Special RepoRt : Leadership
Don ’ t even bother asking Tim Ananiadis what a typical day looks like . Not that he ’ s complaining . “ The ever-changing environment and the fact that there ’ s never a routine day is one of my favorite parts of the job . I ’ m challenged every day ,” he says , partially due to protests against Greece ’ s governmental spending cuts that have filled the Athens streets outside his hotels . The former 20-year veteran of Hyatt Hotels Corp . isn ’ t just talking about switching between the view from 60,000 feet as an area manager and making sure every detail is in place for a VIP guest as the GM of two of the Luxury Collection ’ s highest-profile Greek properties . When he ’ s wearing his area manager hat , he ’ s working out how to navigate running a city-center hotel with occupancy fluctuations that look like a resort ’ s . “ Running an average occupancy of 80 % -plus for eight months and 35 % -plus for four months meant we had to go to almost 50 % seasonal staff ,” he says .
When he ’ s wearing his GM hat , he may be working on how to fully integrate Hotel Grande Bretagne ’ s former number one competitor — King George — into the Luxury Collection family one day . The next day may find him working intensively with hotel security to make sure guests — and staff — are safe when protests flare up .
Despite the drama of a working in a country facing a multitude of challenges , Ananiadis is all too aware that superhero pyrotechnics don ’ t constitute crisis management skills . “ There ’ s no pat advice I can give for a hotelier in a crisis situation ,” he says . “ If you want to develop a coping strategy , the first thing you have to do
“ The everchanging environmenT and The facT ThaT There ’ s never a rouTine day are some of my favoriTe parTs of The job . i ’ m challenged every day .”
– Tim AnAniAdis is differentiate between short-term , one-off incidents and long-lasting socio-economic adversity ,” he says . “ If it ’ s the latter , there is no magic bullet . You have to keep up all the best practices you ’ d use under normal circumstances and then some . Stay focused on customers ; be visible , and seek to speak with them . Try to anticipate their needs as well as the events that can interfere with their stay . Make sure you have a plan that offers them solutions .”
But when it ’ s time to break the glass , he warns , an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure . “ There is no such thing as business as usual ,” he says . “ If you and your teams are not prepared to face adverse conditions , even in the safest locations , then by the time something happens , it ’ s too late . Your guests certainly will not be ready to face a sudden crisis , so it is up to you to stay in control and make sure your employees follow a wellrehearsed plan , ensure the safety of the guests and be ready to take difficult decisions within a very short time .”
Good thing , then , that Ananiadis is a past master at shifting gears . “ The GM role taught me to be less of a micro-manager as an AMD , and the AMD role taught me to be more strategic in the GM role .”
Looking ahead , it doesn ’ t look likely that he ’ ll finally find the time to tick too many items off his personal bucket list . “ I was just given the additional responsibility for the Balkans in my area role . Yes , it ’ s expanding my responsibilities , but I have to say I am very excited to be part of what I feel is one of the last areas of Europe with vast potential for new hotel growth .” www . hotelsmag . com April 2015 HOTELS 49