Nir weinstein
Director of operations, Radisson blu
hotel Bucharest , Bucharest, romania
INTRODUCTION
Radisson Blu Hotels
& Resorts are a part of the Rezidor Hotel Group. The Rezidor Hotel Group is one of the fastest
growing hotel companies in the world. Its current portfolio consists of more
than 400 hotels in operation and under development in 62 countries, encompassing
nearly 87,000 rooms. Radisson Blu is a first class full service hotel brand
with key differentiators, such as the 100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee and the
Yes I Can! spirit of service. The “can
do mentality” is a company-wide service philosophy and a positive service
attitude that each employee is trained to adopt when serving guests.
INTERVIEW
I always thought that you should get
an advanced degree because you showed potential as a student. Years later, you contacted me and sought my advice
about getting a master’s degree. Do you
find getting an advanced degree helpful?
I did
not get an advanced degree because I got married and had children. When I graduated I was almost 26. Most graduates were 22. I was eager to start my career. I don’t regret I didn’t get a master’s
degree. I feel that everything I did, I
learned. I also keep up the reading and
I feel that in life I have earned a master’s degree.
Personally, I would say no but I have learned in life to never
say never.
Here in Romania ,
we are in better situation than in Greece
Of course, I agree. We
did benefit from the 2008 economic downturn.
We had more choices when hiring new employees. We could keep employee salary stable, whereas
before, we had to constantly increase salary.
All of the in-house staff became more conscientious about their work and
were willing to perform better. It
sounds a little tough but in our business, the economic downturn provided us
some advantages. But you know over the
long–term high unemployment is not good for society, although currently, unemployment
is low in Romania.
The most important issue is that OM
must become more revenue-driven. We tell our staff that cost control is important and good, and we are more or less on
top of it, but we train our staff to sell more.
We ask them, including maids, to do second level selling; e.g., offer services,
such as laundry service, up selling in restaurants and reception, etc.
In term of the actual designing of
your hotel’s services, what is the relationship between marketing and OM?
There should be a healthy relationship between marketing and OM. Marketing
knows the needs of the guests. We at the
OM have to create and deliver the products and services. We then receive
a positive or negative feedback from Sales and Marketing as to whether or not our
offers are sellable, and whether they will generate healthy revenue. Marketing also “packages” our products and
services in a way that will be appealing to the targeted markets, and finds the
best communication channels to deliver our messages.
First of all, to increase contribution margin, I need regular
and accurate reports, especially data about operational
departments. I go
over reports, such as monthly economic and
P&L [Profit & Loss] reports, food cost related reports, etc. We also
contribute to information that will create P&L
reports before pricing products such as events
and F&B menus. As for purchase evaluation [procurement], [to ensure quality
purchase], I question everything, bringing at least 3 offers
for each request.
But it’s not always about cutting costs because if the cost
cutting is too deep, over the long-run, it could be costly. Therefore, we train and encourage our staff
to up sell in all revenue-related areas of the hotel, because you can improve
CM not just by reducing costs but also by improving revenue. We have a unique product, and we are going
for the room rate when it comes to increasing room revenues. We have the highest
room rate in the city; it is 20% higher than that of the competition. Therefore, we must deliver 25% better added-value
services. On the other hand, our
occupancy rate is ranked high as well. Of course, during the
slower months, such as January, February, August and December, we can be a
little flexible on our rate.
What performance metrics do you use to monitor your revenue
performance?
We live according to the RevPAR.
We get reports daily. We want to
stay in the Number 1 position in RGI (Revenue Generation Index or RevPAR index)
within our competitive set. For F&B related revenue we look at number of covers and average
guest check.
Quality assurance in services is a
notoriously difficult management issue. Do you have any magic tricks up your
sleeves that you use to ensure consistent service quality day in, day out?
I believe very much the philosophy of managing by walking around
and talking to guests. I come to work at
7:30 every morning. I talk to our guests
in our business lounge or during breakfast. Often, I quietly observe our service staff and their
interaction with their guests by reading their body language. It gives me lot information. Secondly, I demand everyone to be at the delivery
point when we are busy. Thirdly, I get
information from guest satisfaction surveys, our guest awareness program, guest
service reports, and quality performance reviews
held anonymously.
We also check Tripadviser.com to see how well we are ranked against the
hotels in our competitive set. In
addition, we use mystery shoppers. If I
have friends dining in the hotel, I always check with them about our
service. Guest information helps me to
look at various issues from the guests’ perspective. Fourthly, I make sure that
communications between the staff and myself are transparent. In addition, to ensure
that we all understand the service standards, I make sure that our
communications reach everyone in the organization. Finally, I make sure that my staff receives
training opportunities.
Is it a good idea to outsource some
of the activities?
We outsource laundry service.
In fact, nowadays very few hotels don’t outsource laundry service. To do otherwise, it would require a lot of
investment capital to acquire equipment, personnel, and work space. Smaller hotels should also outsource their small F&B operations which would allow
them to focus on selling rooms. We also outsource personnel, mostly
in housekeeping and banqueting. Outsourcing helps
us to control peak season, and keep our head count within the budget.
