The hotel industry continues to undergo profound change, from significant activity in high-growth markets to the ongoing threat of digital disruptors. This is not only creating enormous demand for new talent at all levels, but is also redefining the capabilities and leadership qualities senior leaders must possess. Based on our work and discussions with hotel company CEOs, we have uncovered some key themes around the types of leaders companies will need in order to seize opportunities in an evolving industry.
The complexity of the business demands top leaders with a strategic mindset, strong leadership skills, agility and financial sophistication. Hotel executives must have a broad understanding of property-development skill-sets such as finance, investment, construction and partner negotiation/management as well as operating skill-sets such as human resources, operations, marketing and sales. Top leaders also need to have a strong perspective on the brand and the company’s strategy as organizations seek to expand and compete in new markets. Some hotel leaders view the consumer packaged goods sector as a good model for the hospitality industry because it operates in a brand-centered framework underpinned by analytical rigor and strategic thinking.
Hotel companies are evolving into truly global organizations and need leaders with international experience and insight. Many industry executives say building a truly global team is a top priority if they are to identify and take advantage of opportunities around the world. At the property development level, the investors and capital flows are operating worldwide, requiring company executives in one region to deal with investors from other parts of the globe in addition to local investors and developers. At the operating level, somewhat uniquely, hotels also have customers who travel and experience the brand globally or at least in multiple regions, unlike most businesses where the interaction with the brand or product is more localized. Thus, hotel companies need to recruit and develop strong local leaders with global capabilities, and promote a global outlook and cultural sensitivity in corporate executives. Demand will continue to grow for leaders who bring firsthand understanding of how business is done in local markets.
Diverse talent, stakeholders and guests require leaders with great communication skills. The growing complexity of the business and diversity of the global workforce and consumer make it essential that leaders be effective communicators, sensitive to the cultural differences that exist across the organization and able to vary their leadership style to be successful in different regions. To do this, they need to master simple, but strong communications able to inspire and shape a diverse workforce. Further, senior leaders need to understand the nature of a wide range of people and how to motivate and communicate with them, including property developers, investors, government, front-line associates and guests.
Customers expect to be digitally “at home” when traveling and hotel leaders must understand how to deliver on these technology needs. Today, hotel guests have come to expect seamless booking and travel experiences via the digital tools they use in their everyday lives. Hotel companies have a longer interaction time with customers than most other consumer sectors, providing the simultaneous opportunity and challenge of creating and reinforcing a differentiated, sustained customer experience. It has become vitally important that hotel company leaders know how to engage with customers and build long-term, personalized relationships with them through digital channels. The organization’s level of digital advancement is a good barometer for the type of talent needed. For example, companies whose efforts are more nascent stand to benefit from bringing in an expert — albeit at a premium — to establish and rapidly build that competency. However, if there is a moderate level of digital capability within the organization, fast-learning internal executives can often advance existing efforts without the added challenge of competing with other firms for scarce digital experts.
Where can hotel organizations find leaders with these skills?
In light of the industry’s rapid growth and changes, hotel executives say the old way of grooming top leaders no longer meets their companies’ needs. Today’s approach to developing talent reflects both the need to prepare up-and-coming leaders faster to fill key roles and the desire of this generation of young leaders to advance quickly. The traditional route to senior leadership — promotion through the ranks of hotel properties — fails to develop the broad scope of skills necessary for today’s general management roles. Thus, frequent job rotation remains a cornerstone of many industry talent development programs. Some hotel companies also
prepare future executives through informal and formal mentoring programs and executive training. Increasingly, hotel companies are willing to recruit top functional leaders in digital, marketing, sales, finance, IT, supply chain and human resources from outside the industry.
Conclusion
Significant changes in the business are reshaping the leadership profile for successful executives to emphasize capabilities such as marketing and branding, digital, complex financial and investment management, strong communications skills and a global perspective. The combination of these factors poses a significant challenge for the global hotel industry’s ability to find and develop the leadership it needs to fully realize the dramatic growth opportunity ahead. At the senior executive levels, the industry continues to both aggressively develop its own leadership and recruit outside the traditional hotel industry. The companies that most successfully cultivate a leadership bench with these multifaceted skills will be the performance winners as the industry continues its rapid growth and transformation.
Originally published in Perspectives at Global Hotel Network.com.