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A Day in The Life of a Hotel Manager

a-day-in-the-life-of-a-hotel-manager

Do you see yourself as a hotel manager a few years from now? If you think it could be a possibility for you, then getting to know the responsibilities and duties of a hotel manager should be on your mind.

As a quick overview, a hotel manager is someone who looks both at the operational duties and management matters of the hotel business. However, a hotel manager wears multiple hats—overseeing operational functions, interacting with guests and staff, managing all the departments, making financial reports and more. They are required to be a people’s person and a strong communicator, critical thinker, organiser, and have digital and financial competence.

While some people have a natural affinity for these skills, for many others, education and work experience leading up to the role makes the road much clearer. If you’re keen to become one, it’s good to know what a day in the life of a hotel manager looks like so your expectations are set, and you know how to best prepare yourself for the role. Here’s our brief rundown and check for yourself!

Early Morning Starts

Typically, a day in the life of a hotel manager starts early. After going through emails and reviewing MOD (Manager on Duty) reports to check how the night shift went, the manager heads directly to the front desk to check with the managers and clerks. Any issues from the previous night or early morning are addressed and resolved first and foremost.

They then take a tour of the hotel common areas, including the lobby, garden area, swimming pool, gym, buffet and restaurants to check if everything is in order before the guests start pouring in. Though the workload is divided between each department, it is the manager’s duty to see if the work assigned to each department has been completed or not. From TVs being tuned to the right channel to napkins being folded just the way they are supposed to be, managers look into the nitty-gritty details to make sure that the hotel exudes the right look and vibrancy that adds to its overall ‘feel’ or atmosphere.

While inspecting common areas of the hotel, managers are constantly required to strike up conversation with both staff and guests. A successful manager is one who is empathetic and has all ears for their team and guests. Other must-haves include a friendly demeanour and a cheerful disposition to make the place warm and inviting! It makes all the difference.

Late Mornings

Late mornings are typically dedicated to meetings. Generally, between 10 am and 10.30 am, immediately after the breakfast rush, the hotel manager catches up with all the Head of Departments to discuss issues, if any, and how the itinerary for the day looks like for each department. From discussing which department may need additional support to which department is suffering from challenges, everything is pointed out. Team building is a crucial underlining factor of these meetings as they add to the overall smooth functioning of the various departments.

After the meeting with the HODs, the hotel manager generally has some time off to themselves to complete their own line of duty. Reviewing invoices, preparing reports to the corporate office or scheduling any training or staff meeting is all done during this time. The hospitality courses taken before as a part of the educational qualification for the role generally preps them up for all these financial and administrative competencies.

Mid-Day to Late Afternoon

Between mid-day to late afternoon, the hotel manager is back on the floor to meet with check-in and check-out guests and get feedback about their stay and suggestions to improve the hotel experience. Addressing issues for any onboarding or off-boarding guests about their stay or experience at the hotel is also the duty of the hotel manager.

Later in the day, they meet up with the Associates to discuss management matters. These meetings generally involve managers from various departments, including HR, Finance, Sales, Revenue Management meeting up. Here, they discuss the bigger picture, including strategic planning and development. From day-to-day details such as staffing issues, safety and uniforms to big groups staying at the hotel, upcoming banquets, new policies from the Executive Committee—these meetings are full-on and more intense.

Evenings

Early evening is generally devoted to responding to voice mail messages, reading and writing emails, making phone calls, reviewing documents and checking key statistics, revenue management and hotel performance data for the day/week/month/year.

A second tour of the property is usually done around evening to check with the hotel property, the rooms, amenities and services. Late evening is also the perfect time to have relaxed conversation with guests and create more business networking opportunities.

 

Take the professional way

 

Now that you know what a day in the life of a hotel manager looks like, you pretty much must have realised that it isn’t a 9 to 5 job and requires constant attention and continuous ongoing work. We, at Crown Institute, provide a comprehensive hospitality course trains you both academically and practically for your dream job! It can prepare you with the ability to tackle all issues and give you the problem-solving skills required to make work easier.

To inquire or enrol, contact us today!

