news

Great tips from hotel turnaround expert René Angoujard

12 Jul 2012

It’s fair to say that guest speaker René Angoujard had the undivided attention of the audience at the recent Glasgow Service with Style 2nd Anniversary event. For here was a man acclaimed for impressive hotel turnarounds, even in tough economies. René has worked across different brands in nine countries, turning poorly performing hotels into profitable enterprises.

Having arrived from his latest project, as the general manager of Pullman Tour Eiffel, one of Accor’s leading hotels in Paris, many people in Scotland’s tourism industry were very keen to hear a few words of wisdom from this renowned businessman.

Rene’s demeanour is thoughtful, affable and clear-headed. Although speaking in a second language, the Frenchman was an excellent speaker and offered a host of points that saw numerous people in the audience nodding their heads in agreement or else scribbling down notes.

His main passions for hotel success are service and staff development, and he believes that these two factors are essential for creating excellence, customer satisfaction and profitability in hotel management. 

“It’s quite simple,” he said. “To have a successful hotel you must have happy customers, and to have happy customers you need happy staff. It’s all about the people. People are the foundation of success.”

One of the first things that Rene will do when taking on a hotel project is ensure that the staff are treated well and that they are happy. He revealed: “I always look at the staff quarters and give them a revamp if needed. I will make sure they have a lovely place to treat as their own in the hotel.”

In one property Rene even introduced fluffy bathrobes to the staff quarters to add to the experience for his team, “so that they feel they are well cared for”.

He gave the audience another top tip. “Don’t overlook the importance of staff training and development,” he said. “This doesn’t have to be costly. But it is so important. It's about the long-term success of your hotel. So often businesses look for cut-backs and they cut training because it's easy to cut. But this leads to under-trained and under-developed staff. It's short-sighted.”

He adds: “People get it wrong when it comes to thinking about the cost of training. They think: ‘What if I train my staff and they leave.’ But they should think: “What if I don’t train my staff and they stay.’”

Rene’s emphasis on effective leadership and having a vision also caught the attention of many in the audience. He said:  “Effective leadership is putting things first and getting things in the right order and right place. And effective management is the discipline of carrying all this out.”

He underlined the importance of calling for a “commitment of staff to your vision”. “This point is very important”, said Rene. “You need to be honest. Tell them that things might not be easy for the short-term and that they might need to ride with it, but that there is a vision in place and things will get better. And then do what you say and say what you do.”

Rene is also well-known for his “hands-on” approach. This is a general manager who is seen and heard on the hotel floor and front of house. He emphasised the importance of getting to know staff and systems within a hotel.

He said: “For me, the key to understanding a hotel, the staff, and what needs to change, is to spend time on the floor coaching, listening, and supporting staff on a daily basis.

“Then, you will really get to know what works and what doesn’t work in a business.”

But surely, these sorts of measures take a lot of time and money, two factors that many general managers and business leaders will say they have very little of. But Rene is clear that improving service doesn’t need to involve spending a lot of money. He said: “It’s about attitude. A staff member could simply hand a customer a glass, or they could do it with a smile. This doesn’t cost anything extra but it does change how the customer feels.

 “If you look after the staff, and they are happy, then the staff will look after the customers and you will have a good hotel. It has worked for me in many different hotels across the world.”

 “You know,” said Rene during the post-event networking evening, “I often wonder why more people do not go into hospitality.

“I always feel as though I am letting people in on a big secret,” he said. “When I tell them about my work, about being in hotels that offer such pleasant surroundings, and working with enthusiastic staff and making people happy on their breaks and holidays, I think to myself that I am very lucky to work in this industry.”

It’s no wonder this insightful businessman has had such a successful career. We wish him all the very best in Paris.

* The Glasgow Service with Style Autumn Masterclasses will be announced shortly, with a range of industry speakers - watch this space!