Working as a hotel manager requires that one has a certain level of experience while still working hard on the job. This is because management does not come easy, irrespective of rank. It is usually even more challenging when there are a lot of people and staff to manage. Nonetheless, with certain tricks and tips, anyone can learn to become a better manager.
To help you, we have gathered 11 of the top tips, guides, and tricks that will spur you to become a better hotel manager.
Don't be too indecisive.
Productive managers make decisions rapidly but carefully. A hotelier's day is filled continuously with conferences and transactions with staff, customers, visitors, agents, providers, and guests, amidst many other contacts. The objective of each meeting and gathering sometimes revolves around decision-making. Effective hoteliers either enable their staff to arrive at an alluring result, or they do it without anyone else's help. The goal is to "get things going" consistently – entrusting growth and keeping the hotel in better shape all time.
To be a better hotel manager, you must have critical thinking skills that will allow him to analyze and evaluate situations, thereby making rational decisions very fast. An indecisive manager will find himself stuck up in a dilemma all the time, which will affect the hotel management's smooth running.
Get out of your comfort zone.
Explore things outside of your comfort zone and get familiar with trying them. Do.not stick to a particular way you know or have been practicing for years while still hoping for better results. It doesn't work that way. Ask questions, do your own research, take courses and do things that will contribute to your personal and professional growth.
Lead but don't order
Individuals genuinely follow just those they trust. However, you can not buy the trust; you can only earn it. Therefore, try to earn your staff's trust. This may not come easy, especially since you are a manager; you can only learn to befriend and guide them, hoping they learn to trust you. Act according to their words and lead by example. You can't instill discipline in your staff when you have not disciplined yourself. Exhibit your dedication to the job and do your best to deliver 100%; soon, your team will follow. Be a manager that can lead and lead by example.
Surround yourself with the right people
Among the rising population of employees in the hospitality industry, surround yourself with intellectuals and people with experience. Attend conferences, dinners, and professional gatherings to network and meet new and valuable people. You can ask some of the top people in the business for a talk over dinner or coffee for a chance to become friends with them or learn from them. Although this is not easy out rightly, as you practice it often, you will get better at networking.
Do not be afraid to ask questions and continue to learn. Put resources into growing and seek a mentor when you need one. Learn from the wealth of knowledge of people around you.
Encourage your staff
As much as you can, encourage your staff and let them know you value your relationship with them. Workers are encouraged to do more when they see the manager is giving his best to improve the relationship between himself and his staff. This impacts workers to perform efficiently and productively when they know someone will be proud of what they have done. Support them in some fundamental areas, ask them questions, show them you care, and build a healthy relationship with them. You may like to keep the relationship as professional as possible but make sure it is healthy.
Often, causal relationships are not as productive as they should be because your worker can be carried away or take it for granted. Therefore an overly casual relationship is not advisable. Keep the relationship professional, simple, and healthy.
Always delegate
Try not to attempt to do everything yourself! Share the hotel's primary goal, vision, qualities, objectives, etc., with your staff. Then, sit back and watch your team take action from that point. Setting this model will spur your staff, department heads, and supervisors to perform productively. Delegate tasks to your staff, do follow up on them and ask for feedback on tasks. Guide them when they do not know what to do or teach them for the next time they will have to carry it out themselves. Unless it is necessary or you do not have a person to do it, delegate tasks so much that staff can do work even in your absence.
This will allow you to invest your time in other areas of the hotel that need proper management.
Reward or compliment can go a long way.
Your staff's effort to improve the hotel should not be underestimated. One of the major factors that discourage workers from doing exceptionally well is lack of commendation. Don't be too rigid in your style of management. Appreciate your staff's effort; reward them when necessary. Dash out compliments to them randomly, even if not for work; dressing and looks should be complimented too.
Do not always keep a straight face when your staff walks in with their complete files. Smile at them and let them know you're pleased with what they've done. A smile also goes a long way, just as the reward and the component. Treat them nicely; they are the ones who will help you in running the hotel smoothly; without them, you can't do it all.
Actualize the appropriate technology
Innovation is the way to running a hotel in this present day and age, from dealing with a customer's experience to the hotel management system to workers training. Adopting new technology advancements can be overwhelming, but the advantages are productive and regularly essential to stay relevant. Talk to experts about hotel management tools, revenue management systems, and guest management systems that will aid your job as a hotel manager.
Take responsibility
Incredible managers realize when to acknowledge that faults have been made and volunteer to fix them. It is not encouraged to point fingers or assign blame; on the off chance that you are the leader, you need to assume responsibility, take care of the issue, learn from the situation and move on afterward.
Take responsibility when you are wrong, and do not push the blame around. Of course, taking responsibility doesn't mean you have to victimize yourself; no, you're still the leader. When staff members make mistakes, let them know what they have done is not right, and appropriate disciplinary action should be taken. Discipline will prevent further unnecessary mistakes but taking responsibility will make your staff be more open with their errors and seek correction.
Love your work
Effective hoteliers love their work and do well to deliver the best in the field. Being a productive hotel manager is about your capability to serve others, and you can't nurture this except if you appreciate what you do. Do not be too hard on yourself, forgive your mistakes, and try again when you fail.
Loving what you do gives you the satisfaction that you are on the right path. It allows you to give all your best in managing your staff, department heads, and the hotel itself. It encourages you to do better. L what you do!!
Get a mentor
A mentor helps you find your direction skillfully and rapidly. They give hands-on examples of how to move your hotel from the ground level to the best hotel in town. This is no miracle; it is just that they've been there, in your shoes. They have once been struggling managers too. They have gathered the experience, they know. So all you have to do is tap from this knowledge to balance your career.
Mentors may not necessarily be high office managers in the hospitality industry. Still, it can be anybody that you see that has what you are looking for and is willing to help. Most times, mentors are generally glad that someone wants to learn from them, and they are ready to give their all; it is now left to the mentee if he or she is prepared to learn.
Hotel management is not a one-person job, though there is only one manager, all the staff and the department heads are in it together. You can not do it all by yourself as the managers; you need to involve every worker in the hotel to manage the hotel efficiently.
Being a better manager is not only about the hotel; it entails every single element that makes up the hotel. You can't be a better manager when your staff is not happy; you can't be a better manager if the hotel's productivity is stagnant. You can't be a better manager if you hate your job and can't wait to get home every day.
All you need to do is balance every aspect of the hotel management system, the staff, the customer, and yourself to become a better hotel manager.
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