Jonathan King

Name: Jonathan King

Job: General Manager, Posthouse Preston<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

Date of birth: 09/08/73

Route to job: During summer 1991, King had his first experience of the hotel trade at the Posthouse Hull as a meetings and conference porter. In October of that year he took his new enthusiasm for hospitality into a management degree at Lancaster University, working at the Hull hotel during holidays.

The third year of King's degree was formally spent at the Posthouse Hull to complete his experience in all aspects of hotel work, including reception, accounts and duty management.

After graduating, King rejoined Posthouse on a fast-track management trainee programme as a relief manager covering six hotels in the North-west of England. Here he developed skills such as strategic room management, appraisal and group training techniques, and knowledge of employment law. The training concluded with a final five-month placement as reception manager at the Posthouse Runcorn.

His training over, King moved to the Posthouse Lancaster as operations manager, responsible for developing the hotel's business plan, creating a customer service culture and promoting best practice.

In July 1999, he moved to his current position as general manager of the Posthouse Preston. There he is responsible for the successful management of the hotel's 72 employees and sales of £2.3m.

His main duties involve setting strategies and providing the systems that his departmental managers work by. He also monitors staff aims and achievements, as well as customer service and profitability.

What do you need to be a hotel general manager? "Good knowledge of what the customer wants and the ability to balance that with the profitability of the hotel. You need to be approachable, helpful to your staff and support them in the decisions they have to make.

"The ability to prioritise is also essential. It helps if you are experienced in what it is your staff do by working your way up to this level. Then you can emphasise what makes good customer service and empathise with problems they may encounter when achieving it."