When I started my journey in hospitality I was told that experience was the most important thing necessary to have a successful career in hotel management, and that I had to learn as much as possible in as many areas of the hotel as possible so that I would become a well-rounded hotel professional later and could then share my experience with others.
Managing Millennials isn’t easy and there’s no magic trick. It takes commitment of us as leaders and requires us to be the best we can be. If we want to continue to be relevant as leaders we don’t really have a choice, the world around us is changing and we have to as well.
Every good company with a winning culture has a mission statement. In my case the hotel company has a mission statement, each brand has one, and even each individual property. Why are mission statements so important? Well, they set guidelines for you and your employees and guarantee that everyone is aligned and looking in the same direction.
The simplest example of a mission statement is ‘do what’s right’, and yet it’s so powerful as it touches every decision you make and every course of action that you take.
I left New York over a year ago, and it’s a good time to revisit some of my memories of how it was working in the city and how I now feel about the challenges and opportunities that come with it.
I worked in New York from 2007 to 2008 as floor supervisor and with that as a member of the union, and again from 2009 to 2015 as housekeeping manager, and most recently as director of housekeeping with a unionized team of almost 200 employees.
So with over six years experience in a heavily unionized environment most would be surprised for me not blaming the union for hotels not performing up to standard. And yes, it’s been over a year now since I left New York and I probably forgot some of the more painful and disheartening experiences. This is how our memory works, right? We tend to remember mostly the positive.
But I do know that I have witnessed plenty of not so pretty arguments and have seen people at their worst behavior, but I have learned as well what’s right and wrong, and I did learn that the union teaches you to be a better manager and leader. If you want to make it as a manager in New York, you have to learn how to lead your team, how to get your employees to follow you because they want to believe in you, what you stand for and trying to accomplish, and not because of your title. In a unionized environment, I learned that titles don’t stand for much, and respect needs to be earned. At the end of the day it’s a people’s business, and if you lead with respect and integrity, care about your people, their dreams and goals, they will follow your dreams and goals in return.
I believe that the union is in theory a great thing. It gives the employee rights and benefits, and protects them of bad management. Now we know that in reality things tend to be somewhat different. Most managers aren’t that bad, and neither are the union or its members. You will find people on both sides not doing what they are supposed to do, managers who never learned how to lead their teams, and some union members who try to cut corners and get by with investing the least amount of efforts possible because they have lost their trust and confidence in the leadership of the property.
In most establishments the union created an environment of entitlement with employees as well as managers having lost their passion along the way blaming each other for who they became. Why? Well, it is so much easier and comfortable to play the victim role and blame others – and that goes for both sides… both blaming each other. Taking responsibility is more painful and you would be on your own.
I also believe that there always needs to be a balance to things, and it doesn’t matter if you are working in unionized settings or not, you will always find another set of challenges and opportunities.
Now having worked in Thailand for the past year with an unemployment rate below one percent, hoteliers have another challenge to deal with. While you can always attract energetic and passionate graduates to join your team, turnover is a lot higher and job hopping is the norm as people can always get another job somewhere else within a heartbeat. Because of the higher turnover employees are sometimes less experienced and skilled than in a unionized environment. Where your leadership efforts in New York need to be focused a lot on motivation and guidance to do what your employees know they should do and how to, in Bangkok you’ll need to focus more on training the essentials of customer service and do your best in growing your employees that they believe in you not just offering them a job, but a career.
I am sure that many managers in New York reading this, are probably wondering, if I indeed forgot all the draining union negotiations that I can write this… but how many managers do really care enough to step out of their comfort zone and try to coach their employees that are perceived to be more difficult on how to improve and reach their potential – I know that most do not – it is simple easier to blame other or the union. I strongly believe that most people want to do a good job, and would want to have a feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day.
What a refreshing thought to take responsibility for our actions and own opportunities without trying to shift blame or pass the buck – that’s the kind of leader I want to work for.
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I started working in hotels in 2004 and still can remember my first mystery shop. The overall results of the inspection were ok, but unfortunately we missed out on a couple of points because not all of our associates used the guest name consistently. Over the years this standard became increasingly important and you could not pass an inspection anymore without using the guest name at least twice during every interaction – even if everything else was perfect there was no passing without usage of guest name. Continue reading Personalized Guest Service So Simple
I know how you feel… it is the beginning of December, you have had a pretty busy and challenging eleven months behind you, and you are on the right track, but it feels like you have yet to accomplish so much to successfully finish the year. I mentioned in my previous post The Only Way to Succeed that ‘success does not come without efforts and suffering, success comes with sweat, blood and tears – victory then tastes so much better’, and this is true whenever you want to accomplish something that’s great, and not accept average.
With final projects pending and waiting to be completed before the end of the year, you will need to put in all the energy for one more push to succeed. But where should you get the motivation from?
