-service hotels, convention centers, and casino resorts according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) "Career Guide to Industries, 2010-11 Edition." The BLS also states, however, that hotel expansion is projected in limited-service hotels that do not offer food and catering services. This will curtail the employment of banquet, catering and other lodging managers, causing management jobs to grow more slowly than other hotel positions. Overall the BLS expects that hotel jobs will increase 5 percent through 2018.
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References
- Photo Credit Finger food - finger food pieces at Mediterranean wedding image by FotoWorx from Fotolia.com
