We recently kicked off our #HoteliersofGM campaign by sitting down with one of our members, The Holiday Inn – Manchester City Centre. More specifically its fantastic general manager, Steve Julian.
We asked Steve all about his role, background, and how the hoteliers industry can contribute to Manchester’s sustainability goals.
Want to know what Steve’s most outrageous guest request has been? Keep reading! It may, or may not, involve a llama…
RD: Who are you and what’s your role?
SJ: I’m Steve Julian, general manager at The Holiday Inn, Manchester City Centre. Ilead the day-to-day commercial and strategic approach and work with all the senior leaders to drive the business forward and continually develop our offering.
RD: What was your journey like into this industry? Any advice for upcoming talent?
SJ: My journey into becoming a GM was slightly different to the traditional route as my background was sport and fitness within hotels. After that, I started to work with the operations teams so that I could learn and develop more.
To any aspiring GM, I would say that you don’t have to go down the traditional route of starting off in rooms or F&B. Try and work in a hotel part time whilst you’re learning so that you have real experience and be very strategic about job offers that come your way. To stand out, you’ve got to be a thoughtful leader and always be a confident decision maker.
RD: How important is it for the hospitality/hoteliers industry to play its part in Manchester’s sustainability goals?
SJ: It’s massively important for us to play our part. Being part of the leisure and tourism industry, which brings billions to the local economy, we do a lot to either improve our own sustainability efforts or to educate those people coming into the city. Certainly, as hotels, there’s plenty of initiative that we can put in place, such as removing single-use plastics, installing LED lights, moving away from using gas, but we can also educate the guests on the impact of these things to improve the sustainable drive that we’re trying to push as a city.
RD: In your opinion, what makes a great guest experience?
SJ: Making the whole interaction as natural as possible. Always smile at guests and build a rapport from the very beginning by asking them what their plans are and how you can help. It’s all about making an impact on the guests and making it as memorable an experience as possible.
RD: What does an average day look like for you?
SJ: The typical day for me in this hotel starts with me interacting with as many team members as possible. One thing I’m passionate about is getting to know the teams and build that rapport so a good chunk of my morning is spent doing this. I will then go into the office and work on outstanding emails and attend any meetings I have. In between that, I’ll catch up with my senior managers and heads of department and we’ll discuss progression points or projects that we’re working on to improve our efficiencies across the business.
RD: Time for some fun questions! What’s the most outrageous request you’ve had from a guest?
SJ: By far, the most outrageous request I had was in a previous hotel where a wedding was taking place, and the groom asked if he could bring a llama in to be his best man. I’m not joking.
RD: And what’s the most unusual thing anyone has left behind in a hotel?
SJ: At a previous hotel, we had the Barcelona football team staying with us. The team coach had left for John Lennon airport, but they’d left one of their star players in the jacuzzi! Long story short, the security manager had the give the player a lift to the airport, so he didn’t miss his flight.