Day in the life - Hotel General Manager

There is no average day for me, being the manager of a busy hotel in the city centre means that I wake up not knowing what expect from the day ahead of me. It can involve anything from spot checking the hotel rooms to meeting MP’s to talk through city centre issues!

On the top of the news agenda currently is clearly the economic climate and I won’t deny that the current conditions have been tough for every industry including for hoteliers. However, the Six Nations rugby provides a boost to hotels in Cardiff and to be honest it a very busy time of year for us! February has been a manic month, what with Valentines Day and the rugby! It is the norm for us to have the away teams stay with us and we annually host the dinner for the Welsh team to celebrate, this is always a fun event and the staff really look forward to serving the players.

We have seen a number of celebrities come through our doors both to stay the night and to take part in a dinner event. When Gavin and Charlotte first got together it was one of the first places where they were photographed. Our other celebrity guests include Wesley Snipes, Meatloaf, Olivia Newton-John, Piers Morgan, Lionel Ritchie, Kanye West, Katie Price and Ant and Dec and they are treated the same as our other ‘non-famous’ guests, we give everyone the same five star hospitality that the hotel is famous for.

Being in charge of such a well known, respected hotel in the centre of Wales’ capital city means that I have to remain a step ahead and always be thinking about every element of the businesses. It is imperative that I have full understanding of what is going on in the hotel in every department from food and beverages to health and beauty. Even when I’m away from the hotel I still make regular calls to my team to check everything is running smoothly. I know that all the staff at the hotel are true professionals and work hard to ensure that all guests no matter what their background or fame enjoy their stay, but being the manager I have to keep them on their toes!

To be a hotel general manger it is always good to get a decent understanding of the way a hotel works. I realised my lifelong ambition of becoming general manager of Hilton Cardiff after starting my career as a waitress at Stradey Park hotel in Llanelli. From there I went on to work in London for 10 years at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, the Waldorf hotel and The Cavendish before moving to Italy to work for the Hilton. There is nothing like hands on experience and working your way up the career ladder I mean just look at Sir Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson.