Hotel Maintenance Manager Job Description Templates
6 free chief engineer templates by property type: select-service, full-service, boutique, resort, director of engineering, and assistant chief. With the overtime question the generic versions skip. Download as DOCX.
The fastest way to lose a hotel maintenance manager is to hire one for a job that does not exist. I have watched an independent property post a chief engineer role describing a team, a capital budget, and a seat at the leadership table, then hand the new hire a tool bag and a 90 room building with nobody else on the maintenance payroll. He left in eleven weeks. The posting was not dishonest, it was copied.
That copying problem is specific to this role. Chief engineer travels between properties of wildly different sizes without changing its name, so a template written for a full-service convention hotel reads as perfectly reasonable to a general manager filling a select-service opening. The mismatch surfaces later, in turnover and sometimes in a wage claim.
At FirstHR we write hiring templates for the operators who do not have a corporate HR office to call. The six below are organized by property type rather than by title, and each one states the classification question up front instead of leaving it for you to discover.
TL;DR
A hotel maintenance manager, or chief engineer, owns preventive maintenance, guest response, life-safety records, vendors, and budget for a property. Classification turns on direct reports: the federal executive exemption needs two or more full-time employees supervised, which smaller hotels rarely meet, making the role hourly. Six templates below, downloadable as DOCX.
What a Hotel Maintenance Manager Actually Runs
A hotel maintenance manager owns the physical condition of the property, and the job divides into four parts: preventive maintenance, guest response, compliance records, and department management. The mix between them is set almost entirely by how many rooms you have.
Guest response is what makes hospitality maintenance different from every other facilities job. A failed air conditioner in an office is a ticket. A failed air conditioner in an occupied guest room is a refund, a review, and a room you cannot sell tonight. That urgency runs through the whole role.
Select-service or limited-service
Usually a department of one
Under roughly 120 rooms, the chief engineer is typically the only maintenance employee on payroll. The title says manager but the work is a technician with a purchasing limit, and that gap decides the overtime question.
Full-service hotel
A real department
Restaurants, banquet space, and a parking structure bring boilers, kitchen equipment, and multi-shift coverage. Here the role genuinely manages people and a capital budget, and the exempt classification usually holds up.
Resort or multi-building property
A small campus, not a building
Grounds, pools, vehicles, and several structures spread the work outdoors and make it seasonal. Aquatic certification and storm preparedness matter more here than anywhere else in hospitality.
Boutique hotel, inn, or B&B
An old house with guests in it
Character properties reward repair over replacement and quiet over speed. Aging systems, historic district rules, and lead and asbestos requirements in older buildings shape the job more than any brand standard.
Count the Direct Reports Before You Write Anything Else
Everything downstream depends on this one number. Two or more full-time employees supervised means you are writing a management role that may be exempt and salaried. Zero or one means you are writing a hands-on role that is non-exempt and hourly no matter which title you print on it. Deciding this first saves you from a posting that promises a department the property does not have.
What Belongs in the Posting
A hotel maintenance manager posting has to do four things: describe the property honestly, filter for the right technical depth, protect you on classification and safety, and give a strong candidate a reason to answer. Most postings only attempt the second.
The facts that set expectations
Room count, building count, and property type
Whether the role has direct reports, and how many
The split between hands-on repair and management
Shift, on-call rotation, and holiday coverage
The scope that filters applicants
Which systems are in scope: HVAC, boilers, pool, kitchen, laundry
EPA Section 608 and pool operator certification
Budget and purchasing authority in dollars
Maintenance management software you actually use
The parts that protect you
FLSA classification, decided on duties rather than title
Essential functions and physical requirements
Safety and OSHA responsibilities of the role
Equal opportunity statement
The parts that win the hire
Pay range, and how overtime works if non-exempt
On-call pay, tool allowance, and certification reimbursement
Team size and who the role reports to
A named person and a real timeline to apply
The omission that costs the most is the split between hands-on repair and management. Experienced engineers read for it first, because it tells them whether they are being hired to swing a wrench or to run a department. Leaving it vague reads as a property that has not decided. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure in more depth.
