Napoleon Hotel

. The hotel is a small society, open 24 hours a day. Colorful decorations in the city are staged here every day, and hotels become the windows and excitement of cities or regions. What happens in the hotel every day is all kinds of wonders. As a hotel manager, I repeat similar work every day, always ready to meet the exciting excitement unique to hotel management.

With questions, we interviewed the general managers of many hotels in China, and found that the general managers of hotels in different regions and different management groups have their own characteristics, but there are also many similarities. Why should we pay attention to General Manager's Day? Not only do we want to satisfy the curiosity of people working in the hotel industry for this position, but more importantly, we can learn about the management thoughts, styles and concerns of the hotel general manager from his daily work arrangements. The management thought, style, work habits and concerns of the general manager of the hotel directly affect the success of the whole hotel management. So, the real purpose of our interview is this.

I read the meeting contents of several general managers, and selected three representative managers' schedules as examples (see attached table) for analysis and reasoning, in an attempt to provide reference for more hotel general managers.

"People who work only 40 hours a week can't do great things in their lifetime."

John Willard marriott

The working hours of the general manager of the hotel we visited are basically 10 to 14 hours a day, which is longer than the general working hours of other industries, which is determined by the characteristics of the hotel industry. Most hotel general managers I know leave early and return late, try to go to work at 7: 30 as early as possible, usually get off work at 9: 00, and often socialize until late at night. Many people envy the work of the general manager of the hotel and think that their daily work is to eat, drink and be merry in a noble environment, which is simply a combination of work and entertainment. But how many people know that most of the general managers of hotels are "people in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves." The hotel business belongs to the unemployed and is characterized by 24-hour business. Except in special circumstances, it is generally open 365 days a year. Holidays are a time when business is booming and you can't rest. Therefore, hotel managers are not as handsome as senior white-collar workers (go to work at nine o'clock and get off work at five o'clock). If you are the general manager of a hotel and are sent to work in a different place, you will take the store as your home. Usually you are in the hotel for 24 hours, and there is actually no commuting time. It should be a luxury for the general manager of the hotel to reunite with his family and enjoy family happiness.

The general manager of a hotel usually arrives at the hotel in advance, not to set an example and show his active work, but to meet the needs of hotel management. The general manager arrived early in order to read the various reports of the hotel management the day before yesterday, understand the management of the hotel the night before, and have a more comprehensive understanding of the overall situation of the hotel one day. The business report of the hotel can provide the hotel's income, room opening rate and forecast for the next week. Reading the VIP report can help you understand the VIP check-in and arrival on the same day, and even the forecast for the next week. According to this information, the general manager can arrange his own work time allocation, which VIPs should see him off and which should be allocated to other deputies. Through the daily report of the assistant manager in the lobby, we can understand the guest relationship of the hotel the day before. Through customers' opinions and complaints, we can find out the problems existing in hotel management and service. Some problems can be tracked, from the phenomenon to the essence, to find out the hidden dangers in the existing management culture or operation process. Engineering and safety conditions are the premise of the normal operation of the hotel, which will affect the normal operation of the hotel. Therefore, we must know these two aspects like the palm of our hand, and be aware of them. Check the business report of catering and the forecast table of banquet or conference venue, you can not only know the income of hotel catering, but also know the situation of large-scale activities being held or about to be held by the hotel. Although many large-scale activities appear in the dining scene, they actually involve the cooperation and communication of various departments of the hotel, and problems are most likely to occur. Therefore, we must pay attention to and coordinate key issues and remind relevant departments to pay attention to follow-up. The traditional way for general managers to read reports is to read printed reports. Now, the general managers of some hotels are also used to checking real-time hotel management reports at any time with computers. The general manager of each hotel has his own management method and style. We see that Anderson, the general manager of Napoleon Royal Hotel with 2000 rooms in the United States, is more chic in management. You can get off work at 00. There are also many foreign hotel general managers who work until the evening 10. The general manager of this hotel stayed late, mainly because he had to communicate with customers. In China, the general manager of a hotel usually holds a dinner party. Of course, after-dinner inspection can ensure that the general manager of the hotel sleeps more comfortably after work.

