Managing Hotels Effectively

Eddystone C. Nebel is the author of Managing Hotels Effectively: Lessons from Outstanding General Managers, published by Wiley.

• Preface xviiAcknowledgements xxiIntroduction xxiiiThe Gm Research xxiiiHE Gms xxivUnifying Theme xxviiReferences xxviiiChapter 1 The Environment of The Hotel Business 1THE GLAMOUR OF IT ALL 2The Hotel as History 3The Hotel as Excitement 4The Hotel as Theater 7A City Within a City 8A Vocation 8THE PACE OF A HOTEL 9Hotel Cycles 10Open for Business 8,760 Hours per Year 10Scope of Operations 12The Unpredictability of Problems 14The Immediacy of Problems 16The Need for Dedication 18THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 18Hotels Are Commodities 19Permanent Overbuilding 20Rooms Are Perishable Products 21Forecasting Demand 22CONCLUSION 24REFERENCES 26QUESTIONS 26Chapter 2 Service, People, and Profits in the Hotel Business 28SERVICE COUNTS 28Service Is tangible 31Setting Service Standards 32Service Consistency 35Atitudes Toward Service 36PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE 36Guests 37Employees 39Managers 46OWNERS, PROFITS, AND MANAGERS 48Absentee Owners 48Corporate Input 50Profits Versus Service 50Profits During Good Times and Bad 52CONCLUSION 53REFERENCES 55FURTHER READING 55QUESTIONS 55Chapter 3 An Overview of Strategic Planning 57THE NATURE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING 57Strategic Planning Defined 57Distinguishing Characteristics of Strategic Planning 58THE STRATEGIC PLANNING HIERARCHY 59Strategic Planning and the Corporate Organization 60Corporate-Level Strategic Planning 61Business-Level Strategic Planning 61Functional Level Strategic Planning 62Strategic Planning and the Individual Hotel 62THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS 63Overview of the Strategi Planning Process 64Setting Organizational Goals 66Formulating a Strategic Plan 70Strategy Implementation 76Evaluating Strategic Plan 78The Tine Horizon of Strategic Planning 79CONCLUSION 80REFERENCES 82QUESTIONS 82Chapter 4 Planning in Hotels 84THE HOTEL PLANNING CONTEXT 84The Hotel Planning Time Horizon 86The GM's Role in Strategic Planning 87SETTING HOTEL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 89Determining Markets to Serve 90Setting Service and Quality Standards 91Other Goals and Objectives 93Productivity Goals 93Human Resource Goals 95Profitability Goals 95Developing a Hotel's Culture 97FORMULATING A STRATEGIC PLAN 98An Aggressive Strategic Plan 100A Time for Retrenchment and Turnaround 105CONCLUSION 109REFERENCES 109QUESTIONS 110Chapter 5 Hotel Organization 111AN OVERVIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN 111The Elements Of Organizational Structure 112Specialization 112Departmentalization 115Authority 118Line Versus Staff Authority 118Span of control 119Coordination of Activities 122Static Principles of Organizational Design 125Chain of Command 125Unity of Command 127Delegation 128THE HOTEL FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN 130A Mid-Sized Hotel's Organizational Design 130The Rooms Department 130The Food and Beverage Department 133Sales and Marketing 134Personnel 135Accounting 135A Large Hotel's Organizational Design 137Strengths of the Functional Organization 139Weaknesses of the Functional Organization 139CONCLUSION 141REFERENCES 142QUESTIONS 142Chapter 6 Coordinating the Activities of a Hotel 144THE NEED FOR INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION 144THE EXECUTIVE OPERATING COMMITTEE 146OTHER HOTEL COMMITTEES AND MEETINGS 150The Variety of Hotel Committees and Meetings 151Meetings and Communications 151CONCLUSION 156REFERENCES 156QUESTIONS 157Chapter 7 Hotel Staffing 157THE