… nothing is more motivating than Al Pacino’s speech in ‘Any Given Sunday’ – enjoy watching
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The most important thing that I have ever learned in my career is that it is all about having the right attitude and giving your best every day and at every turn – nothing can replace that.
Frankly you can be the most talented, skilled and knowledgeable professional, but if you are not willing to leave your sweat, blood and tears on the floor for it, you will not succeed… and even if you are the hardest working person in the industry, you might still not succeed. The secret ingredient to success is, to not only work hard but also to believe that anything is possible and to make everyone else around you believe that as well. Continue reading The Only Way To Succeed
I moved to Bangkok together with my wife at the beginning of this year and fell in love with the land of smiles immediately. Thailand is a beautiful country, and Bangkok is a great city, but it’s really the Thai people who make all the difference and make Thailand so popular for tourism.
I love Bangkok… except maybe the heat and the traffic. No kidding! The traffic can be so bad that when you’re in a hurry it’s probably better to walk than to take a car. Taxi and Tuk Tuk drivers have a reputation of always trying to negotiate a couple of dollars more from foreigners than they would normally charge a local.
And here, my story that deepens my love and respect to Thailand and its people. Continue reading My Amazing Thailand
While I was responsible for smaller teams before my first real management position was as Assistant Housekeeping Manager in New York. I didn’t know much about management, let alone leadership at this point. I was very good at what I was doing and knew exactly how things had to get done the right way, but I didn’t know yet how to lead people or how to create a successful culture.
The unionized environment in New York is an environment of entitlement, and many discussions evolve around who is right, who is wrong, whose job it is, whose fault it is, and of course most importantly who is to blame. As a manager you’ll find yourself involved into these discussions of whose job it is and whose fault it is a lot, if you like it or not you’ll get sucked right into it.
Continue reading Do You Have The Right Attitude For Success?
I have been working in New York City in a heavily unionized environment for over six years, and while I always appreciated how much I learned because of it along the way, having transferred to Asia recently, I only understand now how much I really got out of this experience.
When conducting orientation days for new-hires in New York, I was always talking about the challenges that come with working in a five stars & five diamonds property in New York. The high expectations towards service excellence and product quality from your guests, the financial expectations from your management company or ownership, the stressful dynamics that we love so much about New York, and the limitations of working in unionized settings. I used to quote Frank Sinatra in saying ‘if you can make it as a manager at a hotel in New York, you probably can make it anywhere’… and I really meant it. I have worked with so many talented and skilled managers that did not make it New York, lost their passion and enthusiasm, and eventually gave up – they either didn’t try to change anything anymore and tried their best to hold on to the status quo, or resigned their assignment and left without a success story.
Continue reading What Working With The Union Taught Me About Leadership
Steve Jobs stated in ‘The Lost Interview’ that to be truly successful and accomplish something great together you need to build a team of A players and should not settle for B or C players.
This is true for any industry, but especially for hospitality. Receiving average service from an associate who is not passionate and doesn’t seem to care, and experiencing service from someone who sincerely cares about you and about providing excellent service, makes all the difference for you, and how successful the hotel can be. Continue reading Build A Team of A Players!
WhateverWhenever is not only a department of W Hotels that handles guest requests amongst many other tasks, it is also a mindset and service philosophy. Whatever you want, whenever you want it (just as long as it’s legal and moral).
Isn’t that pretty much what a butler is doing? Does a butler need to wear a tuxedo, white gloves, and a bow tie, or is it a mindset, a service attitude that butlers service stands for? Continue reading W Hotels And The Modern Butler Service
You know that I usually don’t post reviews about hotels. It would seem like an obvious thing to do for a hotelier and blogger to post about hotels, right?
Not because I don’t want to or never thought about it, just because I work for Starwood and with that mostly stay at Starwood properties when travelling for business or when going on vacation. Since it obviously wouldn’t be smart for me to provide constructive feedback about a Starwood property online (and I guess it wouldn’t help my career development either), and writing only positively and saying that absolutely everything is perfect would be somewhat unrealistic and not exactly boost my credibility, I decided not to post at all… until now!
My wife asked me if we could stay at The Yard, a hostel that one of her friends recently opened, and while I am spoiled with mostly staying at luxury properties, I had to go with ‘happy wife, happy life’ on this one.
I previously explained my take on luxury, how it changed over the past years, and that it’s not about marble floors, crystal chandeliers and sumptuous flower bouquets anymore, that it’s about an experience and the feeling of genuine service.
View from our hostel room
So my wife and I arrived at The Yard, and immediately fell in love with the vintage design, heart warming welcome of the owners and the boutique concept. The wooden furniture in the guest rooms matches the design of a boutique hotel and the mattress is extremely comfortable. The bathrooms are across the corridor and are very clean and well-maintained. I have only been to a hostel a few times before, many years ago as a teenager, and this was a very different experience than what I remember – almost a luxury boutique hostel, I would say. The Yard features a bar, a small business center, kitchen area, library and entertainment room.
