Words from the Wise – Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly, general manager at St Pancras Renaissance hotel London, shares his business secrets
Treat people how you would like to be treated
Always remember your first day at work, similar to your first day at school; brief interactions with people and initial impressions can last a lifetime. Every person has different expectations and every department different objectives; it is important, therefore, that each of these nuances are acknowledged and the necessary adaptations made to ensure that a mutual respect and understanding is created between the hotel and both its employees and guests.
Have fun
We spend a lot of our lives in the workplace. No one likes coming to work if they're not happy there. There are always other places to work, often paying more money, so you have to make the workplace an enjoyable environment. Whether this be colleagues' interaction with one another, the actual office space or incentives and activities put on by the hotel; focusing on these elements guarantees that employees have fun at work and helps ensure their commitment to their position. Recognise individual contributions and celebrate success no matter how small.
Trust your team, they are the specialists
No general manager can do every job. As they say in football "don't take the corners and head the goals". Work with your team, they are the specialists. If they shine, you shine. Share values, achieve small wins regularly together and build commitment.
Develop people, delegate, empower
Our lasting legacy is the people we work with. If you delegate and empower, it strengthens people, and stronger people allow a general manager to focus on his or her job. Every member of a department should be empowered to feel that they have the skills and opportunities with which to mature and progress. Challenge your people but offer enough support.
My mentor
My mentor is, without a doubt, Bill Marriott, executive chairman of Marriott International. Having worked for Mr Marriott for the past 15 years, seeing how he operates and how he interacts with so many people - every year visiting over 200 properties - is an extraordinary and inspirational spectacle. He is responsible for evolving this vast company from a rootbeer stand into a portfolio of 20 hotel brands.
However, every leader I have worked with I have also considered a mentor to me, and from each position I have taken away the positives and left behind the negatives in order to develop my own management style.
Career highlights
2001 Director of sales & marketing, London Marriott hotel Grosvenor Square
â- 2004 General manager, London Marriott hotel Marble Arch
â- 2006 General manager, London Marriott hotel Grosvenor Square
â- 2009 General manager, St Pancras Renaissance hotel London
â- 2012 European General Manager of the Year, Renaissance Hotels
Business mantra
Whether it be the guests or the employees, the key to a successful hotel is the people - it's always about the people. Location, architecture, design; they all sit in the wake of a focus on the individuals that service the hotel and those that visit and stay in it
