4 habits of a successful hotel General Manager

Jason Kim is the General Manager of Aloft Seoul Myeongdong.

Having worked at various part-time jobs in F&B in his late teens, Jason Kim quickly became captivated by the hospitality industry. Since then, his career in hospitality has taken him from Switzerland to Thailand, Russia, USA and now back to his native country, South Korea. In February this year, he led the opening of Aloft Seoul Myeongdong, a 223-room hotel located in the heart of Seoul’s shopping district.

1. Lead by example
   With so many meeting, emails and administrative tasks to attend to, it's easy to get trapped in the office and lose track of what is happening in the ‘front of house’. So I make sure that I begin everyday working through the property first. I do a site inspection, interact with the staff on duty and catch up with them on what happened the day before. It is important for my team to see that I am working alongside them as it helps to build trust and also allows me to develop a more in-depth understanding of the hotel we’re running.

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I know that I have a lot of eyes on me as the leader. I believe that you don’t always need to say a lot, but if your colleagues see you doing something then they will follow.

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2. Create a service-oriented culture
   I believe that being a successful General Manger is essentially about your ability to serve others. I remember one of the first things I learnt about guest service at SHMS was to always make a decision that’s in favour of the guest, and it is this culture of finding the 'yes' for our guests no matter what, that I have tried to create at Aloft Seoul Myeongdong.

3. Stay healthy – physically and mentally
   It’s important for me to feel mentally and physically refreshed so I can be helpful to my guests and my team. No matter how busy I get, I make it a point to include exercise in my daily routine and I also set time aside to do some reading.

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As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. So take care of yourself before you can care for others.

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4. Don’t pretend to know it all
   Knowledge comes from years of experience in a job. Even then, you can’t be expected to know everything! I think it’s important for a GM to stay humble, honest and not be embarrassed to admit when they don’t know an answer or need help. I believe there’s always something to learn from others.

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Jason Kim graduated Swiss Hotel Management School with a Postgraduate Diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Management:
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