Guest Experience Manager

•Lead and manage Hotel Guest Experience team and operations •Is responsible for the strategic, short and long term planning and the daily operations of the Guest Experience Service Department •Prepare and maintain Standard Operating Procedures

• Lead and support all Guest Experience initiatives within the hotel

• Lead and manage, under the supervision of the Resident Manager, the entire Guest Experience section and ensure all ambassadors/employees are trained to deliver best quality service at all times in line with Sofitel Group Brand Standards for each position

• Support Management in driving a Guest-Centric culture in the hotel and in creating awareness and understanding among ambassadors/employees on the importance of the Guest Experience

• Manage budget according to occupancy and forecasting, schedule ambassadors/employees rosters accordingly

• Is responsible for continually focusing on quality and contributing to hotel profitability through effective cost controls

• Guide operations and establish a work environment to achieve goals and objectives

• Interview, select, train, appraise, coach, counsel ambassadors/employees according to company/HR standards

• Ensure optimal compliance with corporate focus audit

• Conduct daily briefings with team members on current key activities

• Maintain the Le Club AccorHotels Loyalty Program

• Conduct Guest Experience Management induction for new hires and thorough induction on Guest Experience for all new Department Heads/Managers within the first month of employment

• Champion the internal communication of Guest Experience related matters to all ambassadors/employees in the hotel

• Review VOG (Voice of the Guest) performance and Guest feedback daily, identify trends and areas for improvement on a regular basis and share with relevant stakeholders (at a minimum once a week)

• Collect direct feedback from Guests and facilitate new ways of collecting insights

• Represent Guest Experience (The internal Voice of the Guest) daily at the morning briefing (Luxury Forum) with updates, highlighting points for improvement and praises

• With the collaboration of the EXCOM, conduct regular Guest Experience meetings with Department Heads, communicate performance, supporting and pushing Management Action Plans and to address recurrent Guest feedback and challenges, performing root-cause analysis, problem resolution & prevention plans, following-up on necessary actions and implementation

• Be aware and communicate the Brand Assurance Program and all new brand/quality initiatives effectively to all stakeholders

• Be fully knowledgeable about the brand standards and facilitate, check and ensures full implementation at the hotel by the teams

• Work closely with Department Heads to assess service standards and delivery on a regular basis

• Work with and support Department Heads to prepare for Brand Assurance mystery visits

• Lead and develop a team of Guest Experience Champions within the hotel to conduct deep-dives/self-assessments and identify improvement opportunities and solutions

• Conduct Brand Assurance refresher trainings from time to time to all Department Heads

• Reviews MAPs proposed by each department post mystery visit, support and follow-up implementation by Department Heads

• Work in partnership with all relevant external partners to ensure training is conducted where applicable, e.g.  VOG, …

• Ensure the relevant teams and stakeholders respond to all Guest feedback, e.g. VOG GSS, and consumer-generated content on various social media sites or travel sites (100% of negative reviews/feedback and at a minimum 50% of positive reviews/feedback)

• Contribute to the development and implementation of Management and/or Ambassadors/Employees trainings

• Review and communicate best practices implemented in other LUB hotels,  follow-up on implementation at the property

• Attends Regional/Global Guest Experience meetings/trainings as required

• Show an ethical behaviour and ethical business practices and ensure own behaviour and the behaviour of team members is

  consistent with these standards and aligns with the values of the organisation

• Establish and maintain positive working relationships with others both internally and externally

• Lead and influence others to achieve results that are in the best interest of the organisation

• Determine strategies to move the organisation forward, set goals, create and implement actions plans, and evaluate the process and

  results

• Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make

  recommendations and/or resolve the problem

• Be an inspiration to all hotel staff to achieve luxury levels of performance

• Interacts in a positive way with all team members to ensure a luxury guest experience

• Be an example of the Sofitel Values, brand standards, and a champion of grooming and appearance guidelines

CANDIDATE PROFILE

•  Diploma in Hospitality and/or Tourism Management

• A strong understanding of overall hotel business

• Minimum 2 years’experience in a similar position in the luxury setting

• Excellent leadership skills, problem solving and interpersonal skills

• Must have strong decision making skills

• Ability to communicate at all levels

• Ability to train and develop team members

• Ability to work effectively in a team environment and take initiative

• Excellent organizational skills

• Analytical skills

• Computer skills