How To Manage Your Hotel: Accountability and Empowerment
Are you looking for the strategic policy changes needed to answer how to manage your hotel staff, service and accountability in a way that boosts both guest satisfaction and employee morale? Effective hotel management is defined by the speed of service recovery and the trust placed in the front-line team. This compilation presents the exact, proven policies and organisational shifts used by an industry veteran to dramatically improve service quality, streamline operations and introduce unyielding financial responsibility across all departments. With over 35 years of hospitality experience in our hands, the Everly Group has invaluable insights that form the clear, proven blueprint you need to transform your hotel.
1. Empower Your Team for Instant Service Recovery
Delegating power to the front-line team is the single most effective policy change a hotel can make. By removing bottlenecks and trusting staff to resolve issues immediately, management saves valuable time and transforms the guest experience.
A. Delegating Power to Staff Saves the GM Time
The first night I stayed in the hotel, I was woken up at 2 a.m. by a phone call. The Disco Manager needed my input on how to solve a customer complaint. The amount involved was 50 ringgit. It felt quite ridiculous to be asked to solve a 50-ringgit complaint. I told the manager to make the decision in favor of the customer and hung up.
The next morning, I asked during the briefing what the industry practice was and was told that in all the hotels they had worked in, the decision was made by the GM. I instantly told the team I wanted a culture of making such decisions as low as possible in the organization and made this policy:
- All probation staff can make the decision to waive in favor of the guest.
- All confirmed staff will have the power to decide up to 500 ringgits in favor of the guest.
- All Department Heads (DHs) can decide up to a value of RM 2,000 after a short consultation with key staff.
- If the person making the complaint is a relative or friend, the staff is not allowed to make the decision; the nearest available staff will make the call. If this is violated, it will be considered cheating, and the person will be terminated within the same day.
After a few years, I found that staff were quite protective of the hotel and took time to decide. So new rules were instituted:
For the 250 or 500 levels, the decision in favor of the guests must be made within 10 seconds. (Why 10 seconds? Because 10 seconds is not enough time to look for the boss.)
For the 2,000-ringgit decision, it must be made in favor of the guest within 10 minutes, allowing the DH and the GM to call a quick meeting.
Any claim above 2,000 ringgits must be routed to me. There may be legal liabilities, and we want to be thorough before a decision is made. (Over the years, such cases rarely happen—about once every 3-4 years.)
The results have been amazing:
Guests are happy because their complaints are taken care of within 10 seconds.
Staff morale is very high because the organization trusts them, and they are very proud.Head office is even happier as we don’t handle small issues, allowing us to focus on strategic matters.
B. Honesty Builds Long Term Guest Trust
A few days after I took over, I interviewed all my senior staff. My most important question was, “What are the most important aspects of your job?” My F&B Manager said PR was the number one priority. I was amazed that “bullsh*tting” the customer was how he planned to manage successfully. I made a mental note that I needed to find a replacement urgently.
About two weeks later, we had a complaint my Manager on Duty couldn’t handle, and I was asked to attend to the guest. It was an Englishman who introduced himself as a professor of marketing at a nearby university. I listened to his complaints and knew he was correct. I decided to be absolutely honest with him. I told him that I was new to the hotel industry and still learning. I also mentioned that I was aware my F&B Manager needed replacement and that I was working on it. He appreciated my honesty. Six months later, I was informed a guest wanted to talk to me. It was the same Englishman. He congratulated me for telling him the truth and doing what I said I would do.
A month into my job, I was disturbed at 9 PM. My housekeeper told me we had a major complaint. A guest had requested hotel water to be sent to his room to make formula milk for his infant son. He and his wife had waited for 2.5 hours! After listening to his problem, I waived all his charges. I told him I was new to the hotel industry and that what happened was inexcusable. I told him that as much as I appreciated his business, it would be better for him to stay in another hotel, and we would pay for the three days he had booked. I also told him my staff would help him move to another hotel of his choice at our cost. I only asked for one favor: I would appreciate it very much if he would come back in six months and give us a second chance.
He looked at me for a split second in amazement and then told me he liked my genuineness and that he would continue to stay and insisted on paying his bill for the stay!
A few years later, I started managing a hotel in his city. I told my staff to introduce themselves and to inform this gentleman that my company was managing the hotel. My sales staff, upon their return, told me this gentleman said he had absolute trust in how our hotel would be managed and that anytime his company needed a hotel, we would be the first choice.
Strategic Lesson: Being truthful to your guests creates a long-term bond based on mutual respect. Our people learned that as an organization, we will own our mistakes, treat the customer with utmost respect, and learn from it.
Customer recovery, done well, isn’t just service—it’s smart business.
Our people will also be much happier not dealing with such problematic customers.
2. Cross-Training and Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency hinges on flexible staffing and the elimination of redundant roles. Cross-training staff not only reduces labor costs but also significantly improves the speed and quality of service delivery.
Cross-Training Staff Cuts Queues and Labor Costs
A couple of weeks after staying at the hotel, I noticed that when we were quite full, there seemed to be a queue of about 15 to 20 persons during check-out time. I also observed that the two cashiers were very busy while the two front receptionists were doing nothing.
I asked my Front Office Manager about this, and he told me that this was considered 5-star service. I thought it didn’t make sense that the two staff members couldn’t help the cashiers, leading to a long queue, and still be considered 5-star service. I immediately thought it would be better to combine the two jobs so that we would have both 4 cashiers and 4 receptionists when needed.
I asked an experienced international General Manager why we couldn’t combine the two jobs. His reply was that he had done that in Hong Kong. I noticed, however, that he was not doing the same in Kuala Lumpur. I wondered if it was because Malaysians were either perceived as dumb or lazy.
