Attention to minutia and, at the same time, keeping the overall “big picture” in the back of your mind seems to be a trait that all good hotel managers have.
A very successful General Manager of a large, luxurious, successful hotel in Atlanta was walking the grounds (that’s part of his job, too) when he spied a soft drink can on the grass. He picked it up and put it in his pocket to dispose of later. He was asked “why did you do that instead of getting an employee to do it?” The reply was “we can’t afford to allow anyone at all to see this flaw in our landscaping. The outside of the facility is what people judge us by. If they see a groomed, flawless exterior, it gives them an indication that all our services will live up to the same standards.”
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A good manager has a vision for moving his facility forward and a good idea about how to go about it. Perhaps the restaurant isn’t meeting its revenue goals. Obviously, prices cannot increase in today’s market. A good manager has this problem, plus any others that need attention, working in his subconscious, even as he greets guests, reports to higher ups, relieves at the front desk, confers with the grounds maintenance manager about that soft drink can and how long it had been there.
By the time a day or two has passed, his conscious mind becomes aware of what needs to be done, whether it’s special promotions to hotel guests, getting a new chef (if he’s heard negative muttering about the food) getting a band, setting up a dance area to attract local residents to make the restaurant their favorite “hangout” spot or total renovation to make the restaurant “edgy” i.e., a novel, imaginative visual appeal and, perhaps, a new, imaginative menu.
A successful hotel manager practices good ethics and instills those in all the employees. He is passionate about his facility and projects that enthusiasm both on and off the job. He/she is also an active listener, giving his total attention to the person talking whether it is the present occupant of the Presidential Suite or an employee many levels under him.
Speaking of “the job,” the hotel manager is never off duty. Even when he goes home to his family, he must remain available in case emergencies come up. He works on holidays. If you consider your family time sacrosanct, don’t plan a career in hotel management.
Another quality a good hotel manager possesses is the ability to make decisions within whatever deadline is presented. If he has the time, he will confer with the heads of the departments that could be affected. After he’s decided, he is able to delegate responsibilities to the appropriate department head.
The power of networking is very important in this job, thus the good manager belongs to local and national business and management groups, keeps him/herself informed about recent trends within the industry and, hopefully, has time to act as mentor to some of his subordinates.
Now that we’ve described attributes of a successful hotel manager, let’s do a summary. A good hotel manager needs to be a good example to all workers, not just managerial staff. If you see a job that needs doing, do it. It will help maintain good employee morale. Learn to delegate and, after you’ve delegated the task, give employees some flexibility about how they do it. Although you’ll naturally like people with your same viewpoints, hire some who think differently than you in order to get fresh viewpoints. Share information. If the news is bad and you try to hide it, the rumor mill will go to work and, often, come up with something worse. Stay calm in all instances. In this age of corporate downsizing, if you’ve had workforce reductions, don’t delegate everything. Everyone has to pitch in to absorb the work of that down-sized employee.
Most of all, be consistent. Nothing will destroy the morale of your employees faster than to see you act one way in one situation or with one person and differently with someone else. Somewhere between home and your arrival at work, get ready for work by switching over to your cheerful work mode, even if you felt crummy when you left home.
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