The Basics of Running a Hotel

Getting into the hotel game is not for everyone. You have to have some experience in certain areas that will make you overall successful later on. If you have no prior history in any sort of management position or business knowledge, you will have a hard time making things work for you. Christopher Manning of Cape Cod, with a background in Economics, has worked his way up to being a respected hotel manager and an owner and operator of his own company, Pylon Hospitality Management. He knows just what it takes to make sure a hotel runs smoothly and turns out to be popular and lucrative in the future.

If you have a background in customer service, business, or even management, you will be well set up to run a hotel. Working in hospitality is all about people skills and knowing how to deal with not only the general public, but the staff as well. You need to know how to be welcoming and friendly and inviting for guests that will stay in your hotel.

Having a background in Business will help with the actual business decisions, doing the books, and marketing. Making sure you know how to keep people coming in to stay and spending money there is important.

Knowing how to manage anything, people or a business, is going to be important. As a hotel manager, you have to be able to coordinate rooms, reservations, and many different groups of staff; housecleaning, front desk, room service. There are many moving parts, and if you cannot get them managed properly, your hotel will not stand a chance.

Becoming a Great Hotel Manager

There are many careers that take a lot of hard work, patience, and dedication. Some of them are harder than others, but if you know what you are doing, you can make a great career for yourself. Becoming a hotel manager is something that many people do not dream about, but in the case of Christopher Manning of Cape Cod, that is just what he wanted. He started from the ground up and made a business out of nothing. Now, he is one of the best hotel managers you can find on the East Coast. So, just what does it take to become a great hotel manager?

One thing you need if you want to be a hotel manager is great managerial skills. You cannot try to manage people, much less a whole hotel if you do not know the simple skills for managing. Knowing when to lead and when to delegate is important in a good manager. You also need to really be a good leader. People around you are going to look for guidance and instructions, and if you do not know how to command them to do what you need them to do, it will be a lost cause.

Another thing that makes you a great hotel manager is if you can multitask well. There are always many things going on in a hotel at the same time, and if you cannot deal with more than one thing at a time, you will fail at being a hotel manager, much less a great hotel manager. Knowing when to step in and take charge is one of the most important things about running your hotel smoothly and without any other problems.

Managing Your Hotel – Be Prepared

There are many factors that go into effectively managing a hotel, including pleasing your staff, taking care of customers personally if necessary, and always being prepared for an emergency. Emergency situations are very rare (hopefully) in your hotel, so when one does occur, your staff and your customers will be looking to you to provide some leadership. You can start your preparedness by devising an emergency plan for all situations that may occur in your hotel and practicing them with your staff. Run drills so that everyone working at your hotel knows what to do in the event of any situation.

All guests expect the hotel they stay at to provide for their safety at all times. Any member of your staff should know what to do in any situation because your guests will look to them for leadership in the event of an emergency. All of your employees should be well-versed in your protocols for all emergency situations so that they can lead guests to safety if necessary. You can further help your staff and your guests by posting evacuation and emergency plans in all of the rooms and in other highly visible places, so everyone knows what to do in any situation.

Christopher Manning Cape Cod, is a hotel owner in Cape Cod. Manning has instilled comprehensive emergency and evacuation plans in all of his hotels, and expects all of his staff members to do everything they can to ensure the safety of all other staff members and guests in any situation.

Hotel Management – Delegate the Right Personnel

Delegation is the name of the game when it comes to hotel management. No one can manage a hotel by themselves. Without employees you can trust, you won’t be able to run your hotel in the way you want it. Delegate employees to handle day-to-day tasks that you know can handle the task at hand. Give them the confidence in handling the task by patiently answering their questions and simply assuming that they can do it. If you handle your employees in a confident manner that shows them you are assured of their success, they will try to rise to your expectations and do whatever they can to ensure they succeed in their task.

Delegate employees you can trust to get the job done. Never set your employees up to fail. One spectacular failure can ruin an employee’s confidence and make them never want to attempt anything outside of their narrow duties again, limiting their usefulness and their abilities. When you delegate tasks, always remain in tune with your employee’s thoughts and feelings. Nothing is worse than the assumption that you don’t care about them. Who you delegate to complete each job makes all the difference between your hotel succeeding and failing.

Christopher Manning is a hotel manager and owner living and working in Cape Cod. Manning is the owner of Pylon Hospitality Management, which operates several hotels and resorts in the Cape Cod area. Manning says that his goal is always to build confidence in his staff with encouragement and delegation.

How to be a Good Hotel Manager

Over the past twenty years, with the advent of the Internet and more sophisticated communications technology, being a good hotel manager has become more complicated. While the job has, in the past, mostly consisted of talking to people and making them happy with their stay at your hotel, the job has grown to encompass almost all aspects of hotel operations, from ensuring the laundry is clean to taking reservations, to providing excellent customer service in person and on the phone. Hotel managers still have to keep their guests happy and engaged, of course, but recently the job has become much more complicated and more important to the proper operation of a hotel.

romantic restaurant with tables set

A good hotel manager has to be extremely well organized. There are many tools that hotel managers can use to keep track of all operations in their hotels, such as the workflow and productivity of their employees, reservations, and staffing. Hotel managers can expect to work long hours, especially when they are first hired because their skills will be in demand from customers to other employees and management. Good hotel managers delegate some of their tasks, just as in other offices and businesses.

Christopher Manning of Cape Cod is a hotel manager with decades of experience. He owns Pylon Hospitality Management in Cape Cod and is always trying to expand his workforce and his business to help boost the tourism industry in his region. Manning has ties with many hotels in the area and has managed many of them over his time in the area.