To quote the award-winning author and speech-coach, Patricia Fripp, “It’s not your customer’s job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.”
Operating a successful hotel can be made or broken by hotel management. Like all in a management position, a hotel manager represents a fearless leader who must march his troops of chefs, maids, and concierges into battle every day.
Together as a team, it is their duty to ensure that the sleepy, travel-worn hotel patrons are well taken care of while they are away from home. It is no easy feat being a leader- you must constantly make sure that you are on your A-game, otherwise, no one will be willing to follow you. The following are just some of the qualities that make up a successful hotel manager.
Confidence
Confidence, confidence, confidence! This word, when embraced fully, can take any manager to great heights. Staff will follow a manager who is self-assured and comfortable in their ability to make decisions.
In hotel hospitality, it is imperative for the manager to remain poised and positive in the face of an unhappy guest. Having the confidence to fix any issue speaks volumes. A good hotel manager can set aside fear and worry and confidently come up with a solution, no matter the situation.
Compassion
Compassion is at the heart of hospitality. Since hospitality is the business of taking care of others in a friendly and generous way, compassion is a quality that any successful hotel manager must-have. Showing compassion in this job title could mean going the extra mile to make sure that all guests are comfortable and feel safe.
If a fellow staff member is unhappy, a compassionate hotel manager could step in and ensure that they feel heard and taken care of. Listening graciously with an open mind and heart to all issues staff and guest-related is the key to being an effective manager and leader.
Developing habits of compassion is an inside job that can intentionally be strengthened. For managers in the hospitality industry, honing your abilities to expand compassion for yourself and for others is a powerful skill that will serve you well both professionally and personally.
Integrity
When it comes to hotel management, anything could go wrong at a moment’s notice. It is of the utmost importance that the hotel manager maintains poise and integrity in the face of any issue. A good hotel manager should be able to listen calmly to a dissatisfied guest and come up with a solution without losing their cool. There will be guests who might not have the most professional personalities when they are unhappy- and a successful manager mustn’t argue back. Integrity is everything in hospitality.
Flexibility
As with all things in life, one must be flexible. Curveballs will be thrown without any kind of warning and it is the hotel manager’s responsibility to roll with the punches and change trajectory, if necessary. In the hotel industry, unforeseen issues arise all of the time – having the flexibility to adapt to change without falling apart is definitely an outstanding quality of a good hotel manager.
As a related piece of advice by Joy Rothschild, Chief Human Resources Officer at Omni Hotels and Resorts, “You do need to be willing to go where the opportunities are. The more flexible you are, the better.”
Anticipation/Good Listening Skills
Nothing satisfies a guest more than having their needs met before they even have to ask. Anticipation and good listening skills are crucial in hospitality. A good hotel manager should be able to think “what would I want out of this situation?” and ensure that it happens for the guest before they even realize that it was needed.
They also must be a fierce listener, hearing out all questions and concerns stated by guests and staff alike. Plus, having open ears means learning a thing or two that could later come in handy. These kinds of qualities in a good hotel manager will guarantee happy guests who are willing to come back again and an enthusiastic staff who are willing to continue doing all that they can to further ensure guest satisfaction.
Team-Building
In order to run a successful hotel, a hotel manager must first make absolutely sure that their staff, the legs of the entire operation, are content and feel like they are valued. Team building is such an important part of becoming a better manager.
Think about it – if the staff is unhappy and unmotivated, it could be detrimental to the employee-guest relationship. One of the most important characteristics of a good hotel manager is to instill in their team the idea that working together is the only way to get the job done.
Hotel management comes with some incredible opportunities. It is an extremely rewarding career that allows you to travel abroad and meet people from all walks of life. Before leaping into this job title, however, an effective leader must make sure that they encompass confidence, compassion, integrity, flexibility, anticipation, the ability to listen, mental resilience, and strong team-building skills.
If a hotel manager can nail all of these down, they will be unstoppable, all the while cultivating an environment where the hotel can thrive beautifully.
