How to Use the Hotel Assistant Manager Onboarding Template

Why structured hotel assistant manager onboarding matters

The hotel assistant manager is the operational backbone of any property. They bridge the gap between executive leadership and frontline teams, covering evenings and weekends when the general manager is off-site, handling guest escalations, and keeping departments coordinated during the busiest periods. Getting this hire wrong — or failing to onboard them properly — ripples across the entire operation.

Yet many hotels treat assistant manager onboarding as a quick handover and a stack of policy documents. The result is a new manager who doesn't understand how the property actually runs, struggles to earn respect from department heads who've been there longer, and makes avoidable mistakes in the first few weeks that undermine their credibility. The cost shows up in guest complaints, staff frustration, and the GM spending time firefighting instead of leading strategically.

This template breaks the first week into five themed days that build on each other — from property orientation through to crisis management and leadership development. Each day includes assessment questions and success indicators, giving you a clear picture of where your new assistant manager is strong and where they need more support before they're left to run a shift independently.

Day 1: Property Orientation and Departmental Overview

The first day is about building a complete picture of the property and establishing working relationships with the people your new assistant manager will rely on every day. This foundation shapes everything that follows — an assistant manager who doesn't know the building or the team structure will struggle to make good decisions under pressure.

Property Systems and Layout Orientation

Why this matters: An assistant manager who understands every corner of the property makes better decisions. They can direct guests confidently, respond to maintenance issues quickly, and anticipate operational bottlenecks before they affect service.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk the entire property during a quieter period — public areas, a sample of each room category, back-of-house corridors, plant rooms, and external areas
• Demonstrate core PMS functions hands-on, then have the assistant manager log in and navigate independently
• Run through the communication systems physically — hand them a radio, test the internal messaging platform, and walk the emergency communication route
• Let them shadow a duty manager for 30 minutes to see how property knowledge gets used in real-time decision making

Customisation tips:

• Large resort properties may need to split the property tour across two sessions to avoid information overload
• If your hotel is part of a brand, highlight which areas get audited and what the brand's physical standards look like in practice

Team Integration and Role Clarification

Why this matters: The assistant manager's authority comes from relationships as much as job title. Early, structured introductions with department heads set the tone for how the team will work together and prevent the awkward period where nobody knows who's responsible for what.

How to deliver this training:

• Schedule formal one-on-one meetings with each department head — not just a quick hello, but a proper conversation about their challenges, KPIs, and how the assistant manager can support them
• Have the new starter shadow the general manager for at least two hours, observing how executive-level decisions get made and communicated
• Walk through the employee handbook together, focusing on the policies the assistant manager will need to enforce
• Map out the reporting structure clearly — who reports to them, what decisions they can make independently, and when to escalate

Customisation tips:

• In properties where the assistant manager has specific departmental responsibility (e.g. rooms division), weight the introductions towards that area
• If there's been recent management turnover, be transparent about team dynamics so the new starter isn't blindsided

Basic Management Principles

Why this matters: Even experienced assistant managers need to understand how your specific property defines service standards, measures success, and allocates resources. What worked at their previous hotel may not apply here.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your service delivery standards department by department, showing what "good" looks like in practice rather than just describing it
• Review your KPI dashboard together, explaining which metrics matter most and why
• Discuss how resources get allocated during peak versus quiet periods — staffing, supplies, maintenance attention
• Map the guest journey from booking to departure, pointing out every touchpoint where the assistant manager can influence the experience

Customisation tips:

• Luxury properties should emphasise the nuances of personalised service and anticipatory guest care
• Budget and mid-market hotels can focus more on operational efficiency and consistency of delivery

Assessment Questions

Use these questions to check understanding at the end of Day 1. Have a quick conversation with your new starter — this isn't a formal exam, but a chance to identify gaps and reinforce key learning.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask in a relaxed setting, ideally over coffee at the end of the day
• Look for practical understanding — "show me the quickest route from reception to the conference rooms" is more useful than "tell me about the property layout"
• Note areas where additional support is needed and plan to revisit them on Day 2

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 1, your new hotel assistant manager should be demonstrating these behaviours. If any are missing, revisit the relevant training section before moving to Day 2.

Day 1 Notes

Record observations about how Day 1 went — what the new starter picked up quickly, areas needing extra support, and any adjustments to the remaining training days.

Day 2: Front Office Operations and Guest Relations

Day 2 moves into the operational heart of the hotel. The front office is where most guest interactions happen, and an assistant manager who can step behind the desk and handle any situation earns immediate credibility with the team.

