Guest Services Manager

Guest Services Manager

Reports to the Director of Hotel Operations, position is exempt

$60,000 - $65,000 annual salary

Performance Based Incentive Plan

Paid Vacation, Sick Time and Holidays

Medical, Dental, Vision, and Pet Insurance

Employer Paid Basic Life and AD&D

Discounted pet insurance available through ASPCA

401(k) Retirement Plan with employer match

Paid time off to volunteer for the causes you care about in your community

Strong sense of belonging through diversity, equity, and inclusion

Greatly discounted room rates for Aparium properties for you and your out-of-town guests

Hotels done differently. It's not just a slogan it is who we are in everything we do. We believe in the power of People, Place and Character; ensuring our properties are a place where individuals are valued and celebrated as a tribute to the neighborhoods and the people of the communities in which we operate; elevating our associates' pride in who they are, where they live and who we serve.

Hewing Hotel is in Minneapolis' vibrant North Loop neighborhood, more commonly known as the Warehouse District, joining cultural stalwarts Traffic Zone Center for Visual Arts and Target Field, home to baseball's Minnesota Twins. With easy access to all interstates as well as Minneapolis' Metro Transit Blue Line and Northstar Commuter Rail, The Hewing sits at the literal crossroads of the Twin Cities. While Minneapolis presents a plethora of hospitality options, none tap into the local culture to create importance and significance beyond the business traveler. The Hewing occupies the historic Jackson Building, originally built in 1897, at the gateway to the Warehouse District, immediately tying it to local culture like no other competitor.

The hotel is managed by Aparium who was founded in 2011 by Chicago hospitality executive and entrepreneur Mario Tricoci and luxury hotel veteran Kevin Robinson. The duo saw a clear need for a company that could bring c-suite service and accommodations to underserved, yet distinct and important cities, while maintaining and celebrating the unadulterated character of each. Driven by the belief that all hospitality experiences should be fueled by the poetics of their surroundings, Aparium was born with an intense focus on unearthing the amazing moments unique to every city.

You are someone who is obsessed with hospitality: it is quite natural for you to walk into a hotel and want to fluff every pillow you see, judge the level of cleanliness or ask the front desk what type of system they are using. You get excited about how amenities are packaged and when you see a five star review come through. You enjoy casual sophistication and realize the concept of luxury has evolved to be approachable and loathe heavily scripted interactions and cookie-cutter experiences. Your career experience is eclectic and dynamic and you take great pride in having worked your way through a variety of progressive roles. You are humble and understand the need to work side by side with others and take feedback seriously to improve upon processes. You love the collaborative environment you find in hotels and have a special place in your heart for the people and teams you have worked with and developed throughout your career.

The Role

The Guest Services Manager sets the tone for the front-of-house guest experience of the hotel. This integral role leads the Guest Services department, ensuring that the service delivered to our guests is unique and memorable, meeting our high expectations. Though this is a management role, it is certainly not one in which you spend the entire day in the office doing paperwork. Instead, your day is spent where you are at your best: in the lobby with your team, delivering innovative guest experiences. The Guest Services Manager reports to the Director of Rooms, and works together on how to deliver remarkable guest experiences. It is critical the person in this position possesses a diverse knowledge of Rooms Division operations and is willing to dive into the day-to-day operation, while balancing and directing the long-term goals of the hotel.

What You Will Do

• Uphold and role model the company's principles of People, Place, and Character, while encouraging your direct reports to embody our values that drive collaboration, intuitive service, and translocal hospitality
• Demonstrate passion and aptitude for all aspects of a guest's experience, coaching your team to handle all guest interactions with the highest level of hospitality and professionalism. Encourage your team to find creative solutions in order accommodate guest requests whenever possible
• Serve as the tour guide for all hotel experiences a guest may encounter, following your intuition to uncover each guest's likes or dislikes, enabling you to add a personalized touch that creates a special memory
• Collaborate with and coach your team to complete the necessary activities for the day to ensure standards are achieved, ensuring an environment where associates feel supported and valued to exceed guests' needs
• Be knowledgeable in all matters related to the safety, security, satisfaction and well-being of hotel guests and associates; responds swiftly and effectively in any hotel emergency or safety situations, and verifies all associates are trained and following proper emergency procedures
• Act as a key partner with the Director of Rooms and the operations leadership team, demonstrating a united front committed to providing the best possible guest experience
• Actively participate in recruitment, training, scheduling, supervising, coaching and motivation of all Guest Services associates in order to create an environment that nurtures ideas and develops future talent for succession planning in the department
• Foster open lines of communication within the department by helping to facilitate daily line ups, weekly division leadership meetings, and monthly departmental all staff meetings to create a transparent dialogue amongst the team to voice ideas and concerns, while addressing the department's key priorities
• Coach and mentor your team on development of their skill set, fostering an environment of continuous growth; effectively use corrective action to address root causes of issues, course-correcting any missed opportunities
• Partner with Housekeeping and Engineering department heads to ensure hotel facilities and rooms are maintained in optimal condition, being emphatic about the smallest detail which may go unseen by the untrained eye
• Partner with Director of Revenue to monitor all reservation channels, verifying that detailed reservation information is collected and handled properly according to standards and protocol
• Champion departmental and hotel wide initiatives and best practices by ensuring you take the time to communicate, train, and coach associates on the purpose of each initiative
• Maintain regular communication with the Director of Hotel Operations to provide updates, discuss plans, communicate needs, and align on priorities, understanding that flexibility with your responsibilities is paramount to support a successful operation
• Foster a close relationship with Executive Chef and F+B team to ensure team is aware of all F+B offerings, new menu items and upsell and promote the internal F+B operations of the hotel

How You Lead

• Offer direct support for your team through one-on-one coaching, counseling, gentle correction, and constructive feedback
• Collaborate effectively with all departments in the hotel including Sales, Banquets + Catering, Engineering, Food + Beverage, and Culinary to provide an exemplary guest experience; be comfortable in debating ideas before implementing a decision that will impact operations property-wide, as we do not work in silos
• Be respectful in your daily interactions with your managers, direct reports, and peers, exemplifying the utmost level of professionalism and being a pillar within your community
• Highly analytical in thought and recommendations, with the ability to express a point of view in respectful manner
• Engage others in general conversation to build rapport quickly, with the ability to lead and adapt communication and presentation tactics to engage a wide range of audiences and stakeholders
• Approach fact finding and discovery missions as a collaborative effort; valuing input and experiences of others that creates additional insight to uncover deeper issues that need to be addressed
• Influence others to effectively drive results and take direction in order to execute on strategy through tactical methods; is comfortable prioritizing their work and that of others
• Prioritize and organize their own work, when necessary working flexible or extended hours to accommodate increased workload with the ability to flex to the needs of a the hotel

What You Will Need

• Minimum of (3) three years experience within Guest Services with an upscale, lifestyle, or luxury hospitality company
• Minimum of (1) one year management experience
• Professional proficiency of the English language in reading, writing and verbal communication
• Adaptable interpersonal communication skills to address all employee levels of the hotel
• Intermediate skills in Microsoft Excel and Word to create spreadsheets
• The ability to work varying schedules that may include days, nights, weekends and holidays
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