Hospitality offers great career opportunities since it is a multibillion-dollar industry. Therefore, you can get a job in cruise ships, country clubs, theme parks, bars, restaurants, hotels, and many more. However, it is not easy to succeed in hospitality management. To succeed in hospitality management, you must have the skills, charisma, and drive to succeed. It is also better to improve your skills and learn to handle the demands of customers, other employees, and owners.
Here are the top tips from pub owner Paul Leongas for jumpstarting your hospitality management career:
1. Education Tips from Paul Leongas
Hospitality managers are hard-working, driven, and ready to learn. In fact, successful hospital managers never stop learning. If you want to become a successful hospitality manager, you must study hospitality management.
Once you decide to work in the hospitality industry, you can now invest in your education. It is better to learn the modern practices and standards in the hospitality industry.
Once you earn your degree, do not stop learning. In fact, you can read books and websites on business marketing, work with housekeeping employees, and even experiment with cocktail recipes with a bartender.
You can do different jobs to know how these jobs contribute to the success of the establishment suggests Paul Leongas.
2. Mentors
It is important to look for a mentor according to Paul Leongas. If you know influential hospitality managers, you can meet them for coffee. Ask the successful hospitality managers about their failures and successes.
If you have a job in hospitality, talk to your managers. Some of the managers can help you grow professionally. If you are hard-working and ready to learn, your managers will want to help you succeed.
3. Be a Leader
If you want to become a leader in the hospitality industry, you must act like a leader. Leaders are organized and they have to-do lists. If you are given a task, you must work on the task efficiently to impress your managers. Study hospitality magazines. If you work in a bar, you can come up with new drink recipes. If you are willing to do the work, you will get noticed.
4. Communication
If you do not communicate effectively, you are more likely to make mistakes. Therefore, it is important to communicate effectively with the employees and owners to minimize mistakes.
If you want to become a hospitality manager, you must become a problem solver and the director of money and time. If you are given instructions to follow, you must follow the instructions. In addition, you address concerns and give instructions.
5. Hire the Best Employees
Hire honest, dedicated, and skilled employees to make your job easier. Also, hiring the best employees can help you avoid cleaning up their messes. If an employee steals your time and products, do not hesitate to fire them. Let trustworthy employees fix some problems.
6. Create a Good Work Environment
According to Paul Leongas, it is better to treat your star employees well. If you want your employees to work hard and love their work, you must create a good work environment. If your employees love their work, they are more likely to work hard to help you achieve your goals.
You can use compliments to build the morale of your employees. It is even better to remember their birthdays. Host parties for your employees and make your workplace fun. If your employees are happy, they are more likely to treat your customers better.
7. Reward Good Behavior
If an employee does an excellent job, praise them sincerely and publicly. Your employees can even compete for the Employee of the Month reward.
If some employees perform undesirable tasks without complaining, you need to reward them. Rewarding good behavior can motivate your employees to work hard.
8. Create Training Materials
Do not answer the same questions several times, so create training materials answering these questions suggests Paul Leongas. You can use mentoring to train your employees. You can also write a handbook with established procedures and expectations and give the handbook to your employees.
9. Have the Right Equipment
Your employees should use modern and quality equipment. It is important to set aside money for purchasing new equipment or replacing your old equipment. For instance, you may need money to replace your aging vacuums.
In addition, you can provide branded clothing and business cards for your employees.
10. Do Not Let Pressure Overwhelm You
According to Murphy law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You will have to deal with the demands of the customers, employees, and owners, especially during the busiest days, weeks, and months. If you let these demands overwhelm you, you might not last for a long time in your job.
If you want to become a successful hospitality manager, do not let the stress and the demands of the job overwhelm you. It is much better to prioritize the needs of other people and improve your multi-tasking skills. Set boundaries to manage your stress. Do not even let your work life interfere with your personal life.
11. Get Ready for Emergencies
If an emergency occurs, remember you are the leader. Therefore, you need to create detailed evacuation plans and communication plans.
It is even better to train your employees to respond to different emergencies. Hold drills regularly and make sure you have working equipment, including battery-operated radios.
12. Know Your Competitors
Visit your competitors, such as hotels and restaurants, to know what they are doing. Talk to professionals and managers in complementary industries, like event planning and catering.
Developing great relations with several professionals and managers can help you get more opportunities for growing your business. For instance, some hotels offer 10% discounts to local pizzerias, so the pizzerias post free ads for these hotels.
13. Improve the Business
Do not just focus on managing the daily operations. It is even more important to focus on growing the business. You can improve efficiency or expand the services to grow the business.
Update your systems and procedures regularly. Ask your employees for input. Use the best practices. If you want to get more reviews on the internet, offer your customers incentives to write these reviews.
14. Do Not Ignore Your Guests
Spend more time with your customers. If you have free time, you can meet and greet your customers once they arrive. Ask them about their experience. If they are ready to leave, wish them well.
15. Your Customer is Right
This cliché is important in the hospitality industry. If you can provide excellent customer service, you are more likely to get loyal customers. Listen to the complaints of your customers. You can learn from these complaints. It is a good idea to provide a suggestion box for your employees and customers.
