Andrew Houghton, Area VP, Argentina, Brazil, Caribbean & Chile, Marriott international, Weston, Florida, USA
Introduction
Andrew Houghton is the Area Vice President of Operations – Caribbean, Argentina, Chile & Brazil, Marriott International, Inc., reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, South America. Andrew Houghton is responsible for the overall hotel operations of 26 hotels and resorts, which includes both managed and franchised hotels, with five lodging brands: JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott Hotels and Autograph Collection, Marriott Executive Apartments, properties.
Andrew Houghton has been working for Marriott for 20 years and has been working in the hospitality industry since he was in his mid-teens. He is passionate about his work. Like many top executives in the hotel industry, he believes that mediocrity cannot be tolerated. He is an educated man with a clear vision and a strong sense of integrity. At the same time, he has a common sense approach to business. He is down to earth and is an engaged leader. In fact, he is very proud of the fact that people who used to work for him are now doing very well and many of them have since become GMs.
Interview
How did you get into the hotel business? Did you study hotel management?
I did study hotel management in Cambridge. Actually, I wanted to be an airline pilot but I didn’t pass the math test. My father worked in the City of London. I was brought up as an expatriate in West Africa. When I was 15 years old, I worked as a waiter in a restaurant in a small village in England. I like the hospitality business because it has no borders.
You started your career in sales and marketing. In what way does your experience help you on your current job?
I started in Operations. After my graduation, I worked in Operations for six years before I moved into Sales and Marketing. Most importantly, I learned in Sales and Marketing to:
- Ask intelligent questions;
- Listen to the answers;
- Understand the answers.
I don’t think we do enough teaching people how to ask questions. When I was a Sales Manager, I taught my people to ask three different categories of questions:
- Topical questions; e.g., what is the latest news?
- Relevant questions; e.g., what is your plan for the upcoming holiday?
- Unique questions; e.g., do you remember the first thing you saw when you arrived in Caro for the first time?
From these answers, you begin to see the big picture — and if you multiply this by 10, you get very useful information.
You started your career in Marriott in 1984. You have been with them for 20+ years. Have you ever thought about working for a different company?
I started working for Marriott in 1986. I worked for them for six years. Then I joined Hilton for six years. When you work for a different company, you get a different perspective. In total, I worked for Marriott for 20 years. I’ve worked on four continents and in nine countries. When I first joined Marriott, it had 100 hotels in seven countries. We now have more than 3,700 properties in over 74 countries. Marriott Hotels is a family-like company. It has integrity. What was said in the beginning still holds true today. They supported and encouraged me.
What have you learned working as the Area Vice President Caribbean, Brazil, Argentina, & Chile?
This is my fourth continent. People in South America really want to improve and grow. In fact, there are incredible economic growth opportunities in South America. There is a large pool of people who are highly educated and who possess natural talent. Take Mexico, for example, you see people in the service sector who are proud, focused and committed.
We don’t communicate enough about the different facets of our industry. Normally, we emphasize, for instance, housekeeping, F&B, front desk, etc. But Marriott has 18 brands. Career opportunities with us are not just limited in the traditional hotel management departments, but also in areas such as website design and in other technical fields.
What are the most difficult issues you are facing in your current position?
We identified Brazil as a growth market. However, how we work and how the Brazilians work are quite different, and that is a challenge.
Another challenge is that in four years, we will grow from the current 69 to 130 hotels in the next 24 months in the CALA region. We expect to add approximately 9,000 new fulltime positions including 900 management positions. We also have to develop senior management. However, this challenge is not unique. In other growth markets, such as China, India and Southeast Asia, there is a similar story.
You were awarded as the Asia Pacific Region’s General Manager of the Year in 2007. Why do you think you received this award?
My ability to learn from great people! I learned a lot from great people; they taught me every day. Also, I was a GM three times.
What is your leadership style? What makes you an effective leader?
My style of leadership is one that motivates people to realize their potential, to allow them to learn within the boundaries and have fun doing it. But I push them a little; I allow them to make mistakes. It is the best way to learn.
I can measure the effectiveness of my leadership style. Many people who had worked with me in Shanghai and Egypt are now GMs. In Brazil, we worked with 814 talented Brazilians and now only one individual is an expatriate.
