In no other area is people management as essential as in hospitality. With several decades dedicated to the industry, I can say that
and if you don’t like the close relationship with people, seek another realization. That’s because, most likely, you’ll get frustrated.
On the other hand, if you like dealing with people, you have resilience and emotional balance, welcome to my universe. Being a hotelier is dedicating one’s life to caring for people, whether customers, guests, suppliers, employees and investors.
As we operate in the area of hospitality, services, management is essentially of people, people and people. As hoteliers, we need to be clear our role for guests to check out fascinated with our differential, which is the service. After all, every hotel has a bed and shower, has breakfast and reception. Therefore, what differentiates one chain from the other are the people, how attentive was the receptionist, the careful way in which the chambermaid arranged our room and made herself available, how the maïtre met our special request, the affectionate way they took care of the children during the stay.
Therefore, it is pretentious to think that the hotelier is the almighty, the one who centralizes and dictates the rules. On the contrary, it is necessary to have a full view of the business and delegate. Magic really happens when we, as hoteliers, have the vision and sensitivity to empower people so that they themselves take responsibility for their actions and have autonomy to make certain decisions.
Transparency with the team is the basis of a relationship of trust and reason for employee engagement with the business
This requires the hotel area manager planning unfolded in action plans and schedule for everything. This will allow us to provide resources to people to perform their tasks accurately. Another care of people management in hospitality – and in all businesses in general – is transparency with your team. This is the basis of trust and why your employees will be increasingly engaged. In the book “Passion for winning”, by executive Jack Welch, the author defends frankness as a way to generate ideas among employees. Frankness as the environment conducive to speak openly and give opinions that can improve the work.
And I reiterate the author’s words with my own experience. In hospitality, we need to create excellence in the provision of services. This means that each guest can become an important selling point. He can leave the hotel and take the best or worst experience. Wherever he goes from there, he can spread what he experienced during his stay. So we always need to get it right. There’s no way we can create a second chance to make a good impression. In hospitality, there’s no second chance. Therefore, professionals should carry guests on their lap, surprise with the best experience. At your team’s next meeting, how about making room for those in charge of the areas to be frank and give opinions? How about creating self-responsibility as a value in the company? By doing this, you will surely be helping the business as a whole to thrive and achieve strategic results. Think about it – and act on it.
@NilsonBernalHospitality
Co-Founder and CEO da Plataforma Bymschool. Consultor na área da hotelaria e hospitalidade, palestrante e escritor. Atua na Indústria de hospitalidade há mais de 25 anos em companhias como Complexo Jurema Águas Quentes Resorts, Bourbon Hotéis & Resorts, Mabu Hotéis & Resorts, Bristol Hotéis & Resorts e Atlantica Hotels International. É embaixador pela Divine Academie Française des Arts Lettres et Culture (Paris). Membro Executivo de Honra da Academia Europeia da Alta Gestão desde abril/2019. Atualmente mora nos EUA estando a frente de vários projetos.