John Willard Marriott, the founder of Marriott Group, who works an average of 16 hours a day, has a famous saying: "People who work 40 hours a week can never do anything big in their lifetime." No one can go very far in the life of working 40 hours a week. There must be bitterness and cost behind success. Most hotel general managers I know "enjoy" three meals a day in the hotel, and the price of "saving" personal food expenses is to voluntarily dedicate 2-6 hours of private life time every day (usually without overtime pay). If it is calculated as 300 working days per year, it will contribute 1800 hours. If overtime pay is calculated according to the provisions of the labor law, the hotel owner will definitely not be able to stand it. If you want to accept this job, you must first accept the fact that you work long hours every day. This is one of the costs behind the prestige of the hotel manager.

"Always put guests' complaints and suggestions first."

-Zhang Jingbang (general manager of Harbin Wanda Holiday Hotel)

In our interview, the general manager of the hotel emphasized that dealing with customers' suggestions and complaints is the core of his daily work. In the answer sheet of the general manager of foreign-funded hotels, this message is expressed more strongly. I once interviewed the general manager of a large hotel in China. In his opinion, the general manager of the hotel doesn't need to meet the guests, because he feels that he has a lot of things to manage and should spend more time on management. Meeting guests should be done by subordinates or front desk staff. I am surprised that this view comes from the general manager of a high-star hotel. Because from this concept, we can see the starting point of general manager's management thought and behavior. The general manager who pays attention to internal management will inevitably put personal authority first, which will affect the whole hotel culture to tilt inward (management) and upward (general manager), rather than outward (customers) and downward (employees). Hotel culture directly affects employees' willingness to work, and employees' willingness to work affects the quality of customer service, which in turn affects hotel business. The general manager who takes guests as the core will adhere to and set an example to implement the following creed.

(1) Maximum wealth

Human resources are considered to be the greatest wealth of hotels. Employees are the most important assets of the hotel, because their work directly creates value. Therefore, the general manager will often communicate with subordinates or employees at work, instead of sitting in the office all day and meeting them.

(2) Innovation and the right to speak

Organizational learning and innovation are the important contents advocated by this culture. Encourage employees to innovate and express these ideas. Because they know the needs of customers best, they have the most say in improving service. After the general manager puts forward his own opinions, he usually gives his subordinates a space to play their abilities and solve problems.

(3) Managers-supporters

Managers become the biggest supporters, guides and service providers of employees. Managers are constantly training, educating and leading employees to serve guests; The general manager's job is to create a better and more relaxed service environment for hotel employees. Managers serve supervisors, and supervisors serve employees, because employees directly serve front-line customers. Managers empower employees, give material and spiritual encouragement and support, and come forward to solve problems when employees need support. Managers become the most powerful supporters of customer service.

(4) Power, responsibility and risk

The wisdom and judgment of employees are fully affirmed, so employees are fully authorized. They have great responsibilities and take risks when making decisions. As long as they serve the guests, they have enough power. Therefore, most complaints and customers' needs can be solved in time by employees. The general manager will encourage employees.

(5) Encourage "mistakes"

The general manager will constantly instill the idea that only employees who do nothing will make mistakes. Encourage employees to try and make mistakes, because only employees who don't work are not wrong, but don't make the same mistakes.

(6) the fault of the manager

When employees have work problems, managers will take the initiative to introspect. In the final analysis, it is the fault of the manager. Therefore, the general manager will pay more attention to the rationality of management culture and process.

(7) Beyond the hierarchy

The channel of information transmission is open and networked. As long as it serves the guests, employees can skip the intermediate links and seek assistance and support directly from the general manager if they think it is necessary.

(8) The role of the boss

The general manager can take time out to do great things-communicate with guests and employees, verify the needs of guests, and understand the most real state of the enterprise. From the survey, we can see that the general manager of the hotel attaches great importance to communication with customers. General managers abroad generally like to have lunch with customers at noon and leave dinner time for themselves. They like to keep in touch with customers by phone during working hours. The general manager of China is used to talking about business at the dinner table, so he may often sacrifice his private time to eat, or even eat twice (he has just finished his working meal and has a client to accompany him). But in any case, there is nothing wrong with putting guests first.

(9) Satisfied guests

Hotel staff are full of self-confidence and heartfelt smiles, and can solve guests' problems timely and accurately. Respect and courtesy are given to guests because the management of the hotel has created a space and environment for employees to realize themselves, so happy employees have created happy customers.

