Great Hotel Managers

Introduction

On a classic day, a hotel manager might interview a new job aspirant, appraise the hotel's budget for accurateness, talk with housekeeping about alteration in routine, deal with a minor leak in room 209, check the condition of the foyer and hallways, plan an upcoming redecoration, handle guest complaints, plan staff schedules for the subsequent week, settle a contract with a new food service company, fire an undependable doorman, and note that the plants at the front desk are wilting and are due for watering.

Duties of a manager

Naturally, this job can be a very rough one. Hotel managers face all sorts of crises daily. They must make many speedy decisions with grace and style. They must have a good business sense and know how to endorse their hotel through advertisement, promotional events and unique offers. All managers are responsible for:

1) Hiring, firing, and supervising employees
2) Administering budgets
3) Walking the hotel to ensure that all is well

Like other big organizations, contemporary hotels are organized into different departments. The number of departments depends upon the size of the hotel. In a small hotel there may be a single manager and one department. A very big hotel may have ten departments or more, each administered by an assistant manager. Each department manager needs specific skills. On top of them is a general manager, who supervises them all. The following departments are usually found in large hotels.

1) Guest services or "Rooms"
2) Housekeeping
3) Food & beverage
4) Security
5) Recreation
6) Banqueting
7) Conferences and events
8) Accounting/finance
9) Purchasing
10) Human resources
11) Marketing/sales
12) Property management
13) Management information service

Qualities of a good manager

But it's not enough to be well organized, resourceful, and familiar with financial practices and budgets. Managers must also have first-class people skills. Genuine operational standards don’t exist in instruction manuals; they are set by managers who can be observed creating quality hospitality everyday. In point of fact, these managers treat both employees and guests with genuine warmth and generosity, the seal of hospitality. The best managers always seem to materialize at just the right moment when the staff is nearly snowed under; they not only provide that additional set of hands to help physically, but help you gain assurance that things will work out.

Conclusion

A Hotel manager wears a dozen different hats and juggles a variety of different tasks. As managers who supervise the running of entire hotels, they must have an unbelievable eye for detail, gigantic organizational ability, and loads of energy.

Prabhash Bhatnagar is Manager of Sales & Marketing, maker of hotel management software, and Resort management software handles the key aspects of the running of client’s business, including bookings & reservations, Housekeeping, Spa, POS and generating reports.