|
||||||||||||
|
|
 |
General Manager
NB: General Manager refers to 'on property' GM. It does not relate to owners' representatives or general managers who are effectively managing directors. Food & Beverage Manager Provincially The provincial market seems to have picked up over the past few months, with hotels performing well and reporting increased levels of business. Some hotels are still looking to maintain a tight rein on costs and are-restructuring, making the operations manager role redundant and bringing in one high-level food and beverage manager to oversee operations/head chef and C&B functions. There is still a high demand for quality food and beverage managers who possess stable CVs and proven experience. It is currently a job-rich market and employers are snapping up any available quality F&B managers when they appear on the job market. London Market Overall the market has also picked up, particularly within the budget sector, where guests are taking advantage of some very attractive rates and promotions. This increased demand has meant a greater need for good quality candidates, which has in turn lead to both salaries and opportunities in this sector being increased over the past twelve months. The 4 and 5* market has also improved, however many hotels are still facing change of ownership and departmental re-structuring, which has led to salaries being maintained or even decreased in some instances. The current situation in the food and beverage market in the London area reflects the caution still apparent in the economy generally and, with the mood for cost control prevailing in the overall market place, positions in many company-owned properties appear to be on hold or have been filled internally over the past 12 months.
Exec/Head Housekeeper London: In spite of generally favourable economic conditions and renewed confidence across the London marketplace, the past year has seen very little movement in terms of salaries, even in the five star sector. There has also been little change in the skills shortages experienced within housekeeping, with deputy level housekeepers still proving particularly difficult to source. The lack of new blood coming into the sector may be due, in part, to the proverbial glass ceiling often experienced by senior level housekeepers. There are relatively few instances of senior housekeepers being promoted into rooms division roles and this lack of career scope impacts negatively on lower level recruitment. Equally, it often proves difficult to persuade employees to cross over into housekeeping from other divisions. As a result, there is relatively little movement in the London market. One new trend, which is now on the increase, especially within the budget hotel sector, is to outsource the entire housekeeping function to the facilities management sector. UK wide: The ongoing problem of skills shortages in this sector show no signs of improving, particularly at head housekeeper level and in the quality end of the market. It continues to be difficult to encourage youngsters into this sector of the hotel industry and more steps are needed to redress this situation. There is really very little movement amongst either salaries or candidates in this sector with the majority of people opting to stay put and wait for developments rather than risking a job move which might not afford them any improvement in circumstances. Generally speaking, housekeeping candidates tend to be less prepared to relocate than people in other sectors such as F&B or front office.
Reception Managers March 2005 London area In the London area, salaries have remained fairly static except in the 5 star market where there has been a small upward movement as a reflection of an increase in the levels of responsibilities. In line with the rest of the UK, there is an increasing trend here for hotel companies to dispense with the role of front office manager and to load these responsibilities on to the role of reception manager. This does, of course, mean that this is a skills rich area and is very attractive to aspiring receptionists looking for career development. Organisations such as the AICR are achieving great success both nationally and internationally with their efforts to promote and professionalize the role of reception manager and there is coming forward. We are now seeing many reception managers becoming more skilled in the strategy of up selling and becoming key to the maximisation of revenue throughout the hotel. Other UK locations Across the rest of the UK, there has been a trend towards experienced reception managers pushing for revenue roles or requiring £1k - £2k salary increases to move into a similar role. Applications for reception management vacancies have been low and the market is very candidate-led in this area, with clients often being forced to offer at the top end of their budgets to attract applicants at all. This has meant that in the north, the larger cities have been attracting the cream of the crop whereas the provinces, with their smaller properties and lower occupancy levels, have been suffering from severe candidate shortages. This has resulted in some hotels in rural areas relying on reception supervisors to cover their departments, while other employers have looked to Eastern Europe for their staff. The role of reception manager varies considerably depending on the size of the company. In smaller properties, there is often no front office manager and the reception manager therefore reports directly to the operations manager and often manages porters and night shifts as well. In larger properties, the reception manager will often replace the assistant front office manager. Nationwide, the shortage of good quality candidates remains widespread and, although employers are constantly seeking better quality candidates, most remain reluctant to raise salary levels until they become more confident of projected trading levels for the months ahead. Good quality candidates coming onto the job market have their pick of positions and are usually snapped up by employers extremely rapidly.
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|