Using financial data derived from 27 hotel companies operating in Tunisia, the paper reports an analysis of hotel profitability. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Return On Assets (ROA) analysis managerial efficiency is shown to be important when holding geographical and operating contracts as constants. Nonetheless these two aspects have important implications for hotel profitability. Hotel size, level of indebtedness, exposure to crisis events and levels of managers' education are also influential. The implications for management tenure and optimal age of a hotel are discussed