Business center facilities and free wifi everywhere
I love the vintage design
The library on the 2nd floor overviewing the yard
At night you can sit or lay down in the yard and enjoy the company of other travellers or the owners themselves.
My favorite part is waking up in the morning to the sounds of birds, it feels like an oasis within Bangkok.
I like to compare Ari, a neighbourhood of Bangkok that The Yard is located in, to the Williamsburg of Brooklyn, and you can find a lot of hip and cool places as well as delicious street food (I recommend that you check out the Fat Bird for dinner while in Ari)
If you are ready to try something different for your next trip to Bangkok or are just looking for a nice getaway to Ari for the weekend at a very reasonable price, The Yard is a must try for you – I know that I definitely come back again to switch off and relax for the hectic city life. No drawbacks whatsoever as long as you manage your expectations that you are staying at a hostel and not at a 5 star luxury propety.
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I have now worked in five different hotels over the past decade and all of them had one thing in common. People would tell me about all the great things that they used to do or all the great ideas that they have had in the past, but that just disappeared or never even happened.
Why is that? We know that a lot of people have great ideas all the time, know what’s wrong and what needs improvement, so why is it that only few succeed?
We have all heard how important body language is and that only a small percentage of communication involves actual words. Only 7% of communication, to be exact. In fact, 55% of communication is visual (body language, eye contact) and 38% is vocal (pitch, speed, volume, tone of voice). So we understand that it’s probably a good idea to focus on our body language and how we are being perceived by others. Are you standing straight with an open and powerful posture or are you trying to make yourself smaller? All this has an effect of how well we are being perceived by others.
We have also learned that sometimes we have to fake until we make it. When we are going for a job interview or we are starting a new job and it’s our first day, chances are that we are a little bit out of our comfort zone (if not it probably means that we are jumping from job to job too often). Looking at our body language and focusing on high power postures rather than lower power postures can make a big difference.
We know that how we feel does influence our body language, and Amy Cuddy is proving that the exact opposite works as well. Our body language (even if only faked) does influence our mind and how we feel about ourselves.
Take a moment to watch Amy’s speech ‘Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are’ on TED and learn her inspiring story (in my opinion one of the best TED talks).
I recently started an assignment at a new property and wanted to share my experiences with you. I know it seems pretty obvious what should be the first thing to do when starting a new job, so why do I even talk about it.
I read plenty of articles about what’s important and what to focus on, and while most of them will list five to ten points of what’s important to keep in mind, they all highlight that you need to focus on people. Think about every time a new employee started at your company, and about the ones that did well? What did they do differently? Did they focus on getting their office desk organized, studying the financials and company’s guidelines? No, they did well, because they started with walking around trying to make a connection with the team.
Well, things might be overwhelming at the beginning with everything being new and it’s very well possible that you could lose focus of what matters most. It doesn’t matter how smart and talented you are, how much experience you have and how well you did at your previous job, if you are new, you will have to start from scratch again and you will not go very far if you don’t focus on your people first.
The beautiful thing about hospitality is that it’s all about people, if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your guests, and guess what, your business and the bottom line will then just take care of itself… it’s that simple.
So we have established that you should first focus on getting to know everyone and build relationships, but is it really that simple? No, certainly not, because in most cases mountains of work, and new assignments with pressing deadlines are already waiting for you… and that’s how your performance is being measured on, right?
You need to focus on your people first, otherwise you will not be effective, and all the work that is waiting for you, will not get done at all. Try to focus on your big rocks and what matters most first, and keep in mind that you are a leader, and if you have no one following you, you’re really missing the point of it.
Best of luck on your first days!
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You are probably wondering why you should have to do anything to receive the best service, shouldn’t it be up to the hotel to provide you with the best experience without you having to ask for it. You are the one who paid for it, right? 
Yes, of course you are right, and you should receive the service that you paid for, and I hope that most hotels would get it right. But why even taking a chance. Why not making sure that they will pay this extra little bit of attention and do their very best that you’ll have a memorable experience. Continue reading How To Have The Best Hotel Experience
I have read many leadership books and blogs on accountability, and most talk about the importance of holding yourself accountable to the highest standards and accepting responsibility for your actions. It is important that you are not trying to find excuses when things go wrong or that you are trying to shift the blame to other. On the contrary when things go wrong, try first to understand what you could have done differently to change the outcome – and trust me it is very liberating to start accepting responsibility!
Continue reading If You Want To Grow, You Need To Be Accountable
The most important thing I learned in my career is that it is all about your attitude and that you have full control of it – no one else does.
Continue reading The #1 Most Valuable Thing I Discovered In My Career
I always used to believe that if one person can learn to do something, anyone should be able to learn it provided the proper training and guidance. I used to believe that anyone can evolve from being a micro-manager to becoming a great leader.
I now believe that while you can learn certain leadership techniques and skills and evolve to become average at leading other people, you’ll never be able to make a true difference and change things. Continue reading A Must Read Guide To Leadership