 

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Crown Institute and Function Staff Brings Paid ‘Internships’ to Students

Ellerslie Racecourse

For events like Christmas and beyond, staffing is a problem most businesses providing events support services encounter. A common problem would be the company finding itself undermanned or missing a few personnel for areas like the bar, the kitchen, or at the cashier counter.

Crown Institute has courses in Auckland that allows students to gain valuable experience while working at various events. Crown grants students guaranteed work while they study. The experience gained is just as important as the lessons learned, where the students gain valuable insider information they can use for a future in the hospitality industry or other similar work.

Consider the Spark Arena, which has a collection of events lined up from December through January. Similarly, a number of events are also happening at the Sky City Auckland Convention Center. The size of these events requires the help of staffing and other personnel with training from hospitality courses. Crown Institute gives students the opportunity of a lifetime—to gain actual work experience from professionals in the industry—via the “study-and-work” program.

This program also gives students further education by applying theories to practice, such as training in different skills needed for various services, particularly in customer service. What’s more, the work the students put in is paid. In partnership with Function Staff, among others, students also gain sound career advice and get pointers on how to ace future job interviews.

For a fruitful career in the hospitality industry, get in touch with Crown Institute of Studies, a leader in producing well-equipped professionals since 1972. For more information about different courses and programs contact them on 0800 357 316 or info@crown.ac.nz

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Come and see our Ramada room at our Open Day this Thursday 6 September, 10am-1pm

Map of Crown

Find out more about working in the exciting Hospitality, Business and Travel & Tourism industries. Meet our friendly, expert staff and learn more about our courses.

Join us to find out more about fees free study for first year tertiary students. Discover how Crown supports all Kiwi students with a free transport to school by bus or train, and the cost of their uniform and shoes will be provided at no cost.

*Conditions apply

Enrolling now for courses starting 1 October 2018 & 11 February 2019.

Visit us at our campus at 80 Anzac Avenue, Auckland City.

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5 Qualities You’ll Need to Flourish in Hospitality

Five-qualities-you-need-to-flourish-in-hospitality
Hospitality is one of the largest growing industries in New Zealand, with the tourism and hospitality sector providing nearly 17.1 per cent of total export revenues. While more and more hospitality jobs are becoming available across the country, that doesn’t mean hospitality is for everyone. It’s normal for students to do part-time work in restaurants and bars, but there are also people who are driven to kickstart a long and successful career in the industry.
If this sounds like you – whether you want to end up managing your own café or running your own hotel – you’ll need to possess certain qualities to have a flourishing hospitality career and make your mark in this fulfilling yet challenging industry. Check out what your future employers are looking for below:

Commitment

Commitment to your job, to the people, and to the business are all very important when it comes to working in hospitality. Even when you’re faced with difficult decisions, it’s important to stay committed to customer satisfaction and to your own level of professionalism as well. Commitment means using your passion to drive every decision, and being flexible enough to deal with anything that comes your way!

Great people skills

This one’s a no-brainer. You need to have a love for being around people to work at any level in hospitality – including making small talk, caring about people’s

thoughts and feelings, and being able to carry a conversation to make people feel relaxed and comfortable. Whether you’re a waitress, barista, manager, or so on, it’s important that you have the empathy and communication skills that help people have a great time. At the end of the day, it’s really about making a connection with people and creating a memorable experience, which can all be hard to do if you don’t have great people skills.

Attention to detail

 

While customers won’t necessarily be at your establishment to scrutinise every little detail, they can feel the difference. However, your keen attention to detail is necessary to ensure every part of your customer’s journey is enjoyable and comfortable.  Things such as how you greet customers, fold napkins, present food, or pour wine are all noticeable and add to a positive customer experience.

Leadership

 

The most successful people in the industry know the importance of working well within a team, and using every individual’s skillset to benefit each other and the business. This makes them great leaders – their passion and teamwork bring like-minded people together to accomplish goals and achieve great success that only a team can.

