A Deep Dig in Canada's Lodging Industry

HTM* 2100 Lodging Operations

Hotel Manager Interview Report

Date submitted:

March 23rd, 2017  

Group number: 20

Team Members:

Carter Mcknight

Jack Chen

John “Stephen” Keenan

Yang Yufeng

         Kevin Toth —— ‘A Deep Dig In Canada’s Hospitality Industry’

Introduction:

During this project our task was to interview a GM of a hotel to ask them questions about their experiences and their job as a hotel GM to learn about the lodging industry. with our group having a connection to somebody in the hotel business it wasn't hard to find multiple people to contact that had a variety of experience as a GM. Our group was looking for a GM with as much experience as possible, someone who has worked in an array of positions in the hotel business and has been in the leadership group for a significant period of time. With a principle like that,  we found a great GM kevin Toth who is the GM of Fox Harbour Nova Scotia and had worked in many hotels such as Jasper Lodge Fairmont, Whistler Fairmont, Horseshoe Resort, etc in the past. With our interview held over the phone because of the distance between us he was surprisingly easy to reach and very enthusiastic and willing to participate in our project. He had great input to our questions and answered them based on the experiences he has been trough and the challenges he had faced and this interview turned out as good as we thought it could have. Below you will see the questions we asked and a summary of the answers he gave us.

Main Interview:

(Question 1): What do you feel is the most important job as a General manager and how do you make sure you do it well and with success?

(Summary of the answer):  The main task for any GMs in any business is to make as much profit as possible for the owners even though the owner of Fox Harbour is so wealthy that what he cares most about is the brand  image as opposed to the profit. In order for a hotel business to be successful, what I can do most is to create the best team, paying attention to every little details, and to be innovative.

(Question 2): In class we have gone over that “ the more you you respect and the better you treat your employees the more likely they are going to transfer that over to your guests” do you think this is true if so how important do you think this is and if not what do you think drives your employees to treat you guests the best that they can?

(Summary of the answer): There is a big quotient on leadership, which has a lot to do with treating employees with respect and dignity. Also, reward recognition can bring along profit and productivity. However, being super nice to employees doesn’t equal to expected productivity sometimes. Therefore,  a light of discipline is needed with an aim to enable employees recognize and understand the expectations.

(Question 3): what are some of the biggest challenges you face as a GM and how do you overcome them?

(Summary of the answer): Hidden possible targets. Make sure your 2 key audience: guests and colleagues are being addressed and quality service that you delivered to your guests being delivered through the quality of experience provided by your colleagues. Also, make sure that you provide appropriate amount of leadership to your team so they can deliver that guest experience, thereby drive loyalty.

(Question 4): In what ways have you worked with your staff to go the extra mile to deliver great customer service?

(Summary of the answer): Right now, a strategy of providing distinctive personal luxury service is being conducted as the purpose statement by the leadership team. We are creating opportunities for the luxury services to be accessible by placing a high level of empowerment and trust to allow the employees to exceed the expectations of their customers. It’s not so much a laissez faire but certainly not an autocratic operation.

(Question 5): What does a typical week of a hotel general manager endure and look like?

(Summary of the answer): I typically try to spend at least 25% of my time on the floor and equal amount of that time in the front and the heart of the house. When you are at the heart of the house, you’re talking to your colleagues and maintaining that for your shareholders because they have the tools and equipments to provide quality services to the front house. I spent the rest of the time talking to guest directly because I always find that it’s much better getting feedback on the floor than waiting for the guest comments on trip advisor.

(Question 6): what do you think is the most important skill sets and personality traits for a GM to have and why?

(Summary of the answer): You have to be able to communicate and keep your owners satisfied and informed with your financial goals achieved. You have to be able to project business volume. And the business we are in are very time-consuming, always in a 24/7 environment. GMs must be dedicated, determined and passionate about their operation. Lots of people have the brains and the skills, but they never actually felt comfortable taking care of the guests, and yet when you failed to take care of the guests, you can never be called successful in the business.

(Question 7): At fox river what do you do to make your hotel stand out from the competition and what is the main focus in doing so?

(Summary of the answer): It goes back to how to delineate the product offerings and provide distinctive quality service. But in  most cases, your owner may not allow you to be distinctive because being distinctive is not what the brand is looking for, and yet every brand looks for high-quality service. There’s an opportunity  in the brand world in setting yourself apart from a customer’s point of view and providing your employees the empowerment to succeed the expectations and demonstrating their individual personalities. On the other side, when you’re an independent hotel, there is a lot more latitude, so you have to make sure you are distinctive and use your individuality to sell against brand hotels.