6 Hotel Maintenance Manager Job Description Templates
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: property overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
If you are staffing more than engineering this season, the rest of our hiring template library covers the front desk, housekeeping, and management roles a property fills alongside this one.
Download All 6 Hotel Maintenance Manager Job Description Templates
Chief engineer, working chief engineer, boutique, resort, director of engineering, and assistant chief engineer. All in one download.
Hotel Maintenance Manager
The master version
The full chief engineer role for a property with a maintenance team: preventive maintenance, guest response, life safety, vendors, and budget.
Working Chief Engineer
Select-service, hands-on
For the property where the manager is the whole department, with the non-exempt classification stated plainly instead of buried.
Boutique, Inn, or B&B
Character property
For a small or historic property: repair-first work on aging systems, guest-aware scheduling, and the older-building compliance notes.
Resort Maintenance Manager
Multi-building, seasonal
For a campus rather than a building: grounds, pools, vehicles, seasonal ramp, storm preparedness, and a mixed technician and grounds team.
Director of Engineering
Full-service, executive committee
For a larger property: capital planning, energy management, brand improvement plans, and a multi-shift department with a succession path.
Assistant Chief Engineer
Second in command
For the deputy who does advanced technical work, leads a shift, and covers the department, with the classification trap called out.
Template 1: Hotel Maintenance Manager / Chief Engineer
The master version, for a property with a maintenance team. Covers preventive maintenance cycles, guest response targets, life-safety records, vendors, and budget, with the classification note attached.
Hotel Maintenance Manager / Chief Engineer Job Description
HOTEL MAINTENANCE MANAGER (CHIEF ENGINEER) JOB DESCRIPTION
Do not assume the title makes this role exempt. The federal executive exemption
requires all of the following: a primary duty of managing the property or a
recognized department, customarily and regularly directing the work of two or
more full-time employees or the equivalent, genuine authority or influence over
hiring and firing, and a salary of at least $684 per week. A chief engineer with
no direct reports fails the second test regardless of the title, and is
non-exempt: hourly, with overtime past 40 hours in a week. Classify on the
actual duties. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Property Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [bonus], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 2: Working Chief Engineer, Select-Service Hotel
For the property where the manager is the entire department. This is the variant most independent hotels actually need, and the one where the overtime question matters most. If the role is purely hands-on with no management scope at all, use the hotel maintenance technician templates instead.
Working Chief Engineer, Select-Service Hotel Job Description
WORKING CHIEF ENGINEER JOB DESCRIPTION (SELECT-SERVICE HOTEL)
Property: __ ([City, State])
Property size: [number] guest rooms
Reports to: [General Manager]
Direct reports: [none / one part-time technician]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Likely NON-EXEMPT (hourly, overtime-eligible). Read the note.
Compensation: $_ per hour
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Property Name] is a [number] room select-service hotel in [City, State]. This
is a hands-on role. You are the maintenance department: you plan the work and
you do the work. Roughly [80]% of the week is tools in hand, and the rest is
scheduling, ordering, vendor coordination, and records.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Working Chief Engineer keeps every guest room and building system running
at a small property, personally performing repairs and preventive maintenance
while managing the schedule, the vendors, the parts inventory, and the
Template 3: Boutique Hotel, Inn, or B&B Maintenance Manager
For a small or historic property, with repair-first work on aging systems, guest-aware scheduling around occupancy, and notes on older-building requirements.
Boutique Hotel, Inn, or B&B Maintenance Manager Job Description
BOUTIQUE HOTEL / INN / B&B MAINTENANCE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
lead and asbestos rules apply to renovation and repair work in older structures,
and local historic district rules may govern exterior changes. Confirm both
before scoping any project. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Property Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [hour / year], [benefits], [seasonal structure]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 4: Resort Maintenance Manager
For a campus rather than a building: grounds, pools, vehicles, multiple structures, a seasonal staffing ramp, and storm preparedness across a mixed technician and grounds team.
