PROFITABILITY
WHY HOTEL FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP starts and stops with the GM
GENERAL MANAGERS SERVE MULTI-FACETED ROLES , BUT UNDERSTANDING THE INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS OF MONEY SHOULD BE CHIEF AMONG THEM .
Contributed by DAVID LUND
I
’ ll bet that any hotel general manager who read the title of this piece doesn ’ t agree . I ’ ll wager that you ’ re thinking it ’ s clearly not your role to be the chief financial leader ; after all , it ’ s the controller or director of finance that is responsible for the numbers .
In this article , I will lay out my case as to why the GM has the top financial responsibility in a hotel . My intent is to explain to owners and operators the true value of a GM and lay out a strategy GMs can and should follow to grow their influence and effectiveness in the financial space .
THE GM ROLE I grew my career in hospitality and worked with many GMs . Most of them were hard-working and dedicated professionals that were determined to lead their teams to victory . But in every case but a couple , they didn ’ t see their role as being the top financial leader .
Many of them were only too happy to claim the role of the number-one
66 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2023