Much Ado About Everything General managers face an array of forces that just won't hold still. by Philip Hayward
Peoria, Ill., may not quite be the geographic center of the United States, but in every other respect it could well be. Just far enough from the gravitational pull of Chicago, the city of 113,000 has everything a mid-sized city needs to be self-sufficient: commerce and manufacturing (Caterpillar Inc. is headquartered here), proximity to agriculture, university life, travel and tourism and a convention center. And it has the full-service Hotel Pere Marquette to service these constituencies. Built in 1927, the hotel thrived for decades and, like many old grande dames, fell on hard times. When a local limited partnership bought and restored the shuttered Pere Marquette in 1982, its general manager signed on to work in the Pere Marquette's food and beverage department. Within two years, William Carter ascended to the hotel's general manager's position. It's a role he considers an ideal fit, and this year the AH&LA selected Carter as one of three general managers of the year, based on property size.
In this article examining the issues and challenges facing general managers in 2007, Carter and other hotel executives were asked about the issues and trends facing frontline operators. Regardless of property or company size and type, those interviewed by Lodging were essentially in agreement on the issues. They agree that whether being a general manager these days is more difficult than 10 or 15 years ago depends partially on attitude toward change and learning.
The element of hotel management Carter believes most strongly separates today's general managers from their predecessors even just a generation ago is how they relate to staff and guests. Carter came of professional age on the cusp of this generational shift, and it took a lousy boss to convince him better management practices existed. "I've certainly had a lot of experience with the 'old school,'" Carter says."To this day I remember the food and beverage director I reported to when I started-he was such an intimidator that everyone, of course, pretty much hated the guy. But he made an impact: If it wasn't right, you were going to be told. Everything had to be done right the first time and to the best of your ability. I think everyone should work for someone like that-for a week." That was during Carter's first exposure to lodging, in the 1970s, at a Hyatt that had just opened in Indianapolis. He had just graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Indianapolis. He suspects his boss eventually got the boot, but not before instilling in Carter a sense of fairness and equitable perspective. "I try to look at things at all times from all perspectives," Carter says."It's been a mantra of mine. "As far as my style goes, there are many quotes for it, my favorite being: management by walking around," Carter continues."No doubt about it, that's been part of my success. I have always tried to stay in touch with my employees as much as with the guest. You learn more than you could sitting around an office." Though Carter manages an independent hotel, he was significantly influenced by his work at Hyatt and later at Adams Mark Hotels before he joined the Pere Marquette. In lieu of training at a hotel school, Carter has absorbed management and leadership techniques in a variety of ways. Early on, he watched a training film, which was developed by famed Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. "The name of the film was Do the Right Thing, and it was a series of examples about making right decisions, and it really stuck with me" Carter says."I have shared that video with hundreds of line-level employees over the years. It's such a great attitude." Carter says the most important tenet of his approach to management did not come quickly, but once he had it down, the results were obvious. "I always try to check my ego at the door," he says."That doesn't mean necessarily being humble, but rather being sensitive and sincere to our guests as well as our employees." When asked about which hotel company he admires most for the way it trains and cultivates general managers, Carter does not hesitate. "Absolutely, Marriott," Carter replies."They are so consistent, and that's the highest compliment I can hand out. No matter which property you are visiting, you see it." That's high praise from an operator for whom sneak visits into the back of houses of hotels around the country is a form of recreation. Yet, one has to wonder whether consistency is a signature trait, a style or simply a given in today's competitive lodging marketplace. The answer, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.
It's All About Change In interviews with general managers and executives of chains and third-party management companies, there appears to be no signature style of general managers by which companies could be identified. However, while hotel brands may recruit, train and retain general managers in their own ways, how their general managers confront change appears to be a common theme running through hotel companies in 2007. All agree that managing a hotel today is a moving target, regardless of specific disciplines-channel marketing, technology, human resources, legal concerns and community relations.
Running hotels, in short, has become more complex. Kimo Kippen is vice president of human resources for Marriott International. It's his job to drive the efforts that maximize performance across nearly all of the company's various enterprises. He's also volunteer chairman of the American Society for Development and Training, which is also grappling with issues of workforce performance. If there's consistency among Marriott's nearly 2,900 properties, it has to do with the ability to respond to change, Kippen says. "The most important thing is to be relevant and continue to be relevant," Kippen says."You have to continue to know that change occurs-it's all about change. I always think about change occurring on the outside, in the extremities-what are they [general managers] doing to keep themselves refreshed as leaders and how do they model that behavior every day." Although their means often differ, the hotel company executives interviewed for this article all agreed on the ends: engaged and energized general managers. California-based Joie de Vivre Hotels, with 33 boutique-style hotels and 3,800 rooms, has always been ahead of the industry in product offering sand marketing. But for its chairman/CEO, Chip Conley, managing and nurturing general managers begins with the hiring process. "They have to be strong entrepreneurs and more out-of-the-box thinkers than maybe for a larger brand," Conley says."Our average hotel only has about 125 to 130 rooms, so our general managers need to be very self-sufficient in terms of the idea that, for example, they may not have a personal secretary. They are going to have to be very hands-on in meeting the guests, sales programs and strategies. So we expect our [general managers] to be like small entrepreneurs. A Matter of Culture Unlike entrepreneurs, though, general managers at Joie de Vivre-and many other hotel companies-participate in a framework provided by the companies to deal with change. Joie de Vivre has a 40-course"university" training program, some of it created for general managers. Conley teaches a quarterly course called the Art of Leadership-as opposed to the science of leadership, he says.
