I had to ponder whether to sit down and write this story, or just file it as a case that almost never was. I have to go back to the beginning; this hotel story started in early January of this year. One of my clients had called me and explained that he had a colleague of his who had entered the hotel business several years ago. He had asked me to see this client and see what I could do to help him out. For privacy issues we will call the new client Mr. Smith. Normally I would have not taken this piece of business. If Mr. Smith had contacted me through normal channels I would have turned him down. Mr. Smith’s criteria did not fit my plans, therefore no invitation would have been issued to his property (Hotel) but because a well-established client of many years had asked me to help, I accepted.
Story of a Hotel in Trouble
The hotel is located close to the sea, with a spectacular view and well-manicured grounds with 275 rooms. I did not arrive to the property as a consultant, I had asked Mr. Smith to introduce me as his cousin from Chicago. This way I was able to walk around the property without fear of employees thinking they were on the chopping block. This property in the beginning was doing very well, it had a nice ADR, and a very good occupancy rate 82% and during high season even better.
Choosing the Right People to Support You
After spending 2 weeks walking around and visiting different departments, I would have not believed what was taking place. Remember, Mr. Smith has had this property for 21 months; his numbers were good because the hotel was running on reputation, not because the staff was doing a good job. When I arrived, the damage had been done, the ADR was down, and the occupancy had fallen to 67%. What had happened? Why did this happen? New owners or GM’S pay attention when things go south. Mr. Smith had insufficient hotel knowledge as to how the business works and he set out to hire executives that were not the proper fit for what needed to be done. These executives who commanded a very high salary had taken advantage of Mr. Smith. Now this situation does not happen very often, but sad to say in this case it did.
Dealing With Staff Who Are Not Performing
His hotel team had let Mr. Smith down, they were not performing their jobs, like they were supposed to. There was a minimum of work done, and most were off the property by 4pm on any given day. The secondary level of supervisors were actually the ones running the hotel. Mr. Smith was told that the economy in that area was slow to recoup, and that was the reason the occupancy had declined. The irony in this story is that in spite of all of the mistakes and poor management, the property still managed to show a small profit.
To make a long story shorter, after preparing my report and observations as well as recommendations, I presented the report to Mr. Smith. I spent some time on the property before returning to home grounds. The next morning Mr. Smith had asked me to see him before I left. I have a low tolerance for inept and lazy hotel managers. You better eat, sleep, work, drink hotel if you are working for me. Here is my recommendations to Mr. Smith: The following departments need to be changed, you need new personnel to head them up. Food and beverage, hotel operations, revenue management, and sales. I suggested that he hire a recruitment agency and hire these people, and then fire the ones you have on board.
That was several weeks ago — if Mr. Smith had continued along the same path I would guarantee that that hotel would have been in chapter 13 by now. Changes have been made and hopefully the numbers will start climbing and all will return to the way it was. One of the consultants that worked with me on the project has accepted the GM’S spot on the property and Mr. Smith can rest easy. The next time I am in the area I expect to see fantastic results. The hotel business is not for everyone, if you as a business man plan on purchasing a hotel, please do your homework well – if nothing else, hire a good, well-seasoned hotel executive to guide you. Till then, happy trails.
About the Author
Alan Campbell has been in Las Vegas for over 30 years and has worked for the major strip hotels. He has spent some time in California, Los Angeles where he worked for the Radisson and Sheraton hotels. Alan considers the hospitality industry the best job in the world – it is the only place that both king's and Paupers will visit you.
The Hotel Guy