Reservation and Property Management Systems

Why this matters: The assistant manager needs to be proficient enough in the PMS to train new starters, troubleshoot problems during a shift, and cover the front desk when short-staffed. They don't need to be the fastest operator, but they need to understand every function.

How to deliver this training:

• Have the assistant manager process several real or simulated reservations — new bookings, modifications, cancellations, and group blocks
• Walk through check-in scenarios with varying complexity: a standard guest, a VIP with special requests, a group arrival, and a walk-in when availability is tight
• Review folio management, billing adjustments, and the end-of-day reconciliation process
• Generate the key daily reports together and discuss what each number means for operational decisions

Customisation tips:

• If your property uses multiple systems (PMS, channel manager, revenue management tool), prioritise the PMS and schedule the others for later in the week
• Properties with a separate reservations team can focus more on supervisory oversight rather than hands-on booking creation

Guest Relations and Service Recovery

Why this matters: Guest complaints that reach the assistant manager are usually the ones the frontline team couldn't resolve. Your new manager needs to handle these confidently, turning negative experiences into loyalty without giving away the hotel.

How to deliver this training:

• Role-play common complaint scenarios with increasing complexity — a noisy room, a billing error, a maintenance failure, and a service promise that wasn't kept
• Walk through your VIP protocols in detail, including how VIPs are identified in the system, what amenities they receive, and how to handle VIP-level expectations
• Cover the loyalty programme thoroughly — the assistant manager will be asked about it constantly and needs to explain benefits convincingly
• Review your online reputation management process: who responds to reviews, what the guidelines are, and how feedback gets actioned internally

Customisation tips:

• Boutique hotels may give the assistant manager more authority to create bespoke recovery gestures
• Chain hotels should focus on brand-specific service recovery guidelines and compensation limits

Revenue Optimisation Techniques

Why this matters: Every interaction at the front desk is a potential revenue opportunity. An assistant manager who understands rate structures and competitive positioning can coach the team to upsell naturally rather than robotically.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your rate structure from rack rate through to the deepest contracted rate, explaining where each sits and why
• Practise identifying upselling opportunities during check-in — room upgrades, late check-out, dining packages
• Introduce basic yield management concepts: why rates change based on demand and how the assistant manager should support pricing decisions
• Review your competitive set and discuss where your property sits in the market

Customisation tips:

• Properties with a dedicated revenue manager can keep this high-level, focusing on the assistant manager's supporting role
• Smaller hotels where the assistant manager influences pricing directly should spend more time on rate management tools

Assessment Questions

Check these at the end of Day 2. By now your assistant manager should be comfortable navigating the PMS and handling guest-facing situations with confidence.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask the assistant manager to demonstrate a complete check-in while you observe
• Present a guest complaint scenario and evaluate their response approach
• Check whether they can explain the loyalty programme benefits without referring to notes

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 2, your hotel assistant manager should be showing competence across front office operations. If they're hesitant with the PMS or uncomfortable handling guest complaints, schedule additional practice before moving to Day 3.

Day 2 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the operational training — confidence level with systems, natural ability in guest interactions, and any recurring gaps.

Day 3: Revenue Management and Operational Standards

Day 3 shifts focus from guest-facing operations to the strategic and compliance side of the role. These skills matter most when the assistant manager is covering for the GM or making decisions during off-hours when specialist support isn't available.

Revenue Management Fundamentals

Why this matters: During evenings and weekends, the assistant manager may be the most senior person making rate and inventory decisions. Understanding the principles behind those decisions prevents costly mistakes.

How to deliver this training:

• Review room type allocation and explain the logic behind overbooking strategies — how much risk the property takes and what the walk policy looks like
• Walk through your rate structure in detail, including restrictions, minimum stays, and close-out policies
• Introduce the distribution channels — direct bookings, OTAs, GDS, corporate portals — and explain the cost of each
• Review recent booking pace data together and discuss what the numbers suggest about upcoming demand

Customisation tips:

• Properties with a revenue manager should frame this as "understanding enough to support revenue decisions" rather than "running revenue strategy"
• Independent hotels may need the assistant manager to take a more active role in pricing, requiring deeper training

Brand Standards and Compliance

Why this matters: Brand audits and health and safety inspections can happen without warning. The assistant manager needs to keep the property audit-ready every day, not just when a visit is expected.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through the brand standard manual together, focusing on the areas that get flagged most often in audits
• Conduct a mock room inspection and public area walkthrough, showing your new manager what to look for
• Review health and safety compliance: fire safety, food safety, risk assessments, and the documentation that supports each area
• Cover accessibility requirements and how to handle accommodation requests from guests with disabilities

Customisation tips:

• Branded hotels should pull out recent audit scores and discuss the action plan for any areas below standard
• Independent hotels can focus on regulatory compliance (health and safety, fire, food hygiene) rather than brand audits

Interdepartmental Coordination

Why this matters: Most operational failures happen at the handover points between departments. The assistant manager sits at the centre of these connections and needs to keep information flowing smoothly.