Also, you don’t have an employer and employee relationship. If you are not satisfied with a given
personnel’s performance, you simply inform the outsourcing company to bring in
someone else.
In your opinion, what performance
metrics is best to measure operations efficiency and effectiveness? Is RevPSM (revenue per square meter) a good
way of measuring operations performance?
· I don’t think it’s a good concept. I’ve never heard anyone uses
RevPSM regularly in a hotel operation.
If you rent a place, may be RevPSM could be used [to compare different
rental properties]. We are using different performance metrics for different
aspects of the operation. For example:
· In our restaurants, we use “average check” to measure our
restaurants revenue performance, and F&B profitability in general.
· Food cost percentage is also an important operational measuring
tool.
· We use ARR [average room rate] and RevPAR for room’s revenues
and occupancies,
· We use GOP [gross operating profit] to measure our total performance.
· In addition, we also consider room costs, personnel costs, and
room profit.
· Profit conversion percentage
How many employees are there in your
hotel? I would think that intermediate
and short-term scheduling must be a daunting task. How do you motivate employees to come to work
every day without fail?
We have approximately 370 employees. As a manager, the biggest challenge is
knowing how to motivate your employees.
Everyone has a different way of motivating people. For me, I believe that you must pay attention
in several areas:
· Lead by example;
· Ensure that communication is transparent; no secrecy in good or bad
news;
· Make sure that your staff does not lack appropriate information;
· Invest in employee training programs;
· Recognize and compliment good effort;
· Give constructive criticisms;
· Be a good listener --- just like you listen to your guests;
· Offer security; e.g., pay on time;
· Make sure that social welfare issues are well-understood; e.g.,
sick leave, retirement funds, etc.
Of course, too much democracy is not good [it’s a sign of lack of
leadership]. If you are good to your
employees, during the tough times, they will make the necessary sacrifices if
you ask them to.
In hotel business, there are periods
of slowdowns. How do you balance the
need for extra manpower during the peak times and the question whether you should
keep your employees during the slowdowns?
You know when the slow periods are.
You make sure that your employees take vacation during the slow months
and that they take their days off during the slow days of the week. If you are really tight, you outsource. Also, [to reduce peak time manpower
shortage,] we schedule workload two weeks in advance, and our employees are
trained to multitask. For example,
kitchen staff is trained to serve other restaurants. Well-organized multitasking will help to decrease
the necessity of outsourcing.
As the Director of Operations, what
is the most difficult issue you must face?
We don’t use the word “difficult”; we use the word “challenge”. The most challenging issue is to deliver the
quality and the level of services to our guests each day that is in line with
our brand image.
Also, in every hotel, the biggest challenge is to be
innovative. You always have to think
ahead, do better and do it differently.
Being proactive and staying sharp at all times is vital!
What is your relationship with RM?
For me, the relationship with RM is very, very important! During our weekly revenue management meeting
that includes the GM, RM, Director of OM, Director of Marketing, F&B Manager,
we discuss the forecast from the Director of RM. She forecasts room sales and I provide her
with F&B forecast to make one report.
According to her forecast we can better understand where we are
heading financially and take the right immediate operational decisions and the
best strategy for the long run.
RM is very important --- although its importance is at times
underestimated. RM is our guiding
light. For example, if the RM room
forecast is not accurate, OM can take wrong decisions
and actions. A good revenue manager can
make a successful hotel.
RM, Sales & Marketing and OM make a critical management triangle!
Did you have to make a lot of
adjustment when you first moved to Romania?
I had to make some adjustments in a new country. I had to understand the culture and mentality
of the people and adjust my management style accordingly.
Do you speak the language?
My mother was Romania
although we spoke Hebrew at home when I was growing up [Nir is from Israel
What have you learned from your
current job?
On behavior level, I’ve learned three things that are very
important:
· An eye for details,
· Being persistent,
· Transparency in communication
From the professional aspect, I’ve learned the importance of
revenue management.
Is OM a good career path for those
who aim high?
It is the only path! OM is the only department that really touches all other
departments. It is the backbone and the
skeleton of the hotel. Most GMs came
from OM --- although more and more are coming from finance and sales and
marketing.
Do you have any advice for our
students?
I have several recommendations:
· Set goals for yourself, so that you know how much you’ll have to
learn, and how long it’ll take you to learn it.
If you don’t set goals, you will never achieve them.
· Work very, very hard to learn.
You have to know when to draw the line; i.e., when to study and when to
play. You have to find a balance.
· Learn each subject to gain the basic understanding of hotel
business. For example, statistics
teaches you how to think and how to understand numbers.
· You should finish your study in four years; it’s silly if you do
not finish [your bachelor degree] in four years! It’s a matter of self-discipline.
· Work part-time in a hotel to gain experience. When I was studying, in addition to working
for you as your student assistant, I also washed dishes for three years! I learned the ABC of the hotel business.
· When you graduate, you are not a manager yet. Your diploma will help you to open your first
door. The rest is up to you.
What is your next aim?
I’ll be returning to Israel
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