The key to revenue success? Empowering your general manager

The role of a general manager is ever evolving, with the need to balance extensive and diverse responsibilities, from financial management to guest satisfaction, developing talent and – of course – keeping abreast of industry changes. However, one thing remains constant; for any hotel, the general manager is the key driver when it comes to delivering excellence in business performance for the owners. But what challenges do GMs face in today’s hospitality industry? And how can they be empowered to succeed? A changing landscape Our industry has changed dramatically over the last ten years, from rapid advances in technology, to cost increases and even the way guests want to experience hospitality, largely as a result of the Covid pandemic. Our sector’s desire to meet and exceed expectations has held firm though - it’s just the way we deliver that’s been transformed. A GM’s role is to sit at the helm of this change, shaping their hotel and their team in line with new ways of working. We’ve seen many of our GMs rise to this challenge, evolving everything from their customer communications – shifting from brochures to digital – to adapting to changes in legislation and new guest experience technologies.However, keeping up with the seemingly relentless pace of change isn’t easy and GMs need to understand and be supported in how to balance the priorities of their team and their property, while maintaining both guest and owner satisfaction. Retention is the new recruitment It’s no secret that recruitment in our industry has changed exponentially over the past five years. As one of our own GMs from the Aimbridge Hospitality EMEA portfolio said, retention is actually the new recruitment – holding onto and developing the talent you already have within your hotel is critical for success. Finding the right person to take on the role makes all the difference to both guest satisfaction and team engagement, both empowering and holding the hotel team accountable and ensuring outstanding service across the board – which ultimately drives revenue increase. To achieve this, owners and operators need to support existing GMs with the insights and knowledge they need to ride out industry change and adapt the guest experience. They need to also reward those who excel – and nurture the talents and ambitions of more junior team members who hold the potential to lead hotels and deliver excellence.It’s a key focus for us at Aimbridge EMEA and one we know works for the owners who trust us to deliver revenue success for their properties. Finding and keeping the right GM really does have the power to transform a hotel and drive increases in revenue through great guest experience – and the value of that cannot be underestimated.