Hotel General Manager Career Plan: Goals and Strategy

Introduction and Career Objective

I am committed to building a career in the hospitality industry. To be specific, I have set my sights on becoming the general manager at a major hotel. The steps that I have taken in the past, and the steps that I will take in the future, all lead me to this career outcome. This letter will explain why I view this as my ideal future and why I am perfectly suited to this position.

Core Values and Personal Mission

First and foremost, I am committed to honesty, integrity, and a high level of customer service. I have spent essentially my entire career in the hospitality industry and have learned from the very beginning that the customer is the single most important variable. Without the customer, there is no business. The hotel industry in particular is subject to intense competition, and for the most part hotels are not strongly differentiated from one another. The one point of differentiation that is noticed by each and every customer is service. That is why careful attention to meeting the needs of customers has become one of my core values.

Honesty and integrity are also critical values. Delivering the best customer service requires building trust with staff and building trust with customers. This can never occur if one's integrity is in question. It is absolutely important that no matter what level I am at, or to whom I am communicating, I must be honest. People never forget someone they believe to be dishonest. For me, this honesty is critical to my success in the industry because it is the foundation from which I derive my knowledge, strength, and influence. These three values are all critical, and they are all mutually reinforcing. The point has never come when I needed to sacrifice one core value for another.

My personal mission statement is to deliver the highest level of service to my customers and the highest level of profit to the company and its shareholders. I do not view these two missions as mutually exclusive — indeed, they are complementary. My vision is to be the general manager of a major hotel within five years. I know that I have the skill to achieve this vision: I can see myself managing the staff, the budget, the restaurant, and everything else under my command.

Five-Year Career Goals and Milestones

To achieve this vision, I have a defined set of career goals that can be considered steps along the path to success. After the first year, I envision myself as either a supervisor or an assistant front office manager — starting at the former position and advancing to the latter. By the end of the second year, I expect to be the front office manager. By the 3.5-year mark, I am confident that I will be an assistant general manager. By the five-year mark, I expect to have achieved my goal of becoming a hotel general manager. By the ten-year mark, I think I may be looking forward to upper management.

These goals are measurable and, given the shortage of quality managerial talent in the industry, I believe they are achievable as well. Each position represents a straight-line path up the managerial ranks, making the plan both logical and focused.

Personal SWOT Analysis

I have a number of strengths that will guide me through my career. I believe my integrity and honesty are key strengths, and my work ethic is second to none. I am well-trained in the industry and have a strong commitment to building success within it.

I do, however, have some weaknesses. I drive a hard bargain, which can be taken the wrong way by some staff members, and I will need to find the right balance in my approach to managing people. I also recognize that I am still somewhat inexperienced. There is a fairly steep learning curve on the path to becoming a successful hotel manager, but I have laid out an aggressive career plan that I believe will help me overcome my relative lack of experience.

In terms of opportunities, there is a shortage of quality managerial-level staff across the hospitality industry, which will create job openings that I can pursue. In addition, I believe there is room for innovative thinkers in this role, since many hotel managers appear to lack creativity. Threats exist as well. At present, there is overcapacity in the industry, which could result in consolidation and staffing cuts, reducing future career development prospects. There are also other ambitious individuals who likely see the same career niche, and they will compete with me for positions throughout my career.