Resort Maintenance Manager Job Description
RESORT MAINTENANCE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
Property: __ ([City, State])
Property size: [number] rooms or units, [number] acres, [number] buildings
Reports to: [Director of Engineering / General Manager]
Direct reports: [number] technicians, [number] grounds staff
FLSA status: Exempt (verify against the classification note)
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Property Name] is a [number] unit resort in [City, State] spread across
[number] acres, with [pools, restaurants, spa, golf, marina, conference space,
villas, cabins]. Maintenance here is not one building. It is a small campus
with seasonal swings in occupancy and a lot of exterior exposure.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Resort Maintenance Manager leads maintenance across multiple buildings and
outdoor amenities, plans the seasonal work calendar around occupancy, manages a
mixed team of technicians and grounds staff, and controls a departmental budget
covering both routine repair and capital projects.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Operations
•Lead maintenance across [guest buildings, amenities, back of house, grounds]
•Plan the seasonal calendar: heavy projects in shoulder season, response mode
during peak occupancy
•Run preventive maintenance across [guest units, HVAC, pools, kitchens,
laundry, golf and grounds equipment, vehicles, generators]
•Own storm, freeze, and [hurricane / wildfire / flood] preparedness and the
seasonal shutdown and reopening procedures for [pools, irrigation, fountains]
Team
•Supervise [number] technicians and [number] grounds staff across shifts
•Hire, schedule, and train, including a seasonal staffing ramp
•Run safety training for equipment, chemicals, and vehicles
Compliance and budget
•Maintain aquatic facility operation, chemistry, and testing records
•Maintain fire and life-safety inspection records across every building
•Own OSHA compliance for a department using powered equipment and chemicals
•Build and manage the operating and capital budget
•Manage contractors for [paving, roofing, landscaping, pool service]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years in resort, hotel, or multi-building facility maintenance,
including [number] years supervising a team
•Strong HVAC, plumbing, and electrical background
•EPA Section 608 certification required
•Certified Pool Operator or equivalent aquatic facility certification
•[Pesticide applicator license, where grounds work requires it]
•Valid driver license and a clean record for property vehicles
•Experience managing an operating budget and outside contractors
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
A resort maintenance manager who genuinely supervises two or more full-time
employees, manages a recognized department, has real influence over hiring, and
earns at least $684 per week will typically meet the federal executive
exemption. Seasonal staffing does not change the analysis: the test looks at
whether the employee customarily and regularly directs two or more full-time
employees or the equivalent, so a supervisor of four half-time seasonal workers
can still satisfy it. Seasonal and youth employment rules apply to the crew, and
equipment and chemical restrictions apply to any worker under 18. This is
general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Property Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [bonus], [housing], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 5: Director of Engineering, Full-Service Hotel
For a larger property where the role owns capital planning, energy management, brand improvement work, and a multi-shift department. Pair it with the hotel general manager templates if you are building out the leadership team.
Director of Engineering, Full-Service Hotel Job Description
DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING JOB DESCRIPTION (FULL-SERVICE HOTEL)
Property: __ ([City, State])
Property size: [number] guest rooms, [square feet] of meeting space
Reports to: [General Manager]
Direct reports: [Assistant Chief Engineer, number technicians]
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: Exempt
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Property Name] is a [number] room full-service hotel in [City, State] with
[restaurants, banquet space, spa, parking structure]. The Director of
Engineering sits on the executive committee and owns the physical asset: its
condition, its compliance, its energy cost, and its capital plan.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Director of Engineering leads the engineering department for a full-service
property, owning capital planning, energy management, life-safety compliance,
brand and ownership standards, and the development of a multi-shift team.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategy and asset management
•Own the multi-year capital plan and present it to ownership
•Build and defend the annual engineering operating and capital budget
•Run energy and water management and report on consumption and savings
•Lead [property improvement plan / renovation] execution with the brand,
ownership, and the general contractor
•Advise on the condition and remaining life of major building systems
Department leadership
•Lead a department of [number] across [number] shifts
•Develop the assistant chief engineer and build a succession path
•Set standards, response time targets, and quality audits
•Own hiring, performance management, and training for the department
Compliance and risk
•Own life-safety systems and the full inspection and testing record
•Own OSHA compliance and the department safety program
•Maintain accessible guest room and public space features
•Serve on the emergency response and crisis management team
•Manage regulatory inspections with [fire marshal, health department,
elevator inspector, boiler inspector]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years in hotel engineering with [number] years leading a department
at a full-service property
•Deep knowledge of commercial HVAC, boilers, chillers, electrical
distribution, plumbing, and life-safety systems
•EPA Section 608 Universal certification
•[Stationary engineer or boiler operator license, where your city requires it]
•Proven capital budget ownership and contractor management
•[Bachelor degree in engineering or facilities management preferred]
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
This role is exempt in nearly every configuration: the primary duty is managing
a recognized department, it directs multiple full-time employees, it carries
real hiring authority, and the salary clears the federal threshold of $684 per
week comfortably. Document the duties in the job description anyway, because the
exemption is judged on what the person actually does. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Property Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ to $_ per year, [bonus], [relocation], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 6: Assistant Chief Engineer
For the second in command who performs advanced technical work, leads a shift, trains technicians, and covers the department. Frequently misclassified, so the note is blunt.