"So we are able to build our talent pool internally, which means we don't have to go externally as much to find people," says Conley, who sees training as a function of culture, much like Marriott."For all our differences in size and outlook, there are more similarities than not-because both are culture-driven organizations."
"Forty percent of management staff comes from hourly employees," says Marriott's Kippen, adding that close to 80 percent of Marriott's general managers are hired from within."We do a lot of succession planning, so when these senior positions do open up, we pretty much know who will be our next leaders."
A Generational Mixing Bowl That there's a major generational shift under way in the American workforce is no secret. But dealing with it is challenging. Tom Murphy, national vice president of operations for Sunburst Hospitality, a privately held independent management company with 35 properties and nearly 5,000 rooms, observes that workforce demographics can get complicated.
"It is not unlikely for hotel workforces to span four generations," Murphy says."In today's market, it is very possible that a GM will manage a staff as young as their children and as old as their grandparents. Each generation brings a different work ethic and has a different motivation. The successful GM needs to balance these differences while being fair, consistent and non-discriminatory."
At Carlson Hotels, Bjorn Gullaksen, executive vice president of managed hotels and resorts, recognizes the generational transition among his general managers, but is less concerned about the differences.
Instead, each should be able to feed perspective and ideas to the other. Three times a year, general mangers for Carlson's Radisson, Regent, Park Inn and Country Inn by Carlson brands meet to exchange ideas. General managers go through a 110-point, 360-degree evaluation process overseen by professionals who help them fashion personal strategies for improvement. Here, generational issues can be funneled and filtered for further discussion. "That way, generations can have discussions among generations," Gullaksen says."Nothing is better than peer pressure." At Marriott, Kippen says his company has augmented existing programs and added newprograms to address the generational shift. "If you look at the statistics for Xers and Ys, you know loyalty would not be one of the things high on their hit parades," Kippen says."One of the key drivers for them is learning-constantly being in a situation where they are challenged, where they are constantly learning in an environment where they believe there is camaraderie and fun and teamwork. "What we do know is, clearly if people don't like it, they vote with their feet, every day," Kippen continues."When I work with leaders, I always tell them that." Short Term/Long Term As an owner and a third-party manager, Conley of Joie de Vivre sees an issue that's become a fact of lodging life in the last business cycle: the exacting, short-term expectations of large hotel companies.
"A challenge for hotel general managers today that was less true 15 years ago is that we live in a very transactional era," Conley says."The nature of who are the hotel owners is different-we have a lot more Wall Street money and a lot more short-term R.O.I.-focused owners who need a GM who can communicate in their language. We're seeing less of the traditional hospitality GM and more of the financial engineer.
"Frankly, that's one of the indictments of our industry now-we're in the hospitality business, but the business part of the phrase is overwhelming the hospitality side," Conley says."What that leads to is more stress. What used to be a marathon now is a 100-yard dash. In the past, if you had a bad year, you made it up the next year. Now, if you have a bad quarter, you feel like you are on pins and needles."
That's no surprise to Kippen, who sees owner relations as the biggest challenge facing GMs. "In the past, very large conglomerates, like insurance companies, used to own hotels," Kippen says."You would get a token one visit per year when they swooped in, had a nice visit, and then were gone. "The playing field has changed significantly, where there are now asset managers who are in some cases in our hotels-they have their offices at your property," Kippen continues. "They are literally in your face every day. Running your hotel operationally requires operation excellence and business acumen and the ability to convey that all to your owner or asset manager."
For William Carter, managing an independent property involves less pressure, for which he is grateful. "We have less of that reporting, since our general partners are owners and managers," Carter says.
"That's one of the reasons I've been here so long-because I know who owns the hotel."
As he considers what students in hotel schools and line staff may be thinking about in possibly becoming a general manager, Carter has advice that works at all levels. He believes the best route is through full-service hotels. That's where the passion is to be found."There is so much opportunity out there, if they just pay their dues," Carter says."They need to learn all they possibly can and the opportunities will happen for them." n
