How to run a great hotel

HOW TO RUN A

GREAT

HOTEL

The publication of How to Run a Great Hotel is most timely for it addresses the key aspects of management,

and provides simple and easily implemented responses to assist today’s hotelier. With an emphasis on

excellence and best practice, Enda Larkin guides the reader through the book by focusing on key

messages presented in an uncomplicated and readily absorbed style. Using the themes of professional

development, leadership, change management and service quality, the author identifies those aspects of

the hotelier’s role where small changes in management approach can reap disproportionately high

rewards. This is vital, for of all the challenges facing the hotel industry, the availability of competent and

dedicated people remains by far the greatest.

Philippe Rossiter MBA FIH FTS, Chief Executive, Institute of Hospitality

How to Run A Great Hotel is a must in the hotel industry. Whether you are an experienced manager or

just starting a career and focusing on achieving excellence, then this book is your guide to success. I

strongly recommend it.

João Eça Pinheiro, Managing Director, Prainhamar Hotel Group, Portugal

How to Run a Great Hotel is the first hotel management book I have read that is actually practical, realistic,

informative and cuts through the waffle of ‘management mumbo jumbo’ which allows you to do exactly

what it says on the tin – help you run a great hotel.

Adriaan Bartels, MSc. Hosp. Mgmt, General Manager, Cliff House Hotel, Waterford, Ireland

It is fascinating how Enda Larkin simply breaks down the theoretical background of management theories

into practical advice in How to Run a Great Hotel. It is not only the easy description of some complicated

management theories but also the implementation in clear charts and very useful forms that makes the

book into a kind of bible for every hotelier that wants to be successful. It is this easy to understand

language and the translation into practical tips that makes the book so useful in daily life, even for the

very experienced hotelier.

Beat Wicki, CEO, SSTH Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality Ltd

How to Run a Great Hotel is a wonderful exploration of strategy, leadership skills, and engaging employees

with a strong customer focus to achieve excellence in the hotel industry. Excellence principles tied

together by rich personal experiences make it an interesting, powerful and an easy to read format. The

publication is practical, with a how-to focus, and includes toolkits which can be used by practitioners

and trainers in the field. It is a great text for those interested in achieving excellence in hospitality

management and for those who want to experience what leadership and excellence in great hotels is really

like.

Kai Partale M.Sc, Partner, Success Consult Germany, experts in tourism and hospitality development and management

In this book Enda Larkin puts people at the centre of success for hotel investors and operators –

including leadership development, team coaching and customer relationship management. Industry

leaders, hotel developers, hotel general managers, asset managers and brand owners will all benefit by

reading the book and pondering its recommendations as relates to their particular area of interest and

involvement.

Ian Graham, Principal, The Hotel Solutions Partnership Ltd

This book should be on the desk of every Hotel Manager. Should we search for excellence in the hotel

industry? Should we seek to become a leader in the industry? We will feel much more confident making

these decisions after reading this book. To help us as we review or develop our hotel business plan, Enda

Larkin has included a section with practical steps towards excellence. I feel very fortunate to have learned

from his many years of experience and insights.

Khaled Alduais, Dean, National Hotel and Tourism Institute (NAHOTI) Sana’a – Yemen

HOW TO RUN A

GREAT

HOTEL

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO

ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE

IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

EN DA M LARKIN

howtobooks

Published by How To Content,

A division of How To Books Ltd,

Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,

Begbroke, Oxford, OX5 1RX, United Kingdom

Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162

info_howtobooks.co.uk

www.howtobooks.co.uk

How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by sourcing their

typesetting and printing in the UK.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information

retrieval system (other than for the purposes of review), without the express permission of

the publisher in writing.

The right of Enda Larkin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him

in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2009 Enda Larkin

First published in electronic form 2009

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978 1 84803 354 2

Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock

Typeset by TW Typesetting, Plymouth, Devon

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance

and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in

particular circumstances on statements made in this book. Laws and regulations may be

complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the

relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.

Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Foreword xiii

Preface xv

Introduction xvii

Towards excellence xvii

Think, do, review xix

Theme 1 – Define Direction 1

Chapter 1 – What is a strategic map and how can it help you to

achieve excellence? 5

What does having a strategic map actually involve? 6

Elements of a strategic map 8

Dispelling the strategic myths 9

Considering the realities 10

Summary 11

Chapter 2 – How can you create a strategic map for your hotel? 12

Creating your strategic map 12

Where are we now? 13

Where do we want to be? Big picture thinking 16

Living your vision and mission 21

How will we get there? 25

From strategies to annual plans 28

Summary 33

Chapter 3 – How can you measure the impact of your strategic

map over time? 34

How will we know we are getting there? 34

Define the results you want to achieve 35

Take action to achieve the results you want 36

Consider how you will measure progress 37

v

Measure progress at defined intervals 40

Analyse the results and make improvements 40

Summary 41

Theme 2 – Lead to Succeed 43

Chapter 4 – What does leading people actually involve? 47

Balancing the human equation 48

What’s the difference between leading and managing? 49

Leaders are different, but still human 51

Summary 52

Chapter 5 – How can you improve leadership effectiveness at

your hotel? 53

Here’s what not to do . . . 53

Creating a context for leadership at the hotel 54

Defining a leadership competence model 56

Improving individual and collective leadership performance 56

What makes a great leader? 57

Core leadership competences 63

Mastering the art of communication 64

Leading with style 70

Summary 74

Chapter 6 – How can you measure leadership effectiveness over time? 75

Continually improving leadership effectiveness 75

Define the results you want to achieve 76

Take action to achieve the results you want 76

Consider how you will measure progress 78

Measure progress at defined intervals 81

Analyse the results and make improvements 82

Summary 82

Theme 3 – Engage Your Employees 83

Chapter 7 – What does engaging your employees actually involve? 87

The twelve factors of employee engagement 87

Leadership, leadership, leadership 89

The link between culture and engagement 89

H OW TO RUN A GREAT HOTEL

v i

The impact of team composition 90

Clarity facilitates engagement 91

Competence supports engagement 91

Engagement and cooperation are interdependent 92

Control and engagement are not enemies 93

Effective communication builds engagement 94

More challenged means more engaged 94

Conflict and engagement are linked 95

Compensation influences engagement 95

Change is a factor in engagement 96

Summary 96

Chapter 8 – What can you do to more fully engage your employees? 98

How does effective leadership help? 99

How can you impact the culture in your hotel? 100

How can you manage the composition of your team? 104

How can you provide clarity for your employees? 110

How can you build the competence of your employees? 112

What can you do to increase cooperation between employees? 115

How can you address the control issue? 116

What can you do to improve communication at the hotel? 117

How can you make work more challenging? 120

How can you ensure that conflict doesn’t affect engagement? 121

How can you address the compensation issue to raise engagement levels? 122

How can you manage change to increase engagement? 124

Summary 125

Chapter 9 – How can you measure employee engagement levels

over time? 126

Measuring employee engagement levels 126

Define the results you want to achieve 127

Take action to achieve the results you want 128

Consider how you will measure progress 128

Measure progress at defined intervals 130

Analyse the results and make improvements 131

Summary 131

C ONTENTS

vii

Theme 4 – Captivate Your Customers 133

Chapter 10 – What is ServicePlusOne and why is it important? 137

Going back to basics 137

Understanding the risk factor 141

What is ServicePlusOne (S1) 141

Towards S1 147

Summary 148

Chapter 11 – How can you attain ServicePlusOne at your hotel? 149

Laying the foundations for S1 149

The challenge of the experience web 151

The route to achieving S1 152

What are your customers’ common and specific expectations? 153

Building a better customer experience 156

Raising your game to reach S1 165

Summary 167

Chapter 12 – How can you measure the impact of ServicePlusOne

over time? 168

Measuring the impact of S1 168

Define the results you want to achieve 169

Take action to achieve the results you want 171

Consider how you will measure progress 171

Measure progress at defined intervals 176

Analyse the results and make improvements 177

Summary 177

Make It Happen 179

Introduction 180

Theme 1 – Define Direction 181

Key messages from Theme 1: 181

Moving forward with Theme 1 – Action Checklist 183

Reviewing progress under Theme 1 – Diagnostic 185

H OW TO RUN A GREAT HOTEL

viii

Theme 2 – Lead to Succeed 187

Key messages from Theme 2: 187

Moving forward with Theme 2 – Action Checklist 189

Reviewing progress under Theme 2 – Diagnostic 191

Theme 3 – Engage Your Employees 193

Key messages from Theme 3: 193

Moving forward with Theme 3 – Action Checklist 195

Reviewing progress under Theme 3 – Diagnostic 197

Theme 4 – Captivate Your Customers 199

Key messages from Theme 4: 199

Moving forward with Theme 4 – Action Checklist 201

Reviewing progress under Theme 4 – Diagnostic 203

Looking ahead 205

Tools and Resources 207

Tools and Resources 208

Theme 1 – Planning Template 209

Theme 2 – Leadership Profile Self-Assessment 210

Theme 2 – Communication Skills Self-Assessment 211

Theme 2 – Leadership Style Self-Assessment 212

Theme 3 – Suggested Interview Plan 213

Theme 3 – Sample Interview Evaluation Form 214

Theme 3 – Suggested Format for an Appraisal Discussion 215

Theme 3 – Sample Employee Appraisal Criteria and Evaluation Form 217

Theme 3 – Suggested Structure for an Effective Meeting 218

Theme 3 – Sample Ideas Generation Form 220

Theme 3 – Sample Employee Engagement Survey 221

Theme 4 – Common Customer Expectations Across the Experience

Web 223

Theme 4 – Sample Mystery Guest Survey Template 230

Theme 4 – Sample Criteria for Integrating into Customer Feedback

Surveys 241

Index 245

C ONTENTS

i x

This page intentionally left blank

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the contribution of a great many

people. Thanks to all the hoteliers who have knowingly and sometimes unwittingly

provided inspiration through their dedication and commitment to achieving

excellence in hospitality. Thanks to family and friends who supported me as I tried

to produce something which would be of value to industry professionals.