How to deliver this training:

• Map out the key interdepartmental touchpoints: housekeeping and reception, kitchen and F&B service, maintenance and front office, events and operations
• Walk through a typical day showing where communication breakdowns commonly happen — late room status updates, maintenance requests falling through cracks, event setup conflicts
• Discuss techniques for resolving interdepartmental friction without taking sides or undermining department heads
• Review how resources (staff, budget, equipment) get allocated across departments and the assistant manager's role in that process

Customisation tips:

• Larger properties with multiple F&B outlets have more complex coordination needs — spend extra time on the kitchen-to-restaurant handover
• Smaller hotels where the assistant manager covers multiple functions can focus on prioritisation rather than delegation

Assessment Questions

Day 3 covers strategic and compliance knowledge. Use these questions to check that your assistant manager understands the principles, not just the procedures.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask scenario-based questions: "Occupancy is forecast at 95% for Saturday but you still have 20 rooms to sell — what factors do you consider?"
• Have the assistant manager conduct a mini room inspection and talk through what they're checking
• Test interdepartmental awareness by presenting a coordination challenge and asking how they'd handle it

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 3, your assistant manager should be connecting the dots between revenue strategy, operational standards, and departmental coordination. If they're treating these as separate topics rather than an integrated system, revisit how they link together.

Day 3 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the strategic content — whether they're thinking operationally or strategically, and where the balance needs adjusting.

Day 4: Staff Management and Administrative Responsibilities

Day 4 tackles the people and paperwork side of the role. These skills determine whether an assistant manager can run a department smoothly or whether they create more work for the GM through poor scheduling, missed reports, and unresolved staff issues.

Staff Management and Development

Why this matters: The assistant manager's ability to schedule effectively, give useful feedback, and develop their team directly affects service quality, staff retention, and labour costs. Poor people management is the fastest way to lose good employees.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your labour management tools and demonstrate how to build a schedule that balances service needs with budget constraints
• Review your performance management process end to end — from setting objectives through to formal reviews and, when necessary, disciplinary procedures
• Discuss how training gets coordinated: who tracks certifications, how new starters get onboarded, and where the gaps typically are
• Talk about team motivation practically — what recognition looks like in your operation, how to spot disengaged team members, and what a good team meeting looks like

Customisation tips:

• Properties with a dedicated HR function can focus the assistant manager on day-to-day people management rather than administrative HR processes
• Smaller hotels where the assistant manager handles HR tasks directly should spend more time on employment law basics and documentation

Administrative Responsibilities

Why this matters: Budgets, reports, purchasing, and documentation aren't glamorous, but they're how the hotel stays financially healthy and legally compliant. An assistant manager who can't manage the admin creates problems that compound over time.

How to deliver this training:

• Review departmental budgets together, explaining how expenses get tracked, who approves what, and how variances are investigated
• Walk through all reporting obligations — daily flash reports, weekly operational summaries, monthly performance reviews — and have the assistant manager complete a sample of each
• Demonstrate the purchasing workflow from requisition to delivery, including par levels and supplier management
• Show how documentation is organised and stored, covering both operational records and HR files

Customisation tips:

• Branded hotels with standardised reporting can focus on the specific templates and deadlines
• Independent hotels should spend more time on the "why" behind each report, since the assistant manager may need to design their own reporting

Time Management and Prioritisation

Why this matters: The assistant manager role is pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. Without a clear framework for prioritising competing demands, the important gets lost to the urgent every single day.

How to deliver this training:

• Introduce the urgent versus important framework and apply it to real examples from your operation
• Walk through a typical assistant manager day, mapping out how time should be allocated between floor presence, admin, meetings, and development work
• Discuss delegation — what the assistant manager should handle personally versus what they should assign to their team
• Review the productivity tools available: task management systems, shared calendars, handover templates

Customisation tips:

• Properties with split AM/PM assistant manager coverage should discuss the different priorities for each shift pattern
• Hotels with seasonal peaks should cover how time allocation changes during high and low occupancy periods

Assessment Questions

Day 4 covers management and administrative skills. Use these questions to check that your assistant manager can handle the operational demands of the role independently.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Present a scheduling scenario with budget constraints and see how they balance service levels with labour costs
• Role-play a performance conversation — both a recognition moment and a corrective one
• Ask them to talk you through the reporting cycle and what each report tells them about the operation

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 4, your assistant manager should be comfortable with both the people and paperwork side of the role. If they're strong on one but weak on the other, plan targeted support for the gap area.

