the hotelier

Tom Smith - It’s all about trust
Winter 2007

TOM SMITH is general manager of the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas and was recently honored as Hyatt Hotel’s General Manager of the Year.

:  What attracted you initially to the hospitality industry?

Smith:  When I was a kid, I enjoyed eating at restaurants with my parents. (laughter)

In 1975, I started working as a dishwasher at a free-standing restaurant in Stone Harbor, NJ and I absolutely loved it.

:  Was it the job itself or the people you worked with that you liked?

Smith:  It was the people.  Our pastry chef was a grumpy old man but for some reason, he took me under his wing and invested his time in teaching me how to make good pastries.  When I wasn’t washing pots or dishes, he would let me help him make dough and breads.  He taught me a great lesson - that a small investment of your time can encourage someone to learn.

:  In addition to the pastry chef were there others in your formative years who served as mentors for you?

Smith:  Interestingly enough one of them was not even in this business.  It was Joe Paterno, the head football coach at Penn State.  I was the manager of his football team.

I didn’t take high school as seriously as I should have so I ended up going to the main campus of Penn State during the summer.  My father loved Penn State football.  One day I was walking by the coach’s office and decided and stop in and ask for a job.  I walked in and interviews later ended up becoming the manager of the football team for four years.

Just observing Joe Paterno from a quality perspective, I could talk about for hours.  I never heard the man swear.  They called his program the “grand experiment” back in the 60’s and 70’s.  He wanted kids to get an education as well as play football.  He was dead serious.  If you didn’t go to class, he knew it that day and you didn’t play that week. 

Coach Paterno taught me that it is really about the basics in life - treating people well and doing the right things, and good stuff will follow. He ran a tight ship.  Our practice schedule started at 4:03 we ended at 6:10.  You didn’t always love him but you always respected him.

:  What do you believe are the qualities of an outstanding GM?  Did what you learn from Joe Paterno influence your own management style?

Smith:  There is no question.  The quality of a good general manager like Coach Paterno is, if you need him, he will be there to help you. 

You have to be that person that is not only there to help somebody but also to push them to limits beyond what they thought they could do.  I wouldn’t say I’m everybody’s friend but I try to be there for them and I try to treat people fairly and consistently.  One day they can’t see “Tom, the Tasmanian Devil” and the next day see “Tom as Dean Martin” or “Tom, the guy who loves everybody.”  You have to be the same every day.

It’s about developing trust.  It’s about having people want to work with you not just for you.  It’s not a perfect science and I don’t have it mastered but I do believe in treating people consistently.  As with Joe Paterno’s practices, you knew what you were in for every single day.  It was going to be tough and hard but you knew he was going to treat you fairly. 

:  In your early days in the hotel business, was there one Hyatt GM that you looked up to and tried to emulate?

Smith:  Without question, it was Chuck Floyd.  He was truly the best general manager I ever worked for.  We worked together at the Hyatt in Minneapolis and now Chuck is Hyatt’s chief operating officer at the corporate offices in Chicago. 

He was always consistent.  He was never moody.  He was difficult to work for, but in a positive way.  Chuck would challenge you and push you but his acceptance rating by the employees was incredible.

:  What are the pros and cons of direct contacts between hotel GMs and meeting planners?

Smith:  There are no cons.  There are only pros to establishing that relationship. 

For the most part, meeting planners tell you exactly what is on their minds. 

I really enjoy meeting with the planners.  I use their input for the future direction of our hotel.  One reason they provide such valuable feedback is because they see so many different hotels.

In August of every year we begin looking at the next year’s forecast and what we want to accomplish.  What should we do differently?  What do we want to upgrade and improve? 

We keep a file of the comments we receive from meeting planners and use their input during our planning process. 

Here’s one example.  We recently started “The Meeting Planner Pin Program.”  Every planner that comes to the resort receives a pin to wear during their meeting.  At the end of the meeting they present their pin to an employee who had the most impact on the success of their meeting.  That program was a suggestion from a meeting planner for a non-financial way to honor an employee for outstanding service.

You’ll never guess who has won the most pins.  It is our shipping guy, Sean Kostick.  Sean has eleven pins, so far!

:  What advice would you give meeting planners to help them insure success for their future meetings?

Smith:  I think it’s all about expectations.  Clear expectations of what they expect from the hotel is critical.  Successful planners have very clear expectations - not in a threatening way, but in an endearing way - let’s do this together - we can pull it off. 

For those planners who share their expectations in a very proactive, upbeat, motivational way, our staff will do everything, cartwheels, flips, whatever it takes, to insure the success of their meeting.