Brian Sparrow has the hotel business in his blood. His
grandfather founded The Norwood Hotel, a boutique operation, in 1937, so it's
no surprise Brian decided to carry on the family tradition after working in
almost area of hotel operations while attending college and attaining a
commerce degree. By 1999, he was the assistant general manager and has been the
hotel's general manager since 2003.
To hear him speak is to know he thrives on a career with
variety and challenge. "The thing I enjoy most working in this business is
your days are never the same. You need a whole range of skills to be a
successful hotel manager."
Among the Skills Sparrow Lists
- You
have to relate really well to people, not only to your customers, but you
have to know how to handle your own staff. The human resources function is
as important as your marketing and accounting functions.
- You
have to be level-headed because of all the different people you're
handling.
- You
need a solid financial background because you'll need to understand
accounting.
- You
need a sold marketing background. This is especially important for an
independent hotel, not tied to a flag, where the hotel does its own
marketing.
And forget having a 9-to-5 mentality. The hotel manager is
on call 24 hours a day. While there are certain tasks handled daily or weekly -
studying staff reports and occupancy reports, meeting with the assistant GM,
going over staff and room assignments, meeting with the food and beverage
manager, and going over room inspections, to name the main tasks - you can
receive a call at virtually any hour to handle a hotel-related situation.
Says Sparrow, "If you're not here at 1 a.m., you have
to have someone just like you in the hotel at that time. This is a job that
requires total commitment and dedication."
On top of what goes on inside the hotel, you have to be
involved with the community as you help promote the hotel to the outside world.
A Typical Day?
8 a.m. GMs are in their offices before 8 a.m. to get a
handle on what happened the day before. They study labor and revenue reports to
get a sense of the day just passed. Then they forecast the day ahead, studying
any issues that might arise, whether there are VIPs coming to the hotel, if
there are significant catering events planned.
10 a.m. GMs walk around the hotel to visit their staff.
11 a.m. GMs return to their desks, handle messages and their
own tasks, whether communications or administrative.
Lunch. Entertain a guest or employee.
2 p.m. Return to administrative tasks and ongoing projects.
4 p.m. Hold staff or communications meetings, mid to late
afternoon, close to the time of shift changes.
5 p.m. Walk the property and make the transition to the
evening shift.
Anytime: Be on call for issues that arise.
The Hotel Manager's Career Path
The path to become a hotel general manager is changing, say
those in the industry.
"I'm not sure there's one clearly defined career
path," says Graeme Barrit, president of the North American Coast Hotels
chain. "One of our GMs has a sales background; one, a food and beverage
background. Today there's a bias to a rooms background, but that's not graven
in stone. A lot of that would be based on the size of the building. The smaller
the building, the likelier the hotel manager is to have a strong rooms
background."
Today's GM needs to have an undergraduate degree. But, as
Barrit says, this degree is generally no longer enough to reach the GM level.
Candidates "need to be better communicators, better leaders. Leadership is
couched in experience and learning, which doesn't have to be
hospitality-specific."
He adds, the successful hotel manager will combine these
qualities:
- Strong
operational management ability
- A deep
knowledge of the hotel business
- Effective
leadership skills
Small or Large Hotel?
The main difference in working for a small or large hotel,
boutique vs. chain, is the team at your disposal and how hands-on you are.
"In a really big hotel," says Barrit, "you have a rooms division
manager, a director of food and beverage, and others, and you're working with
them. In a smaller hotel, there aren't a lot of layers, and you're working with
supervisory staff vs. managers and directors."
These different sized properties can attract different
personalities. Says Barrit, "Some people grow to bigger properties. Some
are more comfortable in a smaller, more personalized property."
At the end of the day, though, hotel managers in both small
and large properties are focused on quality service and a quality product, both
for employees and customers.
Tips to Get Ahead
- Talk
to other hotel managers in the industry.
- Be responsible
for your own career. Don't wait for someone else to be responsible for
your progress.
- Find a
mentor. The hotel industry is made up of people genuinely interested in
their teams.
- If
you're already working in a hotel, try different positions, cross-train
and try different departments. These people get ahead because they learn
the different cultures and revenue centres.
- On the
job, be innovative and show initiative.