Assistant Chief Engineer Job Description
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER JOB DESCRIPTION
Property: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Chief Engineer / Director of Engineering]
Direct reports: [number] technicians when covering the department
Employment type: Full-time
FLSA status: [ ] Exempt [ ] Non-exempt (see the note; often non-exempt)
Compensation: $_ per [hour / year]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Property Name] is hiring an Assistant Chief Engineer to be the second in
command of our engineering department. You will do hands-on technical work at
the top of the team skill range, lead shifts, and cover the department when the
chief engineer is off property.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Assistant Chief Engineer performs advanced maintenance and repair work,
leads the shift, trains technicians, and takes full responsibility for the
engineering department during the chief engineer's absence.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Perform advanced HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and building system repairs
•Lead the [shift name] and assign daily work to technicians
•Act as department head when the chief engineer is off property or on leave
•Train technicians and verify the quality of completed work
•Run the preventive maintenance schedule and keep the completion records
Assistant chief engineer is frequently misclassified as exempt because the title
sounds supervisory. Look at the day instead. If the primary duty is performing
technical work rather than managing, and the leadership piece is limited to
assigning tasks on a shift, the role is non-exempt: hourly and overtime-eligible
past 40 hours in a week. Covering the department occasionally when the chief
engineer is out does not make management the primary duty. Many properties run
this role as non-exempt on purpose, because the overtime is real and paying it
correctly is cheaper than defending a misclassification. This is general
information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Property Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per [hour / year], [overtime], [on-call pay], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Exempt or Not: the Two-Employee Test
Most hotel maintenance manager roles fail the executive exemption on a single requirement: supervising two or more full-time employees. Title, salary, and responsibility for a budget do not substitute for it, and hotels below roughly 120 rooms rarely clear it.
The federal regulation defining the executive exemption sets four requirements that must all be met together: a primary duty of managing the enterprise or a customarily recognized department, customarily and regularly directing the work of two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent, authority to hire and fire or particular weight given to those recommendations, and a salary of at least $684 per week under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The two-employee test decides the pay structure
The federal executive exemption has four requirements, and hotels reliably fail the second one. The employee must manage the property or a recognized department, must customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more full-time employees or the equivalent, must have real authority or influence over hiring and firing, and must earn at least $684 per week. A chief engineer at a select-service hotel who is the only maintenance employee on payroll directs nobody, so the exemption is unavailable no matter what the business card says. The practical rule: count the direct reports before you decide between hourly and salary. Two or more full-time equivalents opens the door, and fewer than that closes it. Two half-time technicians count as one full-time equivalent. This is general information, not legal advice.
Life-safety records are the manager's job, not the vendor's
Fire alarm, sprinkler, standpipe, emergency lighting, and extinguisher systems all carry inspection and testing schedules set by the fire code your state or city has adopted, and hotels are inspected against them. The vendor performs the test, but the property owns the record, and the person who owns the record is almost always the maintenance manager. Write that into the job description explicitly, because a posting that lists repair duties and omits compliance attracts candidates who have never held a binder in front of a fire marshal. The same applies to elevator and boiler certificates, which many jurisdictions require to be current and posted. Ask about inspection history in the interview and you will learn more about a candidate than any technical question reveals.