HOTEL STAFFING SYSTEM 159Job Design 159Employee Selection 160Training and Development 165Performance Appraisal 168Employee Compensation 170CONCLUSION 170REFERENCES 171QUESTIONS 171Chapter 8 Motivation 173UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE 173MOTIVATION AND WORK 175Assumptions About People 176A Changing View of Workers 177The Motivational Process 179INDIVIDUAL NEEDS 180Theory X and Theory Y 180A Needs Hierarchy 182The Need for Achievement 185Worker Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction 187MOTIVATIONAL PROCESS 189An Expectancy Theory of Motivation 190Goal Setting and Management by Objectives 195Equity as Part of the Motivational Process 198Behavior Modification 200JOB SATISFACTION AND JOB PERFORMANCE 201Does Satisfaction Lead to Performance? 202Does Performance Lead to Satisfaction? 202Some Practical Considerations 203Views of Hotel GMs 205CONCLUSION 205REFERENCES 207QUESTIONS 208Chapter 9 Communication IN HOTELS 210THE INTENSITY OF COMMUNICATIONS IN HOTELS 210THE KEY ROLE PLAYED BY COMMUNICATIONS 213TIPS FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION 216It's Easy to Get into Trouble 217Misunderstanding Slow Service 219Ms CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF COMMUNICATING 220Putting Yourself in the Other Person's Shoes 221Rushing to Judgment 221No Such Thing as an Interruption 221You Can Learn Only When Someone Else Is Talking 224If You Do All the Talking You'll Also Have to Do All the Thinking 226CONCLUSION 226REFERENCES 227QUESTIONS 228Chapter 10 Leading People 229THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP 229Leadership in Hotels 230What Is Leadership? 232LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND SOURCES OF POWER 233Leadership Traits 233Sources of Leader Power 234LEADER BEHAVIOR 236Authoritarian Versus Participative Leadership 237Pros and Cons of Authoritarian and Participative Leadership 238Factors Affecting Leadership Style 239GM Leadership Behavior: Authoritarian Versus Participative 240Consideration and Initiating Structure 243The Management Grig 243Factors Affecting Leadership Style 244GM Leadership Behavior: Task Versus People 245GMs Attention to Detail and Follow-up as a Leadership Trait 248CHOOSING A LEADERSHIP STYLE 248flower Maturity Affects Initiating Structure and Consideration 249Choosing a Leadership Style 249How GMs Act 250How to Choose Between an Authoritarian and a Participative Leadership Style 251Choosing a Decision-Making Leadership Style 251GMs and Decision Making 254CONCLUSION 256REFERENCES 258FURTHER READING 259QUESTIONS 259Chapter 11 Leading Organizations 261AMERICAN DOMINANCE CHALLENGED 261CHARACTERISTICS OF A JAPANESE BUSINESS 263Theory Z 265TYPE Z ORGANIZATIONS 265Why Type Z Firms Are Top Performers 267THE ART OF JAPANESE MANAGEMENT 268Interdependence and Junior-Senior Relationships 268An American Example of Japanese Management 268Superordinate Goals 269JAPANESE MANAGEMENT IN THE HOTEL BUSINESS 271Turnover and Its Consequences 271Specialized Career Paths 272Holistic Relations and Trust 273Collective Decision Making and Collective Responsibility 273IN SEARCH OF (AMERICAN) EXCELLENCE 276Attitudes Toward People 277Values and Meaning 278Management by Wandering Around 281Hotel GMs Searching for Managerial Excellence 282SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT AMERICAN LEADERS 285Strategy 1: Attention Through Vision 286Strategy 2: Meaning Through Communication 286Strategy 3: Trust Through Positioning 287Strategy 4: Self-development 286CONCLUSION 291REFERENCES 292FURTHER READINGS 292QUESTIONS 293Chapter 12 An Overview of Controlling Hotel Operations 294FEEDBACK CONTROL 295Simple Feedback-Control Process 