How to handle a general manager

There are so many ways in which independent hotels differ from those in group ownership. Perhaps one of the most significant is in the relationship between owner and general manager because, without a large corporate structure, it is often a very personal one. I would go so far as to say that a good working rapport between owner(s) and GM is essential to the success of the business.

I do not pretend to be an expert in this area. After all, it is over 30 years since I managed a hotel myself. However I have been lucky enough to observe lots of independent operators at close range throughout my time at Pride of Britain and, before that, as a publisher for Johansens.

Here is what I’ve noticed. When a GM is regarded by his or her employers as merely a supervisor, someone who is paid to keep on top of the day to day functioning of the business but is not included in major decision-making, the rest of the team find it difficult to think of the GM as “the boss”. It is the worst of all worlds, bearing loads of responsibility but without sufficient authority to control events.

This I have seen frequently in smaller establishments where the owners are present much of the time, involving themselves in the detail and giving instructions to junior members of the team without first consulting the GM. This places the GM in an impossible situation and if they’re any good they will probably leave. Or worse, if they are second rate, they are going to stay, allowing resentment and mistrust to soak up energy that should instead be directed towards delighting customers and growing profits.

Conversely, where there is mutual trust and respect I have seen plenty of GMs thrive, sometimes for decades, in challenging roles. Knowing the owner is fully supportive of his or her methods can give a GM almost invincible power, enabling them to create a perfect working environment for the team and to command its loyalty.

It requires generosity on the owner’s part to allow someone else to behave in a ‘proprietorial’ fashion and, most likely, to take the credit for achievements such as guide recognition. Exactly the same logic applies to a football club manager or the star of a west end show – the chairman or the theatre producer being proud beneficiaries, usually behind the scenes.

So on the very few occasions when my advice has been sought about appointing a GM I have started by asking whether that person is really going to be in charge. If not, it would be far better to engage a brilliant deputy, perhaps with the title ‘Hotel Manager’, and make it plain that the GM is really the owner.

In this way everyone understands how the hierarchy is supposed to operate and who calls the shots. Appointing an experienced professional GM, I would argue, best suits owners who are happy to stand back from the management of the business although they will obviously still set strategy in private consultation with the GM.

For the sake of my own job security I dare not single out individuals here but suffice to say the most successful hoteliers I have come across, without exception, are people who understand that management and owners must be seen to work hand in glove, one’s power dependent on the other’s consent.

For some reason we have witnessed a spate of high profile movers in the UK over recent months. Every time this happens it is traumatic for the business concerned, of course, though it does present an opportunity for a fresh face to re-invigorate things. We’re all allowed to make a few mistakes in life; the trick is not to keep repeating the same ones!