Pools and refrigerant carry named certifications
Two credentials come up in nearly every hotel maintenance manager posting. EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for anyone who maintains, services, repairs, or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant, which covers the PTAC units in guest rooms and every chiller and walk-in cooler on property. Pool and spa operation is regulated at the state or local level, and many health departments require a certified operator of record for a public pool, which a hotel pool generally is. Decide before you post whether you require each credential on day one or will reimburse it within 90 days, because that single choice materially changes the size of your candidate pool and the pay you need to offer.
The department owns an OSHA program
Hotel maintenance touches nearly every hazard class OSHA regulates: energized equipment, chemicals, ladders and fall exposure, confined spaces in boiler and mechanical rooms, and powered equipment. The maintenance manager typically owns the control of hazardous energy procedure, the hazard communication program and Safety Data Sheet access, personal protective equipment, and the training records that prove all of it happened. That is a real responsibility, so put it in the posting rather than discovering in month three that your new manager assumed someone else handled safety. Accessibility belongs in the same bucket: hotels are places of public accommodation, and keeping accessible guest room and public space features in working order is maintenance work with legal consequences when it is skipped.
When the role comes out non-exempt, track hours and pay overtime past forty in a week, and treat on-call time carefully, since restrictions tight enough to prevent personal use of the time can make it compensable. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through each test in order.
Certifications, Life Safety, and What You Are Really Buying
Two certifications appear in nearly every hotel maintenance manager posting, and both are worth stating explicitly. EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for refrigerant work, and pool operator certification is required by many health departments for a public pool.
Section 608 is not optional wherever refrigerant is involved. The EPA technician certification program covers anyone who maintains, services, repairs, or disposes of equipment that could release refrigerant, which in a hotel means every guest room PTAC unit, every chiller, and every walk-in cooler. A candidate without it cannot legally touch most of what breaks.
Requirement
How to handle it in the posting
EPA Section 608
Treat as required; state whether day one or reimbursed within 90 days
Pool operator certification
Required wherever you have a pool or spa; check your state health department
Stationary engineer license
City-specific and tied to boiler capacity; verify before you post
Electrical or plumbing license
State-specific and scope-dependent; state the limit of in-house work
Fire and life-safety records
Name it as a duty, not an afterthought; ask about it in the interview
OSHA program ownership
State that the role owns lockout/tagout, hazard communication, and PPE
Accessibility upkeep
Keeping accessible room features working is maintenance with legal weight
FLSA classification
Decide on direct reports and duties, then state it plainly in the posting
Safety is the other half of what you are buying. The OSHA standard on the control of hazardous energy requires documented procedures and training before anyone services equipment where unexpected startup could cause injury, and in a hotel that responsibility sits with the maintenance manager. Pair the posting with a written workplace safety policy so the expectations are documented from day one.
What to Pay a Hotel Maintenance Manager
There is no Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation for hotel maintenance manager, so any figure presented as one is an estimate rather than a survey result. The closest official benchmark is first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers, with facilities managers and lodging managers framing the range above and below.
The Closest Official Benchmark
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers had a national median annual wage of $79,860, with the 10th percentile at $49,600, the 25th at $62,690, the 75th at $101,360, and the 90th at $126,790 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS). Hospitality generally pays below the all-industry median for this supervisory group.
Benchmark occupation
National median (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
How it relates to the role
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
$79,860 per year
The closest match for a chief engineer with direct reports
Facilities managers
$106,660 per year
A ceiling reference for a director of engineering at a full-service property
Lodging managers
$69,250 per year
The general manager the chief engineer usually reports to
Maintenance and repair workers, general
$49,590 per year
The technicians the manager supervises, and the floor for a working chief
Supervisors, 25th percentile
$62,690 per year
A realistic band for a smaller property with one or two reports
Supervisors, 75th percentile
$101,360 per year
Full-service properties in high-cost markets
Supervisors, 90th percentile
$126,790 per year
Large properties, multi-property scope, or specialized systems
Position within that ladder is driven by property size, whether the role carries direct reports, and which certifications you require, more than by geography. A working chief engineer with no reports belongs closer to the technician figure plus a premium for the management and compliance work, not at the supervisor median. Publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws apply.
