Although the massive Las Vegas resorts often feel larger than life, they are all managed by a highly skilled and passionate hotel manager.
Hotel managers at these luxurious resorts are required to wear multiple hats to fulfill their daily responsibilities. They must be able to provide a resort environment teeming with hospitality while creating a dynamic work environment for employees. The largest hotels in Las Vegas can have more than 6,000 rooms while employing as many as 10,000 people. While this may seem daunting, skilled hotel managers are more than willing to accept the challenge of creating a warm environment for everyone at the resort.
The best hotel managers in the hospitality industry tend to share several key traits that allow them to be the industry leaders that they are.
The most fundamental of these characteristics is excellent listening skills. Managers who find the time to regularly engage employees can gain valuable insight as to what programs are working, and which programs could use improvement.
Frontline employees tend to offer the most valuable feedback since they have daily first-hand contact with hotel guests. Through regular interactions, they learn what services guests use and enjoy, and what services they would like to see added.
Successful managers are also skilled in methods to effectively motivate their employees. While it is true that employees are getting paid; motivation is much more than only getting a check. Motivation also means making sure employees are recognized, appreciated and have a clear path for career advancement.
Knowing each employee as an individual, and not just a name on a schedule can go far in ensuring the employee is motivated to provide the best service possible to guests. When employees are motivated and appreciated, these positive feelings often trickle down to better interactions with hotel guests.
Another crucial trait for successful hotel managers is the ability to share knowledge. The best in the industry waste no opportunity to groom their staff for a long term career in the hospitality industry.
Guest challenges are the perfect opportunity to train staff on effective problem-solving techniques learned from experience. Open and free exchange of industry best practices is vital to the success of any organization, especially those that are people-centric.
Change is almost certain, and the best managers embrace change and convey a positive attitude to employees that change is a necessary element for the survival and success of the industry.
Fighting the reality of change is futile, and a negative attitude regarding change has few positive advantages. With rare exceptions, change is good, and the best managers make this message abundantly clear to employees.
The best hotel managers have rock solid integrity and set the bar high for both themselves and employees. When the staff sees that a manager is honest and can be trusted, it makes following instruction all the easier. The reputation for having integrity may come from doing the right thing for a guest, or making difficult but correct internal decisions.
The ability to encourage employees is an additional characteristic found in the best hotel managers in the industry. When employees feel their manager is going to be there to offer support when it is necessary, they tend to accomplish more in their job role.
This could be about a guest situation, or regarding upper management issues. Great managers that work with their team to develop and foster an open work environment often find their employees are happier and work harder.
Finally, the least tangible, but possibly the most vital trait for a manager to possess is passion. Without a genuine passion for providing outstanding guest experiences, and a real passion for the industry as a whole, it's hard to relish in the benefits of the other traits.
Employees are quick to pick up on if their manager is merely repeating things he is supposed to say, or if he is communicating something that he feels strongly about.
