Leadership in the hotel industry is often talked about but not always observed in reality. But when you do recognise the passion and enthusiasm in such leaders, it renews your faith in hospitality education and in the future of the industry. Such a leader is Gregor Seipolt, the General Manager of the Holiday Inn Berlin City – West, a significant 336 room hotel with a staff of 70 and 18 conference and event facilities close to the Siemens headquarters and near to Berlin Tegel airport.
This hotel is a hemisphere away from when I first encountered Gregor in the year 2000, as a young, enthusiastic fresh faced student when I was the Principal at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia. What influenced his journey from student to General Manager? How did his hotel school education prepare him for today’s industry challenges and opportunities?
A lively and expressive individual, Gregor is particularly so when talking about his time in the Blue Mountains. When he says it was, “the best time of my life” he clearly means it. The memories, the enthusiasms and the challenges come tumbling from him. However, he is very reflective when paused, and he highlights not just the value of the education, but the valuable experience of being a student in another continent in a multicultural environment. He emphasises the valuable experience of working with and across different cultures, the broadening of his horizons and aspirations, and developing in confidence and professionalism. He also learned to understand the culture of being ‘hospitable’, as well as in his terms, ‘have a great time!’
It was at the hotel school that Gregor started to recognise and develop the importance of leadership and leading by example. It is necessary for a leader to be visible to staff and guests, and to understand when to intervene and when to stand back. Gregor values personal contact with staff and guests alike, as it is through personal relationships that he believes you can build confidence and trust. Trust in you as a leader, and confidence in you as a General Manager who values his guests.
The challenges for Gregor as a GM in Berlin are mirrored by GM’s the world over. Staffing, tends to be the key issue. For too many hotel staff, Gregor sees them working, “at a job not a passion”. But as with many leaders, he sees that you have to work with the staff that you have – to encourage, to motivate and inspire them into a cohesive team. It is important that you have the trust and confidence of your team if you want to shape them with your own vision and values.
Although still a young man, Gregor has seen continuous technological changes in his career so far and recognises that this is not a trend, but an evolutionary process. It is important that the technology used in hotels supports the guest and does not confound or confuse. He believes it should be transparent and intuitive and largely “out of sight”. If it removes or impacts on personal contact with the guests, then Gregor says “you lose that valuable opportunity to get to know your guests, to develop their confidence in your hotel, and to up sell the values and facilities of hotel”.
As a keen observer of guests, Gregor recognises that guests are seeking greater personal recognition. They want their individual needs to be noted and remembered. The key to this is again the staff. They must contribute as individuals to the collective knowledge of their guests by passing on preferences and capturing that vital guest history. Often it seems that the processes or systems get in the way of recording the guests needs and therefore the guests individuality and wishes appear to be to be largely ignored.
Where next? Gregor has only been in this position for a few months and recognises that he needs to develop his team and himself over the next few years to achieve the standards that he knows they collectively can achieve. But for the future, perhaps one day he would like to return to five-star properties that have helped fashion him and his career into the leader that he is today. He is an individualist who knows his passions and idiosyncrasies will drive him to find opportunities for his talent to continue to flourish and grow.
It always gives me great personal satisfaction to see leaders emerging, developing and growing, especially when I have had the good fortune to have had some small influence on their education and career.
About the author
Professor Peter A. Jones, MBE, is the Dean of the eHotelier Academy. With a distinguished career in hospitality, education and training, Peter has been involved with national and international projects with clients involved in hospitality education. Peter is a Director the Edge Hotel School and of Hotel Future, a new education and training initiative in Greater Manchester and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Derby. He was also awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the hospitality industry.