Day 4 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the management and admin training. Note whether they lean towards people management or process management, and plan development accordingly.

Day 5: Crisis Management and Leadership Development

The final day prepares your assistant manager for the situations that matter most — emergencies, leadership challenges, and the ongoing expectations of the role. These are the skills that define whether your assistant manager can truly be trusted to run the property when you're not there.

Crisis Management and Emergency Procedures

Why this matters: The assistant manager is often the most senior person on site during evenings, weekends, and holidays — exactly when emergencies tend to happen. They need to respond decisively without waiting for the GM to answer their phone.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through every emergency protocol: fire evacuation, medical emergencies, severe weather, security threats, and bomb threats
• Discuss media management specifically — what to say, what not to say, and who to call before speaking to any journalist
• Review the incident documentation process: what gets recorded, where witness statements are stored, and how follow-up is managed
• Cover business continuity scenarios: PMS goes down, power failure, water leak in occupied rooms, double-booked conference — talk through the response for each

Customisation tips:

• Properties in areas prone to specific risks (coastal flooding, extreme heat, civil unrest) should add scenario-specific protocols
• Hotels with large events spaces should include crowd management and event-specific emergency procedures

Leadership Development

Why this matters: Technical competence gets an assistant manager through the first few months. Leadership skills determine whether they grow into the role or plateau. Starting this conversation on Day 5 signals that development is ongoing, not finished.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss leadership styles openly — not in a theoretical way, but by talking about how different situations require different approaches (directing a new team member versus coaching an experienced one)
• Practise coaching conversations: how to give feedback that changes behaviour, how to have a difficult conversation without damaging the relationship
• Work through conflict resolution techniques using real examples from the hotel's recent history
• Review the decision-making framework: what the assistant manager can decide alone, what needs the GM's input, and what goes to the ownership group

Customisation tips:

• If the assistant manager is stepping into the role from a supervisory position, spend more time on the mindset shift from doing to leading
• Experienced assistant managers moving from another property can focus on adapting their style to your specific team culture

Ongoing Performance Expectations

Why this matters: Clear expectations prevent misunderstandings and give the assistant manager benchmarks to work towards. When people understand exactly how they'll be measured, they're more likely to deliver consistently.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through the KPIs that apply to the assistant manager role specifically — guest satisfaction scores, labour cost percentage, revenue targets, audit scores
• Discuss the career progression path: what the next step looks like, what milestones mark readiness for promotion, and what development opportunities are available
• Introduce the concept of self-assessment and reflection — encourage the habit of reviewing their own performance regularly
• Set up a schedule for formal and informal feedback sessions over the coming months

Customisation tips:

• Branded hotels with structured career frameworks should walk through the brand's competency model
• Independent hotels can create a bespoke development plan that reflects the property's specific needs and the assistant manager's career goals

Assessment Questions

These final assessment questions check whether your assistant manager is ready to operate with increasing independence. Focus on judgement and composure rather than technical recall.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Present crisis scenarios and evaluate the speed and quality of their decision making
• Ask open-ended questions about their leadership approach: "How would you handle a department head who's resistant to a change you need to implement?"
• Discuss their personal development goals and assess whether they're realistic and specific

Success Indicators

These are the markers of an assistant manager who's ready to take on increasing responsibility. If all four are present, your onboarding has been successful. If any are missing, extend supported working before stepping back.

Day 5 Notes

Record your final assessment of the onboarding period. Note strengths, development areas, and any agreed next steps for continued training.

Making the most of this template

Five days provides a solid foundation, but the real development happens in the weeks and months that follow. If your new assistant manager works a different shift pattern to the GM, consider stretching the programme so that training days align with when the GM is available to deliver them properly. Rushing through material to hit a deadline defeats the purpose.

Use the notes sections at the end of each day to build a record of your assistant manager's development. These notes are valuable for performance reviews, identifying recurring training gaps across multiple hires, and demonstrating due diligence in developing your leadership team.

The assessment questions and success indicators create accountability in both directions. If your assistant manager isn't meeting the success indicators, that's a signal — it might mean the training needs adjusting, the pace needs slowing, or the individual needs more support in specific areas. Don't treat missed indicators as failure; treat them as information.

Consider pairing your new assistant manager with a peer at a neighbouring property or within your hotel group. Having someone in the same role to compare notes with — someone who isn't their direct manager — can accelerate learning and provide a sounding board for the challenges that come with the first few months in post.