295Where Feedback Control Cannot Be Used 296Feedback Control in Hotels 296CONTROL TACTICS 298Results Accountability Controls 298Specific-Action Controls 299Personnel Control 300CHOOSING THE RIGHT CONTROL STRATEGY 301Specific-Action Controls 301Results Control 304Personnel Control 305CONCLUSION 307REFERENCES 307QUESTIONS 308RevenuesChapter 13 Controlling Results: Hotel Revenues and Costs 309THE BEGINNING FORECAST 311Occupancy Forecast 311Department Forecasts 314FORGING THE ANNUAL BUSINESS PLAN 317Group Consensus at The Regal Hotel 317Making Difficult Choices at The St. Charles Hotel 322The Final Business Plan 323MONTHLY CONTROL CYCLE 323The Thirty- To Ninety-Day Forecast 323The Monthly Forecast 324The Profit and Loss Forecast 329The Ten-Day Planning and Control Cycle 331CONCLUSION 336REFERENCES 337QUESTIONS 337Chapter 14 Control: Getting Employees To Do Things Right and To Do the Right Things 338SPECIFIC-ACTION CONTROLS: GETTING EMPLOYEES TO DO THINGS RIGHT 338Introductory Training: The "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Working for a Living 339Doing Things Right on the Job: Housekeeping Room Attendants 341Specific-Action Controls for Managers 343Systems of Specific-Action Controls 346Direct Supervision as a Form of Specific-Action Controls 348PERSONNEL CONTROL: GETTING PEOPLE TO DO THE RIGHT THINGS 349Telephone Training: Simple Training for a Critical Skill 349Guest-Relations Training 350Total Employee Training 354Employee Relations Programs 356Employee Programs 356Employee Surveys 359Employee Turnover 360CONCLUSION 361REFERENCES 364QUESTIONS 364Chapter 15 The Ms' Background an Personal Characteristics 336The GMs' Backgrounds 367Formal Education 367Strengths and Weaknesses of the GMs' Formal Education 370Choice of a Hotel Career 371Types of Experience and Career Progression 372Major Career-Decision Points 375Future Ambitions 378PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GM 378GMs' Outlook About Their Jobs 379Tough Job Decisions 379Recent High and Low Points in the GMs' Lives 381Likes and Dislikes of Being a GM 382Views About Family 383Self-evaluation 383Others' Evaluation's 384PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IDEAL GM 385Needs and Drives 386Attitudes and Values 387Interpersonal Orientation 388Temperament 389Cognitive Orientation 390CONCLUSION 392REFERENCES 395FURTHER READINGS 395QUESTIONS 396Chapter 16 The Day-to-Day Activities of Outstanding Hotel Managers 397THE CHAME LENGES LENGES OF THE GM'S JOB 398Job Demands and Relationship Demands 398Short Run Demands 398Intermediate-Run Demands 399Long-Run Demands 400The Roles a GM Must Play 401Managerial Roles as Operational Controller 402Managerial Roles as Organizational Developer 404Managerial Roles as Business Maintainer 405The GM as Information Focal Point 405WATCHING A HOTEL GM MANAGE 406A Typical Day 407Characteristics of Managerial Work 412Hotel GMs Perform a Great Amount of Work (Mintzberg's number 1/Kotter's number 1) 413Hotel GMs Perform a Wide Variety of Activities (Mintzberg's number 2/Kotter's number 2, 3, 4) 413Hotel GMs Make Many Small Decisions on Current Issues (Mintzberg's number 3/Kotter's number 5) 415Hotel GMs Have Extensive Dealings With the Outside World (Mintzberg's number 4/Kotter's number 6 and 7) 416Hotel GMs Spend Their Work Days in Intensive Verbal Communication (Mintzberg's number 5 / Kotter's number 8) 417Hotel GMs Allocate Their Time by Reacting to the Events That Take Place Around Them (Mintzberg's number 6/Kotter's number 9) 418Additional Aspects of Managerial Work 423Conclusion 425References 427Further Readings 427Questions 428Appendix 429General Manager Questions 429Divisional Head Questions 430Index 433