The days of the general manager as a genteel hotelier could be over, according to top hotel executives and general managers themselves. While once a would-be GM wouldn’t think of leaving hospitality school without knowing the difference between a fine red wine and fair-tasting Chardonnay, today’s market entrants are much more attuned to how to appease a demanding set of hotel owners, an-evermore-astute hotel guest, and a front-line workforce armed with a myriad of other opportunities, often more attractive than washing dishes or making beds at a hotel. “I remember the days when I got into the business, everyone called the general manager ‘Mister.’ He was a deity. You never questioned his authority,” said Chris Knable, GM of the Regent, Wall Street in New York. But now “the days of ‘I’m the boss and you work for me’ are gone. Now the GM has to manage in a more collegial way.” Knable pointed out one major change in the managerial style of today’s GM. Pyramid Turned Upside Down “If you think about the traditional hierarchy, the boss has been at the top of the pyramid, now it is turned upside down with the owners, staff and guests at the top, and the GM at the bottom,” he said. Ali Kasikci, GM at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, has his own way of describing how the paradigm has shifted for the GM. “The GM was a person who managed down to his employees and outwardly to his guests,” said Kasikci. “Now he plays two new roles, he has to manage up, to his asset manager and also across, to the home office. The question is, how do you manage your boss and owners?” he said. Judy Streeter, senior vp/human resources for Marriott International, agreed that the GM has a new constituency to which it must answer. “The whole environment the GM is in is more complicated,” said Streeter. “Most hotels have multiple stakeholders. They have the management company that has a vested interest, the real estate owners, the customers, the employees and the community.” Kris Gagliardi, GM at the San Francisco Marriott Moscone, concurred. “Today’s owners are much more involved, they are more focused on asset management. The GM has become more of an asset manager,” she said. Gary Schweikert, GM of The Plaza in New York, pointed out that the expectation nowadays of the owner and management companies is “for the GM to act as a CEO, responsible for all aspects of operations.” On top of that, he “must be innovative, and he must be creative and make sure the hotel is on the cutting edge.” All this must be balanced with the fact that “ours is still a business of taking care of people’s needs, very basic needs in some cases. But the needs of our customers change, depending on the market and the reason for traveling.” One GM sees this balancing act in an even more dramatic light. “Managers today are in a rodeo and riding on a wild bronco and clinging to it for dear life, that is the stage I set for the GM,” said Kasikci, who teaches a class at Cornell called the 21st-Century General Manager. “The job of the GM is exceptionally tough in the 21st century,” said Kasikci, who noted the GM today lives in a very fast, changing world where there is no room for error. “The GM is no longer a hotelier, who has to know chicken and beef or the difference between red and white wine. What is needed today is a hotel leader, which is a different breed of individual,” said Kasikci. Moreover, the days of the GM sitting behind a desk are gone. “A GM can’t be behind the desk anymore, they have to be on the floor,” said Pace Cooper, president of The Cooper Companies, a hotel management company in Memphis. “If you are going to understand what the needs of your housekeeper are, you have be out there with the housekeeper. You have to be at the front desk to see what goes on there,” he added. “We think the GM is the captain of a ship at sea. It is the most important position in our company.” Steve Belmonte, president/CEO of Ramada Franchise Systems, noted that “The GM h