Companies Using FirstHR Onboard 3x Faster
Join hundreds of small businesses who transformed their new hire experience.
Hiring a Maintenance Manager Without an HR Department
Independent hotel hiring fails in three predictable places: the posting describes a property you do not have, the title carries a pay structure that does not fit the duties, and the compliance paperwork scatters the moment the hire starts. Each has a fix.
You are the general manager, the revenue manager, and the HR department at the same time
At an independent or single-franchise hotel, the person writing the maintenance manager job description is usually the general manager, between a group booking and a broken elevator. There is no corporate HR office to request a posting from, so the description either gets written properly or it gets copied from a full-service property that has a twelve-person engineering department. Candidates notice immediately. A posting promising a team, a capital budget, and an executive committee seat, attached to a 90 room select-service hotel where the role is a department of one, produces applicants who quit inside a quarter. Write what the job actually is. The right candidate for a hands-on working chief engineer role is proud of that work and will not apply to a posting pretending to be something else.
The title inherited from the brand does not match the job or the pay structure
Hospitality titles travel between properties of wildly different sizes. Chief engineer at a 400 room convention hotel and chief engineer at a 90 room select-service property are not the same job, but they share a title, which is how properties end up paying a salary with no overtime to someone who directs no one and works 55 hours a week during a heat wave. Decide the classification from the duties before you decide the title, not after. If the role has no direct reports, run it non-exempt, pay the overtime, and compete on hourly rate, on-call pay, tool allowance, and certification reimbursement instead. Those are real and they cost less than a back wage claim.
Certifications, safety training, and inspection records live in four different places
Hotel maintenance generates paperwork with expiration dates: EPA Section 608 cards, pool operator certificates, state trade licenses, lockout/tagout and hazard communication training acknowledgments, plus the fire, elevator, and boiler inspection records the property itself carries. At most independent hotels these sit in a filing cabinet, an email folder, and someone's truck. FirstHR was built for exactly this. Document management stores certificates against each employee profile with renewal dates attached, training modules deliver and record safety orientation before the first independent shift, e-signature captures the acknowledgments, and the onboarding wizard runs the same sequence for every hire so nothing depends on remembering. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. Note that FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Once the offer is signed, the work shifts to a repeatable onboarding checklist, which for this role means safety training and certification verification before the first independent shift rather than during the first busy weekend.
Key Takeaways
Hotel maintenance manager and chief engineer are the same job under two titles, and neither title tells you the scope, so state room count, direct reports, and the hands-on versus management split in the posting itself.
Classification turns on the two-employee test: the federal executive exemption requires customarily and regularly directing two or more full-time employees or the equivalent, plus a salary of at least $684 per week.
A working chief engineer who is the only maintenance employee on property is non-exempt, hourly, and owed overtime past forty hours in a week regardless of the title or the salary offered.
EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for refrigerant work, which covers guest room PTAC units, and pool operator certification is required by many health departments for a hotel pool.
There is no BLS occupation for hotel maintenance manager; the closest benchmark, first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers, had a national median of $79,860 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Life-safety, elevator, and boiler inspection records belong to the property rather than the vendor, so name record ownership as a duty in the posting and ask about it in the interview.
Hotel maintenance hiring generates paperwork with expiration dates. FirstHR stores certification copies against each employee profile with renewal dates attached, delivers and records safety training before the first independent shift, and captures policy acknowledgments with built-in e-signature. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a hotel maintenance manager do?
A hotel maintenance manager, often titled chief engineer, owns the physical condition of the property. The work splits into four parts: preventive maintenance on guest rooms and building systems, fast response to guest work orders while the guest is still on property, life-safety and regulatory compliance including fire, elevator, boiler, and pool records, and the management side covering the team, the vendors, the parts inventory, and the budget. Systems in scope typically include HVAC and PTAC units, plumbing, electrical, boilers, laundry and kitchen equipment, elevators, pools and spas, and the building envelope. How much of the week is spent with tools in hand depends entirely on property size. At a select-service hotel the manager is usually the whole department and does the repairs personally. At a full-service property the role is closer to a department head with a capital budget.
