What is a hotel duty manager?

Answer 1

THE HOTEL DUTY MANAGER

A Duty Manager in any hotel is the manager who works during the afternoon shift (pm shift) in the place of the general manager when the general manager has closed from duty. THE Duty Manager reports to, and is responsible to the general manager.

Table of Contents:

1. Meaning and Evolution of the Hotel Duty Manager

2. Duties and Responsibilities of a Hotel Duty Manager

3. Education and Qualifications Hotel Duty Manager

4. Remuneration

5. Caveat Emptor

6. Work Hours of Duty Manager

7. Relationship with other managers

MEANING AND EVOLUTION OF HOTEL DUTY MANAGER

Like every other staff in all establishments, the General Manager of a hotel has a right to rest from work. He has the normal 8(eight) hours to work in a day. This is irrespective of the fact that most General Managers work far longer hours in order to make for the success of their hotels. There is need to have a manager who is capable of, and who would co-ordinate the activities in the hotel on behalf of the General Manager, for the next 8 hours (PM shift), and after the General Manager has closed from duty.

In time past the practice was to draw a roaster for all Heads of Department(HODs) in which the afternoon shift (PM shift) duties of general coordination is performed by a different HOD each day. This is notwithstanding the fact that the HOD has still to perform his own duty as HOD for the day, after which he assumes duties as the Duty Manager for the next 8 hours. The result was that the HOD ends up working a stretch of 16(sixteen) hours on a day, and sometimes works like that 2 or 3 times a week, depending on the number of HODS in the given hotel. Another 8 hours after a HOD has fully performed his duties for the day really tells on the HOD or any other staff involved in the matter, hence the complaints from the HODs about the constraints which the situation entails.

This is the situation that has led to most hotels employing permanent Duty Managers to alleviate the constraints complained of by the HODs. The Duty Manager could therefore be defined as a manager who takes over the responsibility of coordinating activities and overseeing the hotel on behalf of the General Manager during PM shifts.

The Duty Manager is different from the Operations Manager who works directly under the General Manager during morning shift, although the Operation Managers' duties tend to also transverse all Departments, except Administration, Finance and Security. The Operations Manager sees to the more minute details of operations in these departments during morning shift, so the General Manager will have time to attend to the more important issues in the management.

The recent trend is for the Duty Manager to work the PM shift with assistant managers who take over from their various HODs when the HODs close from work. This usually provides the Duty Manager with a specific agent/staff through whom he channels instructions to the various departments. In the absence of an assistant manager, the most senior supervisor on duty usually takes over to work with the Duty Manager

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A DUTY MANAGER

The Duty Manager performs most of the functions of the General Manager during PM shift. He contacts the General Manager to get directives on arising issues which he deems of great importance or very serious. The Duty Manager should be a very experienced and educated staff, equipped to take the same actions and decisions which the General Manager would have taken in any given event. As a principal officer the General Manager can hold the Duty Manager legally responsible for anything that goes awry during PM shift. He should have a good knowledge of management action-plan at every point in time to enable him act on the same during PM shift. Some of the duties which the Duty Manager performs on daily basis include:-

1. GUEST SATISFACTION

To ensure customer/guest satisfaction at all times. To this end, he takes such actions as surveying of the rooms, the restaurant, the kitchen, the bar, recreation and other areas of the hotel to ensure that they are ready, of standard and available at all times to the customers. As well, he ensures that guests/customers who fell sick while in-house receive the best of health-care. He addresses guest's complaints, be they confusion about rates, request for deferred payments, non-availabilities, extra-ordinary requests or guest dissatisfaction, and takes action to make sure that the guest is satisfied.

2. CO-ORDINATION OF DEPARTMENTS

The Duty Manager coordinates all the activities of all departments. He makes sure that all information which should be passed round for effective performance of the departments during PM shift reaches all departments. He receives information on all pending/outstanding work, work-in-progress and other matters in all departments and ensures the furtherance and/or completion of the same during PM shifts.

