Interview with Tobias Ragossnig, Front Office Manager at Kahala Hotel and Resort

Business Memo and Thank You Letter

Reflexive Essay and Thank You Letter

To gain greater insights into the hospitality industry at the managerial and leadership level Tobias Ragossnig, Front Office Manager at the Kahala Hotel and Resort was interviewed. While working full-time he is also currently attending Hawai'i Pacific University pursuing a degree in Travel Industry Management. He is originally from Austria, where he attended a secondary college studying Marketing, interrupting his studies to take a full time position with the YMCA.

In choosing to interview Tobias, his unique managerial and leadership background in the hospitality industry, combined with his ambitious approach to continual self-improvement from a management and leadership standpoint, made him the best candidate available given my own career aspirations. He has accumulated over a decade of management and leadership experience in the YMCA, and for the last three years worked a the Kahala Hotel and Resort.

Background and Education

Tobias has a strong work ethic and also believes in the value of education as the foundation for excelling in managerial and leadership roles. This is evidenced by the continual investments he makes in personal development in these areas. Tobias began his career in the YMCA, where he served in a variety of roles including frontline and management positions, progressing to his final position as Senior Director of Membership & Marketing. At this point in his career he chose to leave the YMCA and join the Kahala Hotel and Resort first as Housekeeping Manager and later as Front Office Manager. He credits his background in doing many of the tasks his staff is required to do on a daily basis for being able to connect with them not just as employees but as people and personally identify with them as well. One of his mottos or mantras is "sweat with them so they sweat with you." This refers to building a strong team through self-sacrifice and a willingness to always go the extra mile for a co-workers and subordinate.

He credits his years at the YMCA with teaching him just how critical people skills are to any services-based job, and how important it is to also be a leader who earns trust and respect. Throughout the interview it became clear that Tobias earns respect and over time, trust from the employees that report to him by concentrating on sharing experiences and his willingness to pitch in ad help them. Instead of remaining aloof or authoritarian, Tobias jumps in to help his subordinates, staff members and peers at the hotel, further showing that he values communication and collaboration at a very high priority. It is often said that is manager is what one does and a leader is who one is. Tobias is clearly moving in the direction of being a strong leader at the Kahala Hotel and Resort.

Lessons Learned About the Interviewing Process

A key lesson learned from interviewing Tobias is that the combination of primary, open-ended questions combined with secondary closed questions leads to greater insights and the opportunity fro the interviewee to share their lessons learned. What an interview process must do is create the opportunity for the interviewee to open up and share stores that show insight and astute judgment based on years of experience. This provides greater insights than just having a series of closed-end questions for example.

Thank You Letter