Is a hotel maintenance manager exempt or non-exempt?
It depends on the duties, not the title, and a large share of hotel maintenance managers are non-exempt. The federal executive exemption requires four things at once: a primary duty of managing the enterprise or a recognized department, customarily and regularly directing the work of two or more full-time employees or the equivalent, genuine authority or influence over hiring and firing, and a salary of at least $684 per week. Hotels most often fail the second requirement. A chief engineer at a smaller property who is the only maintenance employee on payroll directs no one, so the exemption is unavailable and the role must be paid hourly with overtime past 40 hours in a week. Count the direct reports before choosing between salary and hourly, and remember that two half-time employees count as one full-time equivalent. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a chief engineer and a maintenance manager at a hotel?
In practice there is no consistent difference. Chief engineer is the traditional hospitality title and maintenance manager is the general facilities term, and properties use them interchangeably for the same job. What actually varies is scope, and it varies by property size rather than by title. Director of engineering usually signals a full-service property with a multi-shift department, a capital budget, and a seat on the executive committee. Chief engineer or maintenance manager usually signals a single-property role that may or may not have direct reports. Assistant chief engineer is the deputy who does advanced technical work and covers the department. Because the titles do not settle the scope, state the room count, the number of direct reports, and the split between hands-on repair and management in the posting itself.
How much does a hotel maintenance manager make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a separate occupation for hotel maintenance manager, so the closest benchmark is first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), that occupation had a national median annual wage of $79,860, with the bottom 10 percent under $49,600 and the top 10 percent above $126,790. Adjacent classifications frame the range: facilities managers had a median of $106,660, lodging managers $69,250, and general maintenance and repair workers, the technicians a chief engineer supervises, $49,590. Hospitality typically pays below the all-industry supervisor median, so treat $79,860 as a mid-to-upper reference rather than a starting point. Property size, whether the role has direct reports, and required certifications move the number more than geography does.
What certifications does a hotel maintenance manager need?
Two credentials come up in nearly every posting. EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for anyone who maintains, services, repairs, or disposes of equipment containing refrigerant, which covers guest room PTAC units, chillers, and walk-in coolers, so it is effectively mandatory. Pool and spa operator certification is required by many state and local health departments for a public pool, and a hotel pool generally qualifies as one, so any property with a pool should treat it as required. Beyond those, some cities require a licensed stationary engineer or boiler operator for properties above a certain boiler capacity, and some states require trade licenses for electrical or plumbing work above a defined scope. Decide before posting whether each credential is required on day one or reimbursed within 90 days, because that choice changes both your candidate pool and the pay you need to offer.
Does a small hotel need a maintenance manager or a technician?
Match the posting to the work rather than to the title you would like to offer. If the person will personally perform the repairs and has no one to supervise, you are hiring a technician or a working chief engineer, and that role is non-exempt and hourly regardless of the title on the door. If the person will direct two or more full-time employees, own a budget, and manage vendors, you are hiring a manager and the exempt classification may hold. Getting this wrong in the posting costs you twice: you attract candidates expecting a department that does not exist, and you set up a wage and hour problem by pairing a management title with a salary and no direct reports. For an hourly technician role at a hotel, use a hotel maintenance technician posting instead of this one.
What should a hotel maintenance manager job description include?
Seven things, in this order. State the property profile: room count, building count, and whether it is select-service, full-service, boutique, or resort. State the number of direct reports, or state plainly that there are none. State the split between hands-on repair and management, because that single line filters more candidates correctly than anything else in the posting. List the systems in scope rather than writing building systems generically. Name the required certifications and whether you reimburse them. State the FLSA classification and, if non-exempt, how overtime and on-call pay work. Close with the pay range, the shift and on-call expectation, the physical requirements, an equal opportunity statement, and a named person to apply to. The six templates on this page are built around that structure. Once the hire is made, FirstHR stores the certification copies and safety training records this role generates, with renewal dates attached. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