3. UPHOLDINGN NORMS, RULES AND ORDERLINESS

During PM shift the Duty Manager ensures that all the norms of the hotel are respected and all the rules/procedures of operations are followed. To this end he ensures obedience to the dressing code, personal hygiene, non-Loitering rule, no abandonment of duty post, no delaying of guests order, proper service procedures, orderliness and general sanity etc.

4. HANDLING EMERGENCIES

He takes appropriate decisions to tract emergencies, be they as a result of power outage, supplies that are delayed or not made, sudden breakdown of working equipment etc. He ensures that all staff who take ill or are injured while on duty receive appropriate health care and any other mishap during the shift, be they police or other related are taken care of.

5. ON-THE-JOB STAFF ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING

The Duty Manager should be trained to use various methods to test individual staff on duty, to ascertain whether they are giving the guests the required standard services as at and when due. He should have the capacity to, and apply appropriate sanctions to whip negligent, under-performing or errant staff into order as well as offer appropriate advice and education as, at and when due.

6. MAXIMIZING THE BUSINESS OF THE DAY

The Duty Manager pursues the maximization of the day's business during his shift. To this end, he is always attentive to the occupancy rate and sales in all outlets. He seeks for opportunities to confirm tentative guests and attract fresh guests. He uses such incentives as discounts and give-aways for this purpose and in accord with hotels guidelines. He attends to enquires and makes reservations during his shift. In case of reservation overflow the Duty Manager has a duty to make reservation in other hotels for guests who could not be accommodated.

7. ATTENTION TO SECURITY

The Duty Manager has a duty to be attentive to hotel security service requirement during his shift. To this end, he ensures that all the security gadgets and personnel (internal and external) are available, in their places and at alert althrough the shift. He is attentive to see or hear unusual noise, smoke, undesirable presence or other things which may signify trouble and nip them in the bud.

8. AUTHORIZING UNUSUAL BUT NECESSARY ACTIVITIES AND INTERACTIONS

The Duty Manager authorizes certain activities/actions during his shift like urgent purchases and payments, entrance into the stores, locked offices and other areas which otherwise should remain inaccessible during PM shifts. The Duty Manager authorizes all unusual but necessary interaction, be they, intra-departmental, inter-departmental, inter-staff, staff-guest, guest-guest and should be equipped to facilitate positive outcomes in all cases.

9. AUTHORISING MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT

The Duty Manager authorizes all vehicular and equipment movements both inside and outside the hotel, as well as being the management representative in all interaction inside, the hotel and with the outside world during the shift. He ensures that vehicles carrying staff closing from, and coming to work are monitored.

10. REPORTING

The Duty Manager writes a comprehensive report to the General Manager on all happenings in the hotel and his findings during his shift. A good Duty Manager always carries his pen and paper around during the shift to enable him note down issues to avoid forgetting. He briefs the Night Manager on all matters that are persisting before he clocks out for the day.

EDUCATION/QUALIFICATION

When one considers the enormity of the tasks, sensitiveness, demand for trust and skills required of a Duty Manager, it becomes obvious that for anybody to become qualified to hold the position, he has to be well educated and mentally sound. About the same requisite qualifications from the General Manager is also made from the Duty Manager. The degree of responsibility will also depend on the size, and level of the hotel in hospitality industry. Thus:

For hotels below 3-star, a person with Ordinary National Diploma (OND), plus 6(six) years experience from work in the front office, public relations, or sales and Marketing Department sof a hotel will suffice. A hotel desiring higher standards from its Duty Manager will require more;

For hotels of 3-star and above a person with first degree and 9(nine) years experience in front office, public relations, Marketing or Sales Department will suffice. The higher the standard a hotel requires from its Duty Manager, the higher will be their requirements. There is always a need for every hotel to send their Duty Manager on short term courses in known hospitality schools and institutes to upgrade their knowledge and enhance productivity.