Use meetings to solve current problems

The general manager of the hotel will be famous. If you call the general manager of the hotel in the morning, you are usually stopped by his secretary because there is always a meeting. Indeed, the general manager of the hotel needs to host or attend various meetings in the hotel every day. The integrity of hotel management and service determines that it is impossible for a general manager of a hotel to solve all problems efficiently only through one-on-one interviews. Meetings are a part of hotel management, and the general managers of most hotels are good at using various business meetings for management. According to statistics, the general manager of American hotels must attend about 300 management meetings every year on average. In other words, the general manager of the hotel should attend at least 1 meeting every working day on average. General managers of domestic hotels attend many meetings, and general managers of Harbin Wanda Holiday hold 1-3 business meetings every day. Xi Yanping, general manager of Qingdao Haitian Hotel, has a business meeting at least once a day. Too many meetings will affect the work, but you can't do it without attending the meeting. The general manager of the hotel must find a balance between the two. Therefore, improving the efficiency of the meeting and managing the meeting well can achieve the goal.

Every day, the general manager is interrupted by countless phone calls and visits inside and outside the hotel. His activities are random and diverse, and he often needs to solve various important or seemingly unimportant problems. Most of the meetings held by the general manager every day are to solve the problems that need to be solved urgently. There are many meetings in the hotel, but usually the meetings are not very long, especially the temporary meetings, because things that usually need to be called temporary meetings must be solved quickly. The characteristics of hotel management and service are that problems must be solved quickly, as short as a few minutes, such as complaints from guests, emergency maintenance of elevators, sudden requests from large-scale conference customers and so on. If the time is prolonged, it means that it has not been handled well, or the best opportunity to solve the problem has been missed. Therefore, we can see that the temporary business meeting of the general manager of Napoleon Royal Hotel in the United States usually does not exceed 15 minutes.

Wandering management

The general manager (MBWA) who implements walking management will not stamp his feet in the office all day and take turns to meet with the managers of all departments to report his work. Instead, they will take the initiative to go to the posts of subordinates and employees, and have face-to-face conversations and communication with managers, employees, guests, suppliers and other people who have business dealings with the hotel in the lobby and restaurant. Listening, providing convenience and teaching are the main leadership styles of walking management. As can be seen from the general manager's answer sheet, most general managers visit hotels three times a day. Once in the morning is to understand the mental outlook of hotel employees at the beginning of the day; Check the preparation of large-scale hotel activities or VIP reception on that day; Check the morning shift, etc. Noon is usually the peak time for front desk guests to check out, and the service and order on the first floor of the lobby; Contact guests for comments and suggestions. The inspection in the evening is generally based on reception of catering, meetings and large banquets; Extensive contact with customers and so on.

The general manager visits at least three times a day, not to pay attention to nuances or go to the scene to solve problems for subordinates and employees, but to understand the situation and listen to opinions through inspections. The role of the general manager is to teach and support subordinates and employees to solve problems by themselves. It is not only of little significance to improve hotel management and service, but even counterproductive for the general manager to make decisions everywhere and solve problems on the spot. Walking management has been widely accepted by the hotel industry. J.W. Marriott, Jr., president of Marriott Hotel Group, said in his book "The Spirit of Serving Marriott": "In Marriott, the reaction of employees to the general manager is the most fundamental touchstone for the good operation of the hotel. If the employees are happy to see the boss, I know that this general manager is a good "hands-on" (walking management) manager, Pingyao Ancient City Inn. Because only the general manager who spends a lot of time talking with employees in the lobby or other parts of the hotel and understands their voices will win such friendly greetings from employees. "

Marriott's corporate culture has such a creed: As long as you treat your employees well, they will certainly take care of your guests. This culture regards employees as the people who know the needs and opinions of guests best. Therefore, the general manager must set an example, honor the promise of "paying attention to details" that he often emphasizes, keep in touch with employees, understand the suggestions and opinions of guests, and provide more effective service support for employees. Subordinates and employees will pay attention to what the general manager often pays attention to, because they think what the general manager often pays attention to repeatedly is the most important thing in hotel management and service. The management of the general manager is always busy influencing others. The more places the general manager walks in the hotel every day, the more times he visits and the more guests, subordinates and employees he contacts. More connections means that the more people the general manager influences in the hotel, the greater his influence. The strong corporate culture of the hotel is forged through such actions.

Hotels are the windows of society. The daily work schedule of the hotel general manager not only contains rich management experience and information, but also silently describes the rich social life every day. We can see the life of the hotel from the short day of the general manager.