The move into resort management might be daunting. Not only are you responsible for providing the best guest experience, but you are also answerable to a team of staff looking for direction and support. Not to mention the need to meet any revenue goals.

The Merlin team has worked with resort managers and their teams for over 15 years and have scoured the web for some of the best practical advice for new resort managers as they begin their careers.

Find a mentor 

Look through your professional network on LinkedIn and ask a respected, experienced hotel manager if you can spend time with them, asking questions and watching how they make decisions. 

Having someone knowledgeable to talk to about hospitality management is a great resource that you’ll call on time and again. But, remember, the worst they can do when you ask is say no – and most will be flattered you ask.

Be selective when hiring your staff

When it comes to any form of management, you are only as good as your team. And in hospitality, your staff need to be highly skilled, friendly and agreeable.

Good employees are a force multiplier. When you trust them and give them the authority to make decisions, you are free to work on more demanding activities.

Hotel management expert Dan Taylor from Capterra suggests that you don’t only hire when you have a vacancy. You’ll rush to fill the opening rather than look for the right person with the skills needed for the job.

Instead, recruit throughout the year if the budget allows and find star talent to support your team.

Focus your skills on leadership, not management

Being a resort manager is not just about managing and reacting to events as they happen. 

Instead, you need to view your role as a proactive leader and delegate to your team. This requires training, ongoing support and motivation, targets and bonuses to incentivise and reward.

As a resort manager, it is your responsibility to lead from the front when emergencies happen. And they will! It would help if you kept your head, be calm and decisive, showing your staff how to manage emergencies.

And remember, you are not a friend but a professional colleague who is there to listen, help them do their job and achieve their goals.

Communicate

An effective resort manager needs to keep their employees informed through regular communication. From policy changes to implementing resort management software, like Merlin Software, keeping staff in the loop will help at every stage. If you keep your team in the dark, mistakes happen, and the employee experience is impacted.

One way to keep everyone informed is to schedule regular staff meetings where everyone is invited or issue periodic staff emails, newsletters and notices. There might even be an app that you can use to keep staff up to date. 

Listen to your guests

Want to know how you are performing as a resort manager? Ask your owners and guests. After all, it is their opinion that matters in the end.

Check your TripAdvisor reviews, ask for feedback with post-stay surveys, monitor your social media and attend the HOA meetings and AGM. If you spot any issues or weaknesses, you can then manage them proactively.

Build relationships with your suppliers

Your resort runs on relationships. If any of your suppliers let you down, you need to be able to pick up the phone to find a solution. Make sure that you invest time in building relationships with your suppliers – it could just make the difference in receiving deliveries or having an issue resolved or not.

Use the best resort software

We’ve already mentioned the importance of having a good team around you. But if your resort’s software is not up to the job and is letting your team down, they won’t be able to do their jobs satisfactorily. And that will eventually end up on your desk.

As you begin your resort manager role, make sure you ask your team for their views of your resort’s software. Ensure that you also have experience using it so you can understand the good and bad aspects. Then, if it requires improvement, additional training or replacement, speak with your managers to look for alternatives.

Keep learning

A wealth of management books are available (or audiobooks if reading is not your thing) that will help you hone your management and leadership techniques. And set you apart from other managers.

Join hospitality groups on LinkedIn to get the latest views and advice direct from your peers and share your experiences too. Or sign up for online management courses you can take to enhance your qualifications.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions to help someone entering hospitality management, please leave us a comment below.