A hotel sales manager earns 1,500 euros per month, half the 2008 level

Octavian Lazăr, general manager of Caro hotel complex of Bucharest, with 2.5m-euro turnover last year generated by the 216 two and four-star rooms, says the fixed salary of a four-star hotel sales manager fell to 1,500-2,500 euros per month, from 3,000 euros two years ago, amid the hotel market decline.

In mid-August, a recruitment announcement for a sales manager was posted on the website of the hotel complex and on recruitment websites, which brought over 600 CVs in just a few days, with no candidate selected so far, though.
"Both the fixed salary of a sales manager and the bonuses offered for this position shrank. When it comes to cutting salaries, given the current conditions, employees rationally understand the move, but emotionally cannot accept it, with many of them choosing to leave the company," Octavian Lazăr stated.
He budgeted 10% higher turnover for this year for the hotel complex he runs, but the target has not been reached so far, with the first three months even bringing a 5% sales decline.
"I will not disclose the hotel's average occupancy rate for the first eight months, but it stood below 50%," he said.