The figures that make up the hotel team are by no means few and are all very important.
At the top we obviously have the director, the figure who deals with managing most aspects of the structure.
Under the director we find several figures such as: receptionist, night porter, booking staff, waiters on the floors etc.
In this article we will discuss how careful staff selection is the main aspect behind a profitable revenue strategy; long before excel sheets, disintermediation strategies and algorithms of various kinds people come!
The choice of the “right people”
A single rotten apple in a fresh fruit basket quickly infects and withers all the fruits of the basket.
Similarly, toxic people in a work team take away precious oxygen from our business, creating in a very short time an unpleasant and hostile work environment that has a serious impact on the business.
Marco, co-founde of Slope, think that explains how he managed to build a team of very high profile IT engineers by carefully selecting each person who was added to the team. The first rule is that the selection must never be carried out by a single person (the owner or the director, to understand us) but it is the same team in which this figure will be integrated that must be made part of the selection process of their colleagues.
The main characteristics and qualities that you must look for in a person you want to hire are:
- friendliness (friendly and helpful character);
- patience (and desire to question oneself);
- precision and punctuality;
- being smart.
These are the main personal characteristics that a person must have in order to work well in a team and in a company.
We specify that working in a hotel (in any job) is not a trivial thing, however all the roles described above can be learned over time and with commitment, a prerequisite, however, is that the person is well prepared to learn, prove patient, punctual and above all awake and attentive (smart).
On the other hand, a person unwilling to get involved, convinced that he knows everything and has nothing else to learn from work and life, will be very limited in his ability to grow and adapt in a world that evolves and changes suddenly.
It is therefore preferable to invest in a person who has potential and less experience than the only skills that this person is having today.
With this sentence we do not mean to say that we must only surround ourselves with young people with little experience, but we must find people with the right mindset and attitude, regardless of their age.
The need to have “leaders” and not “leaders”
A group of people, regardless of their job, will feel more motivated if they feel their employer collaborate side by side in achieving their daily goals.
In the case of a hotel, the figure closest to that of the employer is the “manager” of the structure. This person must define the culture to be followed in the company by operating as a leader and a model for the whole team.
The figure to avoid is that of the “boss”, a person who imposes his will on people, leaving no room for expression for his employees. By stifling people’s imagination and creativity, motivation is strongly affected: motivation, together with enthusiasm, are the real fuel behind an excellent job.
Teamwork is also important, if a group fails to work in a team due to elements that can lead to disintegration, there is a risk of jeopardizing projects and the company’s image itself.
It is therefore important to build an environment in which trust between colleagues is indispensable, so as to create a cohesive group that knows how to deal with daily difficulties.
Bonuses and economic rewards
A leader must be able to set business goals and ensure that the team receives an incentive when the goals are achieved.
The economic incentive is by far the most appreciated recognition. Giving a prize or a bonus gratifies and motivates people by giving even more meaning to all the hard work they have done during the year.
A well-motivated receptionist who is passionate about his job can make a significant difference in terms of revenue for the hotel.
When the receptionist in charge of booking is on the phone with a customer, he must have the desire and the push to present all the accommodation options that the structure makes available in a clear and available way.
And how do you choose your collaborators? What are the criteria you adopt? How do you carry out job interviews?
