Hotel sales managers spend every hour of every work week selling their property to potential guests. Operations managers spend their time hopefully delivering on the promises made by the sales people. But, how well do any of them really know their own property?
The answer to that question is rather simple, but it is answered with another question. Have the managers ever actually stayed at the property? Have they attended a function? If they have not experienced the hotel through the eyes of a guest, how can they possibly know what it is they are selling? If they have not stayed at the hotel, how can they possibly truly understand where the operational challenges are?
See the Hotel with Fresh Eyes
If you are about to take a job at a hotel property, ask the general manager for a weekend at the hotel BEFORE you start the job. This is especially important for any operations or sales managers. It should also be done without the staff knowing who the person is. It defeats the purpose of the new managers seeing the property as it truly is if there is a VIP tag on the reservation and everyone is on their best behavior around the manager.
When staying at the property, experience everything it has to offer. Use room service. Take a meal in the restaurant at every meal period. Take a stroll through the banquet space as functions are going on to see what the setups look like. This is the ONLY time you will be able to look at the property without some type of blinders on, so soak it all in.
Overnight MOD Shifts
I have to admit, when I was forced to stay at a property over the weekend as the MOD, I was not exactly happy. Hindsight, though, this is a great way for managers to see the property and experience it from the guest’s point of view. This should be rotated throughout the entire management staff, so managers would only pull three or four MOD weekends a year at most.
Shopper Stays
Another effective way to ensure the staff is delivering the level of service desired is to use shoppers to stay at the property. This should be done anonymously, without anyone ever knowing who the shopper is until after the fact. These reports can be extremely useful, especially when conducted after a busy stretch for the hotel. This tends to be a time when everyone lets their guard down. Those guests deserve the same experience as everyone else, so attack your weakest points to make the hotel a better operation overall.
If you are looking for managers for your hotel or hospitality organization, consider JDI. Joseph David International has more than a decade-long record of successfully placing managers in the hospitality industry. For more information about our executive manager recruiting service, click here.
Photo By haveseen