Changing Face of the New Hotel General Manager
In the olden days, the General Manager was the friendliest face you saw when checking into a hotel. The host supreme, he was entrusted with the task of interfacing with the guests and making them feel at home. He accommodated your wishes, catered to your demands, and made troubles vanish into thin air. A competent General Manager was worth his weight in gold, and made all the difference between a good and great stay at a hotel!Today, however, the genial General Manager is fast transforming into a power tool that takes care of various responsibilities, sometimes simultaneously. Gone are the days when he would stand in deference in the hotel lobby. This Jack-of-all-trades now has his fingers deeply and firmly embedded in not one but many pies and is adept at juggling his many roles with a quiet exterior and charming panache.So what exactly does the new age General Manager do? The short answer to that is ‘Almost everything!’It’s true. From tasting food and ensuring top-notch room service to assuming a leadership role and guiding the team towards the company’s goal, the General Manager’s responsibilities are varied in nature and not restricted to any one division of the hotel.Here’s a more detailed description of what is expected of a General Manager. In addition to overseeing day-to-day options, he’s in charge of…
Building a vibrant organization
Creating a distinctive work environment
Establishing priorities and setting the goals of the company
Spearheading innovative and strategic thinking
Managing human resources and mapping their productivity
Driving the team towards success by setting a personal example
Maintaining the highest standards across all operations
There’s no denying that a General Manager has a lot on his plate. Each responsibility has to be executed with perfection and mistakes are not tolerated kindly in the hospitality industry. Accustomed to fighting fires every day, the General Manager goes around troubleshooting a wide range of problems without batting an eyelid. Safe to say, this job is not everyone’s cup of tea.What characteristics are desirable in a General Manager?The General Manager is one of the most respectable, demanding, and exacting positions in the industry. Not everybody can do justice to this role. It takes a person with considerable ingenuity to step into those shoes. Here are some of the traits you should look for in a prospective General Manager.The Ability to Multi-taskThis one makes it to the top of my list for obvious reasons. The typical workday of a General Manager is extremely complex since they are required to oversee so many things and. With equal alertness and perspicacity, they have to supervise guest relations, housekeeping, front desk, finances, F&B set up, compliance, employee evaluation, and any events that may be happening in the hotel. Unless he has excellent time management skills and organizational talents, a General Manager will never be able to rise up to the occasion and keep things together.Professional TroubleshootingMost people who land up at a hotel for a lazy getaway are completely oblivious of the chaos playing out behind the scenes. All they see is a haven of peace, luxury, and indulgence functioning like well-oiled machinery, while attends rush to fulfill any wish or demand they may have.All this is possible, in large part, to the General Manager and his common sense, quick thinking, and the creative and practical solutions he comes up with for every day problems that crop up. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong, and it’s the General Manager’s decisiveness that allows him to avert disasters and keep things working like clockwork in the hotel.Adaptability & the Desire to LearnThe hospitality sector is one of the fastest evolving sectors in the world. Technology, policies, government legislation, and local politics all contribute towards the changing of times, and it falls upon the General Manager to foresee these changes and prepare for them.In my experience, the best General Managers are those who welcome the new. Instead of being frightened, they’re curious about the developments taking place in the industry. They’re well-informed and, despite their hectic schedule, they find a way to stay abreast of industry news and trends. By doing so, they ensure that no latest innovation gets by them. They apply their knowledge to work so that their hotel moves with the times and adapts continually.Teaching & MentoringWe’ve already established that a General Manager should constantly be amassing knowledge related to the industry and his position. But it’s also important that he passes on what he’s learned to his team, so that they’re equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to work efficiently and independently. Few things are more frustrating and draining for him than to micromanage all the tasks that fall in his lap. For the hotel to function optimally, the staff has to display initiative. This can only happen if they’ve been mentored properly and taught how to be resourceful and quick-witted.Like I mentioned earlier, a good General Manager is a valuable asset to any hotel and selecting the right one is no mean task. Given the complex nature of the position, I would always recommend that you ‘grow’ your own executives. This allows you to select from within the ranks and prepare somebody who’s familiar with the working of your hotel for the managerial role.However, that may not always be possible, and you may have to fall back on traditional ways of searching for someone competent to take over the role of a General Manager.When doing so, keep the following best practices in mind:
Always bring in someone who knows the business, the industry, and the people involved. Unless you’ve got a very small establishment, the General Manager will not be able to learn everything fast enough to carry out his responsibilities competently.
Look beyond the management training courses, seminars, or workshops the candidate may mention on his resume. In my experience, these programs tend to emphasize too much on the importance of formal quantitative tools, which, though relevant, are hardly integral to the job at hand.
Scan the potential candidate for the qualities we talked about earlier. They’re just as important as the qualifications and experience the prospect brings to the table.
Finally, when you find the right candidate and welcome him onboard, allow him /her at least three to six months to collect information, build a network, establish relationships, and set the direction for the team. Do not assign pet projects or specific tasks in this duration. It will be counterproductive and divert attention from his main goals of driving the team to success.A good General Manager is integral to the smooth functioning of a hotel. He works behind the scene to offer a pleasant and hassle-free experience to guests and patrons. On his discretion stands the reputation of the hotel and on his efficiency depends all other divisions. So make sure you invest time and effort in selecting the right candidate for the job, for he’s the one who will lead the establishment to its ultimate vision.