In any case, I decided to retrain all the front office staff in both the roles of a cashier and a receptionist.”
After three weeks of training and combining the jobs, I observed the queue when we were at full house. There was zero queue. Similarly, the queue disappeared during check-ins.
I decided to test what would happen if we cut down the four staff on duty to three. Queues did form, but they were never longer than 3-5 persons in line, and the wait time was no longer than 5-8 minutes, which I considered quite acceptable. That became our standard.
Our rule of thumb became one staff per 100 rooms, as the Park Avenue Hotel has 302 rooms.
Service improved, staff count dropped by 25%, and over the following months, the staff told me they felt more satisfied and could see their growth potential as they could progress towards a Front Office Manager role in a shorter period of time.
3. Implementing Financial Accountability and P&L Structure
A typical 5-star organizational structure fosters inefficiency and high costs by separating responsibility from accountability. Moving to a full profit-centre structure changes the culture of the entire hotel.
How to Streamline Reporting and Eliminate Waste
When I took over, I inherited a typical organizational structure for a 5-star hotel. The F&B Manager controlled only the service operations, while the Executive Chef ran the kitchen. The Chief Steward reported to the Executive Chef, and the cashiers reported to the Chief Cashier, who, in turn, reported to the Financial Controller.
Over the first six months, a lot of questions ran through my mind.
I received a 1.5-inch-thick food cost report. When I queried the high costs in the coffee shop, my Executive Chef promised to fix it. The next month, the coffee shop’s costs were down, but the banquet costs went up. I noticed that the staff food quality was not up to my expectations, and many items from our buffet line were being transferred to the staff canteen, along with the proportionate costs.
Each morning, I reviewed the complaint logs, but we were unable to address issues quickly because of the three shifts. On top of that, the weekly assignments changed frequently.
I quickly learned that the way hoteliers solved customer complaints often led to eventually forgetting to address the issue. What a mess—and they called it 5-star service?
I also noticed that the stewards reported to the Chief Steward and were not assigned to specific outlets. This increased the complexity of their work, as they had to familiarize themselves with different crockeries and cutleries, while also dealing with shifts that changed every week. Breakages were high, as a result.
I couldn’t help but wonder how exciting it would be to have a career where your only aspiration is to become the Chief Steward!
During a town hall meeting to discuss the structure, I encountered unbelievable resistance and protection of each person’s turf.
I decided to make a strategic change to a full profit center structure, with each head fully accountable for their profit and loss, including the costs of utilities, accounting, and personnel. I repositioned the Executive Chef to be the Marketing and Menu Development Head, with no direct reports, reporting directly to me.
In line with this, I implemented the quarterly bonus system I had practiced in the manufacturing business. I also changed the shift rotation to every three months.
The results were remarkable.
Complaints dropped as the shift leader of each F&B operation, now responsible for services, cashiering, and the kitchen, could handle almost all complaints instantly with a delegated RM 500 decision authority. Customer satisfaction soared.
Stewards were assigned to specific kitchens, becoming apprentice cooks working toward becoming chefs. With only the crockery and cutlery of one outlet to manage, breakages nearly vanished.
Since the outlet manager was now fully responsible for the P&L of their outlet, they meticulously managed cost transfers. The costing report became automatically accurate. I no longer needed the 1.5-inch-thick monthly food costing report, and I was able to reduce the accounting staff handling costing to just one person.
We also eliminated the need for a Head Cashier, requiring only the income audit team to verify cash counting and reconciliation daily.
The F&B Marketing & Development Head focused on talking to customers in the outlets, gathering feedback on food and service quality, and informing the shift leaders accordingly. He used this feedback to make adjustments, design new menu items, train the chefs, and then step back once everything was implemented.
Strategic Lessons Learned: Moving to a profit center organizational structure ensures accountability equals responsibility. When everyone is responsible, no one is accountable! This change also enabled decisions to be made at a lower level, freeing senior managers to focus on strategic issues.
4. Best Practices for Maximizing Revenue and Guest Flow
A. Implement a Revenue Management System
Effective management means selling the right room to the right client at the right price, according to demand. Use a revenue management system (RMS) to accurately forecast demand, automate dynamic pricing, and maximize RevPAR, Revenue Per Available Room. This data-driven approach is essential for competitive success.
B. Invest in Technology Integration
A cloud-based Property Management System (PMS) is the heart of efficiency. Ensure your PMS integrates seamlessly with your Channel Manager, Booking Engine, and CRM to centralize data, automate check-ins and check-outs, and offer personalized service. This reduces staff workload and wait times for guests.
C. Manage Online Reputation Actively
Online reviews are the new word-of-mouth. Assign a dedicated staff member to monitor and respond promptly to all guest feedback, both positive and negative, across platforms like TripAdvisor and Google. Using feedback to make immediate operational improvements builds trust and improves future bookings.
D. Focus on Direct Bookings
Reduce reliance on expensive Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) by optimizing your hotel’s website and offering exclusive perks like free breakfast or late check-out for direct bookings. This increases profit margins and builds a direct relationship with the guest for future marketing efforts.
Conclusion
These proven ideas and real-life examples, all based on the Everly Group’s outstanding 35 years of experience, give you the clear strategy you need to master how to manage your hotel relies heavily on delegating power and responsibility. The transition to a profit-centre structure ensures that accountability is tied to authority, while radical policies like the 10-second decision rule deliver unmatched service recovery. By combining staff empowerment, cross-training for efficiency and rigorous financial controls like prepaid bookings, hoteliers can build an operation that is both highly efficient and deeply rewarding for both guests and employees.
