How One Becomes a General Manager - Assignment Example

Hotel Management al Affiliation) How does one become a GM? A general manager needs to be extensively qualified and additionally have sufficient experience in a hotel setting. This is clearly presented by Francisco Giles, who is a hotel manager of Renaissance Dubai Hotel, studied hotel management in Switzerland. Additionally made his way up in the hotel industry as he moved around different countries working in different areas including in the sales department and the food and beverages just to mention a few. This is also reflected by Marguerite Howley, a hotel owner who learned her trade by working for some of the major hotels and professionals such Gordon Ramsey, before she managed to open her own hotel. Training is very essential, and the gaining of experience from different countries is vital in making one an international general manager. Based on Paul O’Connell the general manager at Castle Hotel located in Ireland, he believes that an international manager would require working in different countries to gain from different cultures and different management styles. A properly qualified GM needs to be in the hotel business for at least 25 years as illustrated by Francisco Giles, who himself has been in the industry for over twenty-five years. A good manager needs to have a diverse personality and be able to deal with the diverse clients. Additionally a good manager as the hotel industry keeps on changing it would require that a manager is always abreast with the happenings in the hotel industry. This is important as the hotel industry is certainly very competitive with new ones establishing on a daily basis. In your opinion, what skills are critical to being a management team member in a hotel? Mr. Mark DeCocinis, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, provides insight that a general manager and a management team needs to be able to coordinate the large numbers of staff and additionally have proper interpersonal skills. There are various skills that a person in the hotel team management needs to possess. First an individual needs to be people focused in the sense that an individual needs to be able to accommodate the views and interests of others. Additionally based on Francisco Giles a management team member needs to be constantly on the lookout for the opportunities in the market as the hotelier industry is constantly changing. Additionally coordination and proper communication skills are a skill the mark deCocinis constantly advocates for to ensure that the vision of the hotel is maintained. Hard work is majorly one of those virtues that Paul O’Connell holds highly, and additionally he emphasizes that the team members of a management team need to travel frequently to gain more knowledge on the different cultures and interests in other regions. Finally, a team member would need to have a vision as explained by the general manager of the Marriott hotels who presents how he has always has been privileged to work with a team of individuals that are vision oriented. A management team member should certainly have innovative skills. The hotel industry is very competitive therefore it would be mandatory for a team member to contribute to the overall plan of having a competitive edge. This is reflected by Marguerite Howley a hotel owner and chef. Which GM concerns are similar? Which GM concerns are different? The GM of the hotel Marriott located and the GM of Riva Surya in Bangkok have similar ideologies regarding hotel location. The location is vital in a hotels profitability and ability to attract new clients. The hotel Marriott is located close to town and the airport while the Riva Surya in Bangkok is located close to the UN, which provides a steady source of clients. Both additionally believe that trade fairs are very important in attracting new clients. However both differ in their target markets and in the self-checking technologies, the GM of hotel Marriott believe that that is not the future of the hotelier industry. The GM of InterContinental Phnom Penh and the General Manager of hotel Marriott both believe that regardless of the increase in the number of hotels the only one thing that would differentiate them is service. Most hotels main strategy is the creation of an impressive outlook with all the requirements but still lag behind due to the lack of quality service. The GM of the InterContinental Phnom Penh and the Michael Peterman, Four Seasons both believe that the main threat that international hotels is the retention of the local staff who are regularly poached by other companies both in the hospitality and non hospitality industry. Therefore retaining them they both have focused on proper training and adding their salaries. The Chinese market is one main market that hotels are focused on based President Palace Bangkok and Eaton GM Hong Kong who believe that the market is generally untapped. What are some of the unique challenges of resorts and emerging markets? Challenges of resorts in the emerging markets include the ability to attract the local market due to the difference in cultures. Based on the GM of the Riva Surya he admits that culture and language have been a problem in attracting the local community, therefore, to counter this they have to train employees on the local culture and the menus to ensure they are in line with the local delicacies. Outsourcing of management from other countries to manage certainly results to problems due to the lack of knowledge of the new manager about the country. According to Annie Buckley, the hotel Public Relations Manager, the major challenge that most of resorts face is the competition from established hotels. The hotel industry is constantly changing, therefore, this presents a challenge in trying to attract and maintain the clients. Further, Hotel management difficulties which arise due to the lack of coordination of the employees and properly qualified personnel as explained by Phnom Penh General Manager at InterContinental is one of the leading challenges affecting the growth of these recently established resorts. Political instability is certainly one of the things that are of major concern to emerging hotels. In case of political instability as highlighted by Annie Buckley the hotels find it had to recover as tourists become weary of their safety. Emerging markets provide uncertainty regarding profitability as the general manager of Riva Surya, a generally new hotel in Bangkok, highlights that it is certainly challenging to acquire market niche if a hotel does well differentiated services. Where is the hotel/resort industry in Asia/Gulf States going? The hotel industry in the Asia and Gulf Pacific are on rise due to the increase in demand for the hotel services in the region. Based on the four season’s GM, the emergence of new hotels has resulted in the cut-throat competition. Therefore as a result it has forced major hotels to constantly improve their services. There is the expansion of the existing hotels specifically the four seasons to accommodate extra guests and also to include the food and beverages sections which have gained a lot of popularity in recent times. There is the advancement of technologies in the hotel industry in the Asia region, for instance, the self-booking system is one of them, which allows clients to book remotely. This is especially predominant in Riva Surya and other major hotels in Bangkok. The rest of the Asia countries are catching up on this technology to attract clients. The Asian continent is on the upward trajectory therefore has attracted investors who want to invest in the hotel business. The General Manager Riva Surya attests that the Bangkok market is certainly one of the most profitable areas and this is further attested by the GM of hotel Marriot who attests the level of competition has increased tremendously due to the viability of the Asian market. The hotel industry in Asia certainly will brace itself to experience increased competition as more and more hotels and resorts are opting for this market. These sentiments are shared with Mark DeCocinis, the General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton. References YouTube,. (2015). Riva Surya Bangkok GM Interview - HD. Retrieved 24 November 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzogENlwp4w Read More