Robert Cole, president/CEO, HVMG, has a saying at his company: “We are in the talent and relationship business; we just happen to manage hotels.”
Hospitality is a people business. Hiring and cultivating the right people at your properties can make all the difference between success and failure.
When you ask a guest about their stay at a hotel, sure, the comfort of the bed or the amenities offered are what they might talk about, but when they think back on their trip, it is often the connections with the staff—whether positive or negative—that they remember most.
Cole was one of the participants at the latest Hotel Business roundtable, hosted and sponsored by Rockbridge, in conjunction with its 13th annual RTRX experience, which has raised millions of dollars for cancer research.
The roundtable, moderated by Christina Trauthwein, VP, content & partnerships, Hotel Business, included Cole; Tom Healy, president/COO, Rockbridge Hospitality Management; Ben Pierson, managing director, Rockbridge; Michelle Russo, founder/CEO, HotelAVE; Matthew Nuss, president, ZaZa Hospitality; Sarah Best Chensky, VP, global sales, MGM Resorts; Carly Edgar, VP, asset management, Strategic Hotels & Resorts; Michael Dominguez, president/CEO, Associated Luxury Hotels International; and Scott Hammons, president, Ground LVL.
The participants talked about why having the right people is so important—and the qualities needed in employees and leaders.
Healy said somehow the industry has lost sight of the fact that hospitality is quite simple when it comes down to it. “You go back to the manager,” he said. “It is no different than what you would have when someone comes to your home. You greet them, give them a good meal, give them a good bed and have a great conversation. They leave and you hug them goodbye and thank them for coming. It is that simple.”
He said it is all about servant leadership, adding, “You have to like to please other people to do really well in this industry.”
Healy likened being a hotel employee to being on stage. “You should have a coat rack and a heavy bag at the entrance of the hotel,” he said. “Hang all of your problems on the coat rack. If you have any problems, punch that bag. Once you cross that line, you’re on stage. We have to take care of the customer. Then everything else will take care of itself.”
Russo said that the hospitality business is not like others in that it is about making connections and not transactions. “When people come to your house, you’re connecting with them, not transacting with them,” she said.
Dominguez agreed and feels as though we have lost the “hospitable” in hospitality. “We say that word, but some of us forget that no matter who you are serving and what audience, it is about people,” he added. “We tend to forget about the people versus ‘We have a great building and a great experience.’”
The importance of the people connection is why Nuss said his company boils their hiring of future associates and managers down to one thing—whether or not they are nice. “Are you a nice person?” he said. “Can you communicate that kindness? If you hire nice people, a lot of it takes care of itself. It really facilitates great transactions between associates and guests. Just be nice, pure and simple.”
Pierson said that when he hires, he looks for a growth mindset. “It is less about where you start and more about what headroom you have,” he said. “If you have a growth mindset and a willingness to learn, to be vulnerable, those are keys to unlocking great potential.”
Working in hospitality also means that there are going to be difficult situations to deal with and being able to grow from them is important. “How you are going to grow [from difficulties] is important,” he said.
Best Chensky talked about taking the next best step when coming out of a difficult situation. “We do find ourselves in so many situations that aren’t ideal,” she said. “It’s not going to be the way we hoped. At that point, it is ‘This is now the situation, what’s the next best step?’ Looking at it from that perspective and not dwelling too much you can learn something. How are we going to move it forward?”
A leader who can seize the momentum of a learning experience will keep a team optimistic and moving forward. “Their focus should be, ‘What do we do next?’” she said. “‘How do we make it better instead of just continuing to go back and dwell on that can’t be changed?’” she said.
Ground LVL’s Hammons said that when you are working at the front desk, you are taught very early on that, “No is not an option.” Anyone working in the business has to have that attitude.
“You are faced with all sorts of variables every day in the hotel business, whether you are in operations or senior management or development,” he said. “It’s problem-solving and strategic thinking and you have to have someone with an open mind.”
Hammons works in design and development, “not because of the design, but because of the problem-solving. You have to be a creative person to solve problems super effectively. You have to think about every option. The hospitality industry teaches that so much better than so many other industries.”
For Edgar, a good quality for a hospitality employee is that they are genuine. “If a guest knows that you genuinely care and that you are genuinely trying to help them through something, they are less likely to yell at you at the front desk because they know that you are doing the best you can,” she said. “You are doing what you think is right to help.”
“It fosters loyalty, tenure and cohesiveness,” added Nuss.
For more on the roundtable, including how the participants motivate their employees and give back to the community, check out the September issue of Hotel Business.
