The future lies in outsourcing, says GM

Up to three-quarters of all hotel departments, including the kitchen, could be permanently outsourced, a leading general manager said last week.

Speaking at the fifth Caterer & Hotelkeeper Recruitment Conference, Marie-Béatrice Lallemand, general manager of the Hilton London Metropole, said hotels of the future were likely to rely on an increased amount of outsourcing.

This would free management to concentrate on revenue building and spread risk during difficult trading times. Outsourcing is already popular in the USA and in Continental Europe, and worked well, providing the right partners were sought, added Lallemand.

"When you recruit partners, you need to find companies with a similar culture," she said. "There is a long way to go in this country before outsourcing takes off."

At the Hilton London Metropole, Lallemand has already outsourced about 30% of the hotel's operations, including back of house and cleaning functions, since taking over as general manager in July 2001. The hotel won this year's Group Hotel of the Year Catey.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 5-11 December 2002