REMUNIRATION AND PLACEMENT OF DUTY MANAGER

In the American Corporate System, and in recent times in Europe, the remuneration and placement of an executive on the corporate ladder depends on how sensitive the position is, the weight of responsibilities shouldered on the executive and most importantly, the degree of trust required of the executive. The Duty Manager is shouldered with responsibilities that far outweigh those of individual heads of department in a hotel. This should also be reflected in his remuneration and placement in the hotel reward system and organograme. To do less than this is to deliberately bring on grumbling and conflicts of authority in the management. This is so because the management would always require the utmost possible from the Duty Manager and the management is always aware of the duties which the Duty Manager shoulders. Duty Managers are usually entitled to shift duty allowance of 12 ½% of basic salary as is approved by government.

CAVEAT EMPTOR

In some hotels there is the tendency to appoint junior staff as Duty Managers. This is wholly wrong owing to the fact that one cannot give what he does not have, and one cannot expect to obtain value from where none is supposed to exist. The idea of a Duty Manager is someone who has the capacity to, and acts on behalf the General Manager in his absence. It is also an opportunity to give those who are close to the position of General Manager by placement and those who have sufficient experience in that regard, an opportunity to practice on the General Manager position. So, what would be the reason for appointing a junior staff Duty Manager?

It is also illegal to appoint a junior staff to Duty Manager's position, because in any case where there is a major problem in the hotel while such a junior staff is in charge, be it to the effect of fraud, damage or destruction of company property, one cannot hold the staff responsible for any occurrence since the law says that one cannot expect to get a value from where it obviously does not exists. At worst, the management could be held responsible in the case, and a judgment of exploitation of the junior staff could be given against the management. Most times, the appointment of junior staff to be Duty Manager is a deliberate attempt to play down the position and deny the weight of responsibilities shouldered by Duty Managers. Some management staff also play politics with the position sometimes. When the chips are down however, and in the event of any major problem, the game is usually up on such management.

WORK HOURS OF A DUTY MANAGER

The Duty Manager works the normal 8 hour-day and 48 hour-week. Some part of the working hours of a Duty Manager should overlap with those of the Heads of Department and the General Manager. This time overlap affords the Duty Manager time and opportunity to sit with the HODs and GM to be appraised with work-in-progress and work to be started. The Duty Manager works PM shift and takes charge when the General Manager closes from work.

RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER MANAGERS

There tends to be hostility from other managers and heads of department towards the Duty Manager arising most often, from the efforts of the Duty Manager to perform his duties. Some of the Heads of Department tend to view the Duty Manager as coming to give directives in their department during PM shift, which the HODs feel they should be allowed to give. The HODs soon forget that the Duty Manager is performing the same duties which used to be rotated among them and while performing which they always expected that they and their opinion should be accepted a superior and not to be challenged. This situation is usually made worse when the Duty Manager is placed below, and earns less than the HODs in the hotel's reward system. The grievance in this case usually graduates to a junior staff coming to give directive in their departments.

However, whenever the Duty Manager is rightly placed higher than the HODs, the conflict is usually reduced to the barest minimum, as directives from the Duty Manager now becomes a superior directive which cannot be easily challenged. That the Duty Manager has responsibilities which warrant that he should give directives in all departments and be obeyed does not mean that he has usurped the position of the Heads of Department. In most cases, he is only helping the departments to give the best possible value to guests for their money. The HODs should therefore see the Duty Manager as a person who is helping them to succeed.

Also, there is the tendency for a General Manager to unwittingly feel that giving the Duty Manager free hand to perform his duty may result in a challenge to his position. But no General Manager who knows his onions thinks in this manner. Instead he sees the positive efforts of the Duty Manager as geared towards his success and that of the hotel in the long run.

On the other hand the Duty Manager should always be in complete liaison with every department while giving instructions. He should always liaise with the supervising officer in the department where instructions need to be given. He should work through such supervising officers. To avoid conflict of authority, immediately it is closing time for the HODs all major matters should be referred to the Duty Manager. The Duty Manager takes over immediately it is after closing hours of the HODs. On resumption of duty each day, the Duty Manager should contact the HODs who should apprise him of any work-in-progress or issues he needs to follow-up. The General Manager would also usually give the Duty Manager instructions on any particular action he would want the Duty Manager to take or anything he wants followed up.