Particular mention goes to Dr Tony Lenehan for his constant willingness to share

his expertise and for all his help and support over the years. Thanks also to Denis

Tucker, Tom Conneely and Peter Hutcheson – true believers in excellence – for

their guidance. Finally, to Giles Lewis and Nikki Read at How to Books, thank you

for helping to bring this book to fruition.

x i

This page intentionally left blank

Foreword

I am delighted to provide the foreword for How to Run a Great Hotel which is a

timely publication and essential reading for hoteliers in these challenging days. As

the owner and CEO of the Schindlerhof Hotel in Nuremberg, Germany I have

always been passionate about excellence. But a business must be profitable too;

there can be no pleasure without growth, for growth is the very stuff of life for a

company. Our achievements at the hotel show that there is a direct and

measurable link between the levels of excellence and profitability.

Since 1984, when I founded the hotel as a 3* property, I have transformed it into

a highly profitable 4* hotel which is now the leading Seminar hotel in Germany

and one of the best small hotels in Europe. Over that time, we have won many

awards, including the EFQM European Quality Award in 1998 and the Best Place

to Work Award in 2009, to name just two. Despite what we have achieved, we

never stand still and are constantly searching for new mountains to climb.

When people ask why we continually seek these new challenges, I can only give

one reason: today we face fierce competition that demands the highest levels of

performance. Being as good as your competitors is simply not sufficient. Nor is

it enough just to be 2% better. Today we need a real 30% edge on the competition

in a number of areas if the public or the spoiled customer is to notice that this

guy has really got something. This has been my core philosophy and has guided

all our efforts at the hotel, serving as our inspiration to this day.

In his book, Enda Larkin emphasises the importance of striving for excellence as

the major driver of business growth and profitability. He helps new and

experienced hoteliers to more clearly understand what excellence means in

practice, why it is of essential interest today and what practical steps can be taken

to bring it alive in your business so that you truly out-perform your competitors.

He also describes how learning and innovation can become the life blood of your

hotel. All of this is presented in an easy to read format, with lots of helpful tools

and resources provided to guide you. The principles he covers are adaptable to

suit the needs of any hotel, for there is more than one route to excellence.

Success in business life is never accidental; you create your own destiny. It starts

with having a long-term vision for your hotel, supported by clear and measurable

goals. Short term planning that is only concerned with next year’s cash flow cannot

be your starting point. In my experience, you must set your goals so high that the

xiii

greatest effort is needed to reach them. After all, the greater the goal the less

competition you have to fear. Theme 1 of this book will help you to devise

appropriate goals for your hotel.

Little can be achieved on the journey to excellence without effective leadership.

But leaders alone can’t make the result happen; you must set the example and

inspire a motivated and thoroughly dedicated team. Then you must give your

employees the freedom and desire to act. In doing so, always make sure your

people enjoy what they do; have fun at work, because your customers will sense

the difference. Themes 2 and 3 in this book are devoted to issues such as

leadership and employee engagement and I suggest you take the necessary time to

consider your current approach in these areas.

If you want to reach your goals then everyone in your hotel must be committed

to what you do; the collective focus must always be on building a great service

experience. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of service design, because

nothing matters more than satisfied customers. The reward for these efforts is that

service quality is nearly impossible for your competitors to copy. You will find

some practical guidelines under Theme 4 to help you to create memorable

customer experiences.

I firmly believe that the limitations on achievement are not business size, or

location but the scale and ambition of your dreams. Today, an increasing number

of hoteliers recognise the need for excellence; this is undoubtedly a good

development, but at the same time it also serves to constantly raise the bar. As

levels of quality increase across the industry, hoteliers which fail to continuously

improve their offering will soon be overtaken and eventually left far behind. Only

the best hotels will prosper in the future.

I strongly recommend this book as it will undoubtedly be a useful resource as you

strive to run a great hotel.

Klaus Kobjoll

CEO and Proprietor

Schindlerhof Hotel

Nuremberg, Germany

April 2009

Klaus Kobjoll is CEO of the Schindlerhof Hotel in Nuremberg, Germany one of the top hotels in Europe. He is

a charismatic and motivating speaker and is in constant demand to speak at conferences around the world. His Glow

& Tingle seminar business has grown exponentially in recent years to the extent that Klaus currently conducts

approximately 180 seminars each year.

H OW TO RUN A GREAT HOTEL

xiv