Research data was collected through postal questionnaires sent to five star hotels with 50 or more rooms in Scotland. The aim was to examine the formal qualifications and development of hotel general managers. The research focused on the career development of Scotland's five-star hotel managers and examined the role of formal qualifications in the career development of general managers. The intended audience for this study is hotel managers and individuals working in the hospitality industry or who are studying the sector to determine what qualifications are necessary to obtain the desired career development. Limitations arise due to the small sample size from only a single region and culture of people, which provides incomplete evidence of multiple factors arising from other styles of hotels, exclusion Also non-five-star hotels can also skew the data. A larger sample from different hotels and countries should be carried out. The author concludes that 76 people in the sample had formal qualifications to become a general manager, but formal qualifications are not necessary to become one, but having them is a good starting point in the industry (Harper, Brown , Wilson, 2005). This article is important to the hospitality industry because it provides important information for former graduate students and individuals with limited experience looking to break into the industry and take on the role of general manager. This information can be applied to other hotels than 5 star hotels, but the information collected is more applicable in a western five star hotel and should focus on