The hotel entrepreneur must anticipate and organize the hotel’s future, as well as guide strategies, plan, and coordinate objectives and measures—as part of a systematic process of forecasting the future. Planning prepares the hotel to adapt to changes in its environment and requires the pursuit of achievable goals. Management—in the form of the hotel manager—must know how to provide employees with the necessary motivation to energize them, while constantly providing them with ongoing training to increase their capacity and willingness to take action.
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What are the duties of a hotel manager?
The main responsibilities of hotel management are:
- Determine the objectives.
- Establish the company’s policy.
- Determine the organizational structure.
- Establish action plans—financial, human resources, and material.
- Establish the company’s administrative policies.
- Determine programs.
- Determine resources.
- Develop and implement programs.
- Staff the organization.
- Maintain external relations.
- Organization of Activities.
- Supervising staff.
- Coordination of activities.
- Verification of results.
- Correcting budget variances.
These roles must be carried out with authority and responsibility in order to direct work, make decisions, and ensure that subordinates follow orders. In this occupation, four basic areas are addressed:
- All matters related to the provision of services involving the lodging and meals of guests.
- Activities aimed at the promotion, advertising, and public relations of the hotel.
- Accounting and financial management.
- The implementation and maintenance of policies, both regarding personnel and the purchase and restocking of supplies.
The Role of a Hotel Manager
Depending on the size of the hotel, management may be more or less specialized, leading to an excessive variety of tasks to be performed and a heavy workload that, in many cases, prevents staff from carrying out critical tasks or causes certain stages of the production process to be neglected.
The role of hotel manager may or may not be the same as that of the owner; in the case of large establishments and hotel chains, where management or lease agreements are common, the two roles do not usually coincide.
When both factors coincide, these are typically small, family-run businesses in which management has a low degree of specialization and takes on a wide range of tasks.
The profile of a hotel manager is very important when selecting one. Hotel chains and independent hotels select the most qualified candidates for this position based on their needs and objectives.
Are there benefits for hotel management in partnering with tour operators?
Hotels located in tourist areas generally maintain broader business relationships—both in terms of quality and volume—with tour operators and travel agencies. For hoteliers, this means having a stable supply of rooms and prices several months in advance, but it does not mean that they can currently achieve 100% occupancy through this channel.
Hotel owners would generally prefer to use direct sales channels, selling their products themselves and bypassing intermediaries; however, it is also true that the customer base has changed significantly, making collaboration between hotels and tour operators necessary. There are many reasons supporting this position; among the most notable, we highlight the following:
- For the hotelier, this means less effort in sales and promotion.
- Using an intermediary allows for much wider distribution of the product (geographic reach).
- It ensures publicity for the hotel, since it is featured in the tour operator’s brochure, which is printed in many thousands of copies to raise awareness.
- The tour operator has a better understanding of the market in which it operates and can effectively target that market.
- From the hotel’s perspective, it is very important to diversify the offering to avoid relying on a single distribution channel, as this could have serious consequences.
It is important to note that the relationships between hotels and travel agencies are based largely on the same principles as those with tour operators; therefore, everything that applies to one applies to the other.