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
I would be the age I am at this moment! Physically, I don’t really feel different than 20 years ago. But my ears are more open. I am more relevant. I worked in our “brand team”; this position gave me the chance to work with incredible intelligent people. If I were older or younger mentally, I would not have the capacity to learn.
In the haste of their daily lives, what are your employees not seeing?
They don’t see the long-term opportunities. They see short-term desires.
I don’t believe that the delivery of experience to customers can be replaced by machines yet. It’s completely intangible. What the guests get is a memory. Young people must ask themselves what will this business be like 20 years from now, and what can they contribute to the business.
What would you regret, not fully being, not fully doing, not fully having in your life?
I would regret not being fully respected, not fully doing the right thing, and not having the peace of mind of knowing that I have contributed something in my life, whether it is about my business, family or the community.
What keeps you motivated?
We measure customer and associate satisfaction, financial performance and brand image scores. Results keep me motivated. I like winning. Winning is not always about coming in first. It is about showing that you are progressing; you are improving.
If you must make a choice, would you do the things right or would you do the right things?
I would do the right things. Integrity is such an important part of our foundation. In today’s business, it is easy to get in a compromising situation. For example, when an owner gave one of our GMs an expensive gift, he immediately declared it, which is required according to our company rules. He did the right thing!
I recently posted a question in our Facebook page (iworkinhotels.com): “Why do you think your GM is important to you?” Someone answered: “I don’t think my GM is important to me but he might be important to the company.” Do you agree with this statement?
That was a telling remark! Clearly that employee was not looked after properly by his GM. I would hope that if we were asked the same question, I would not get the same answer. I’ve never known a GM who was not important to me.
If I were in the management of that hotel, I would want to talk to the GM. As the GM, you have to be a father and a brother for your employees. A GM must understand that the business has many facets and this requires him to play different roles to different people.
What are your strengths and are there weaknesses?
We can start with my weakness: I tend to focus too little on details.
My strength is that I have a clear vision.
At work, what puts a smile on your face?
Our industry is so dynamic, so hectic. It’s important to keep your eyes open and see the funny side of life. Yes, we all work extremely hard, but people really do the funniest things, you just need to notice them.
What puts a frown on your face?
Some people don’t work hard enough to fully realize their potential. Some people say they just can’t do it! Some people believe that they are entitled to everything and that they don’t have to work hard to achieve their potential. That puts a frown on my face!
When people are not used to having everything, they tend to work harder to achieve their potential.
Life is too short to tolerate ____________________?
Mediocrity!
If you just won 20 million dollars, would you quit your job?
I don’t know! I am pretty factual. If I did win, I would give 90% of my winnings away to someone. If I won, I would continue working but I would want to have a job with more responsibility!
What advice would you offer to those who are inspired to become a senior executive in the hotel industry one day?
- I would advise to study first, so that you would have an academic qualification.
- Do the best you can.
- Find great mentors for yourself.
- Ask as many questions as you can and then, listen.
- Remember, how you behave and communicate is very important.
- If you are interested in Revenue Management, work for Marriott; if you like F&B, work for Hyatt; if you want to learn excellent customer care, work for Ritz-Carlton, work for Westin if “style” is your main interest, and if you like tradition, Shangri-La is the hotel to work for.
What’s next?
My medium-term objective is to become the Chief Operating Officer for one of the continents.
About Lily Lin
ily Lin, MBA, Ph.D. is the Chief Editor at http://iworkinhotels.com. She is also responsible for business development in Asia and in the US. She has extensive experiences in marketing management, consulting and training. She has taught in American, German and Dutch universities. In addition, she is an academic board member of the Schouten University, Master of Business Administration. Schouten University is a British accredited online university. She has taught for the University of Maryland (from the State of Maryland in the US). In the Netherlands, she was an adjunct professor for the Phoenix University MBA program in Rotterdam, Webster University in Leiden, HES (Higher Institution of Economic Studies) in Amsterdam, European University in The Hague. She was also an adjunct professor for the Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany.
For more than 20 years, she was the designer and the senior lecturer of a number of courses at the Hotelschool The Hague in the Netherlands that include Revenue Management, the first ever offered at the School, marketing management and other marketing-related courses. She conceived her latest project, ”Interviewing Successful Hotel Managers Series”, in which she interviews hotel managers from major international chain and independent hotels. Her interviews and other works are published regularly at the http://iworkinhotels.com/dr-lins-blog.
