Reception Manager - Dakota Manchester Airport opening summer 2026

We’re preparing to open our largest hotel yet, Dakota Manchester Airport, launching in early summer 2026. This brand-new property will feature our signature Bar & Grill and deliver the exceptional guest experience Dakota is known for.

We’re looking for an experienced front-of-house professional with a warm, approachable personality to join us as Reception Manager. You’ll bring strong leadership skills and a passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences while guiding and motivating our front of house team.

Contract and Pay Rate

The role carries a permanent contract of a minimum of 42.5 hours per week; usually shifts will be varied, working any 5 days out of 7 including weekends. The gross annual salary is £33,000 plus an annual incentive bonus to earn up to £2,000, with a planned start date of 1st May 2026.

Primary Role Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Hotel Manager, the role of Reception Manager is responsible for the leadership and the direct line management of the Reception and nights team as well as Guest Relations.
• As the head of department, carry out managerial duties including attending the weekly Operations meeting, preparing rotas, holiday management, carrying out job interviews, work closely with other departments, and managing performance.
• Be proactive in driving improvement, always considering ways to implement change to improve the guest experience.
• Work to continuously develop the teams’ knowledge and provide on-the-job coaching and be proactive in implementing procedures that continually improve the service.
• Write departmental standard operating procedures and always strive to improve the teams’ knowledge of the wider hotel operation.
• Lead the team to provide a consistently high level of guest service in accordance to our service principles and values, ensuring that all guests receive special attention and recognition.
• Offer additional services to make the guest experience more seamless i.e. making restaurant reservations, assisting in directions, delivering items to rooms.
• To carry out Reception duties including welcoming guests to Dakota, checking in and out guests, carrying out ad hoc requests, making bedroom and table reservations, light housekeeping tasks, and handling guest billing.
• To be fully proficient in all aspects of the front of house department, including reservations, night shift, and guest relations tasks.
• Be the appointed Duty Manager for the hotel where required to do so.

Benefits

• Special discounts on stays and dining at any Dakota.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program which includes free private mental health support and counselling sessions, video GP consultations and private prescription services, as well as access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers.
• Support from our inhouse Mental Health Champions.
• Additional holiday day on the first anniversary of your employment.
• Family-friendly flexible working options.
• Meals on duty and uniforming.
• Bonuses to recommend a friend to join our team and every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor.
• Accredited, certified compliance training given on employment.
• Access to a suite of external, certified resources via our Learning Management System.
• Supportive continuous professional development culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a Personal Development Plan.
• Opportunities to undertake both internal and external training courses, including potential for in-house Apprenticeships.

About Dakota Hotels

Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle with Manchester Airport coming soon and more in our pipeline.

Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last six years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK for the last two years, where our inclusive culture was spotlighted.

As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for five consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent.

Applicant Requirements

• At least 2 years’ experience working in a front of house role in a supervisory or managerial capacity. (required)
• A minimum of 4 years’ experience working in a 4* and 5* hotel environment, being a Duty Manager (preferable).
• Strong skillset and genuine desire to deliver training and coaching.
• Be a great communicator and a genuine people person.
• Holding valid personal license (preferable).
• Fully flexible in working shifts including evenings and weekends (required).
• An enthusiastic individual who will promote our culture of positivity.
• Be task oriented with a great pride for the work they do and attention to detail.
• Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team.

Please send us your up to date CV. For more information on our luxury hotel, visit our Careers page to learn about current opportunities and find your #DreamRolesAtDakota – we’d love to hear from you!