Home Spa and Body’s Adaptation. The More the Better?
The More The Faster The Better?Or Some Words About The Body’s Adaptation.”Change your mindand you will changeyour life”Today we will talk about the tendency in our busy world to make more activity and procedures in one spa day to get fast results. The more the faster the better?The word “SPA” can be translated from a Latin abbreviation for :S – salud, P- per, A-aqua, or “Health Through Water”.You are “Your Home Spa Owner” and so should be a bit professional in spa products and their use (methods, frequency, intensity etc) to obtain Health Through Water.Today ” You as a Home spa owner” have a “You as a client” at your Spa Home bath. Do ‘You-owner” wish “You-client” better health and well-being? Yes. Do “You-owner” want to have a long-term valued customer “You-client” at your Home Spa? Yes.How many procedures would you apply to “You-client” today? The more the better? How many baths per week would you recommend “You-client” at home: 1,2,3 and why?”Do I need to know this ?” you might ask. In our busy information age it could be a good advantage to have some basic knowledge about your body’s adaptation, stress definition and how your body responds to external loads to understand what you are doing, why and what results you can expect.Being able to know when to begin and stop any activity and make a smart decision is an useful skill.There are three main definitions in the body’s adaptation theory:Homeostasis – a tendency of the body to maintain its internal balance.
Stressor- any activity (physical, mental and emotional) applied to the body to change this balance (homeostasis).Adaptation- change or adjustment of the body’s functions to the needs required by activity.Running, walking, swimming, bathing, sunbathing, bicycling etc. are examples of physical stressors.Stressors load our body with activity (or external stimulation). Activity in sufficient quantity for your body’s condition will positively move the body away from its homeostasis. This activity leads to the body’s response and adjustment of the body’s functions to create positive health and well-being changes (so-called positive adaptation).When the activity level is suitable for your body this activity can be named positive. Such an activity improves your health and well-being through positive adaptation. When the activity level is more than you can adjust this activity can be named negative.The more is not always the better!There are two types of external influences – smart influence and hard influence.Smart influence (smart amount, smart dose, smart signal) triggers (stimulates, activates) mild positive beneficial body’s reactions without overstressing the body.Hard influence suppresses positive body’s responses and results in body’s defense and overstraining.Have a good and smart Home Spa bath!Oleg MoskvineTonus World Inc.http://www.tonusworld.comĀ© 2001-2004 Tonus World Inc., All Rights Reserved
The 4 Influences of the Mind Body Spirit Business and Life
I have been influenced in many things in my life. I am a life long learner, and I always have been. Reading is one of my favorite past times, and I like to read the classics.Universal human truth and the laws of physics are important to me because I want to understand how we are all connected to one another. These truths are applicable to all regardless of what you believe. When you operate within these laws, it changes your life, and you reap the benefits of your efforts.Although I have had many influences, including my children, these four things are some of the most important influences I have had.1. JesusThese days, if you say Jesus, many automatically think of Christianity, and let’s face it, Christians really leave a bad taste in your mouth. The biggest reason is they aren’t teaching what the Bible really says.Jesus was well liked by the common people. The problems he had came from his interactions with the religious leaders of the day. Jesus’s main teaching was love. Jesus said,Matthew 22:36-40King James Version (KJV)36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.Now, whether you believe in Jesus or not really isn’t my business. What is important here is that we all love, and we can only love others as much as we love ourselves. Self love is crucial here. Relationship. Jesus isn’t about religion. Jesus is about relationship, and this relationship is expressed through love. To love and be loved is a desire we all share.2. ZenAlthough there are many principles within Zen that you can apply to your life, there are three it is important to know. First, you already have everything you need you need inside of you to do whatever it is you are here for and want to with your life. In the words of Lao Tzu, “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”Second, “Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water.” Even after you have determined what you want out of life and why you are here, you still have to do the work. With or without enlightenment, work and action are a necessary part of life and are required in order for us to achieve success.The third part is understanding. In the Dao De Jing, it says, “It is wisdom to know others; It is enlightenment to know one’s self.” Once again, it is about relationship. No matter how enlightened you are, the real test comes within your relationships.When you apply these three teachings to the teachings of Jesus you discover that you have all the resources you need to do what you want to do, do the work, and always remember that at the core of everything is relationship. Everything in the universe is in relationship to everything else, and it is all connected.3. Quantum PhysicsQuantum physics is somewhat more complicated than how I am about to explain it here. However, there are only two thing you need to understand.First, quantum physics is the science of possibilities. Physicists theorize that given enough time every possibility is possible.It is also science at the cellular level. It is where life begins, and it is where action begins. Accepting that all possibilities are possible and embracing all the possibilities in your life allows you to become open to all of the opportunities available to you.4. U.S. ArmyI have skills I will take with me for the rest of my life. Those skills are a part of me. I developed those skills through repetition. If you do something enough times, it becomes a part of you. Do something 1,000 times, and you develop competency. Do it 5,000 times, and you become skilled. Do it 10,000 times, and you become a master.Of themselves, these influences all help you make the change you desire if you apply them. When you combine them, they give you a complete toolkit and the skill set to make true and lasting change, which always comes from within.