As an F&B Director, you own the food and beverage operation across a hotel, resort, or hospitality property — restaurants, bars, banquets, room service, and any retail food outlets. The job is part chef-adjacent, part operations executive, all P&L.
F and B Director (Food and Beverage Director) pay typically runs $82K–$105K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to grow 6% through 2034.
A typical week often blends leadership team meetings, financial reviews, walk-throughs of outlets, and direct staff interactions during peak service. You'll often spend part of the time on menu strategy with executive chefs, beverage program decisions with sommeliers or bar leads, and labor planning with restaurant managers and banquet teams.
The harder part is often the financial discipline — F&B can sink a property through labor and food cost, and the margins are notoriously tight. You'll typically manage a team that includes very experienced chefs and managers with strong opinions, while making sure all of it ladders up to a number the GM and ownership can defend.
People who tend to thrive here are operationally rigorous, hospitality-minded, and unafraid of the floor. The trade-off is the schedule and the breadth — F&B operates seven days a week, and you're responsible for it all. If you find satisfaction in leading the part of a property where guests judge fastest, this role can be a career-defining destination.
It's your career.
Take the wheel.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Your job belongs to your employer.
Your career belongs to you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Food Service roles →As an F&B Director, you own the food and beverage operation across a hotel, resort, or hospitality property — restaurants, bars, banquets, room service, and any retail food outlets. The job is part chef-adjacent, part operations executive, all P&L.
Median pay for an F and B Director (Food and Beverage Director) is about $65K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $42K to $105K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Management of Personnel Resources, and Coordination.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 6.4% through 2034, with roughly 244,230 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Parks and Recreation Manager, Senior Drilling And Production Superintendent, and Water and Sewer Systems Supervisor.
Do one small thing to grow in your career this week. Pick one of these; each comes with the words to use.
More career advice
We believe careers grow through small steps taken often, more than big leaps. So we’ve collected hundreds of them for you to try.
Browse career adviceDon't know if you want to stay in your job?
Get your career on record. Then decide.