Enthusiasm

 

When your waiter is in a bad mood, you can tell, right? If you flip roles like this, it’s easy to see why enthusiasm is very important on the job. It’s that much easier to talk to a positive, energetic and professional staff member than it is to a grumpy one. Our own moods affect the moods of those around us, so it’s important to stay positive and enthusiastic whenever you can. People will remember their best experiences as well as their worst, and to succeed, you want to be on the better end of that stick.

Crown: The Top Choice for the Best Hospitality Courses in Auckland

At Crown, our hospitality courses help our graduates learn more than what’s necessary to blaze a trail in the industry – this includes relevant experience to ensure you stay committed, possess great people skills, have a keen attention to detail and a good leadership foundation, as well as fuel your enthusiasm for the job!

Check out our hospitality courses and specialised barista course online or call 0800 632 759 to enrol with Crown today!

 

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Come along to our last Open Day for 2015 – Thursday 17 December, 9.00 am – 4.00 pm

Last Open Day for 2015



Thursday 17 December



Find out more about how you can work in the exciting Hospitality, Business and Travel & Tourism industries.



Come in and see us anytime between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm at our campus at 80 Anzac Avenue, Auckland City.



Please click HERE to book an appointment or contact the friendly team at Crown on 0800 357 316 or info@crown.ac.nz for more information.

Enrolling now for courses starting in February 2016!

Ask about our scholarships!

 

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Scholarship applications closing soon!

Applications close at 5.00 pm on Friday 4th December 2015 for our 2016 scholarships!

Details below…

 

Crown is offering 3 potential students $1,000 towards their tuition fees.



These will be awarded to one student for each department – Business, Hospitality and Travel
& Tourism.


 

To apply all you need to do is…



Tell us how your chosen course will help you achieve your career goals (minimum 500 words).

0107-132-644
Please email your application to info@crown.ac.nz or post it to 80 Anzac Ave, Auckland City with the
following details:

• Full Name
• School (if applicable)
• Date of Birth
• Email Address
• Mobile Number
• Home Address
• The Crown course you are interested in studying



Terms & Conditions:

•Applicants must meet Crown Institute’s course entry requirements.
•Open to all NZ Citizens, residents and international students.
•Applicants must start their course in the first intake of 2016.
•Not exchangeable for cash.
•Applications must be received by 5pm Friday 4th December 2015.
•The recipient must enrol in a minimum 42 week course.
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Come along to our Open Day – Wednesday 25 November 2015, 9.00 am – 4.00 pm

Open Day



Wednesday 25 November 2015



Find out more about how you can work in the exciting Hospitality, Business and Travel & Tourism industries.



Come in and see us anytime between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm at our campus at 80 Anzac Avenue, Auckland City.



Please click HERE to book an appointment or contact the friendly team at Crown on 0800 357 316 or info@crown.ac.nz for more information.

Enrolling now for courses starting in February 2016!

Ask about our scholarships!

 

1175179 10152159752237977 401730045 n(copy)(copy)-359 CI Classrooms17(copy)-509-842 industry day 2(copy)-331
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Crown graduates…turning their career dreams into reality

Our aim is to help students succeed.  To do this, we offer courses that are relevant, up-to-date and will ensure students are completley prepared and industry ready from the first day in their new job.

Take a look at some of our recent graduates and click HERE if you would like to view some more.

Our next courses start 2nd February 2016.  For more information please call 0800 357316 or email info@crown.ac.nz.  If you are ready to enrol then complete our online enrolment form by clicking HERE.

 

Jessica Clissold-256

Jessica Clissold
Customer Service Agent for Air New Zealand Parking

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies

  Sonia Ali-621

Shagufta (Sonia) Ali
Passenger Services Ambassador for Menzies Aviation NZ

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies

  Ruth Vatau photo-212

Ruth Vatau 
Disneyworld Internship in Orlando, Florida

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies

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Sareta Kemp
Receptionist at CityLife Auckland

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies and Crown Diploma in Tourism (Management)

 

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Kahlia Stehlin-Richardson
Customer Service & Sales Representative for 360 Discovery Cruises

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies

 

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Reece Main
Customer Service Assistant for Air New Zealand

Graduated with the Crown Certificate in International Travel, Tourism & Airline Studies