What does the hotel manager do?

I'm curious to know exactly what the hotel manager's job is? Appreciate any information.

Thanks.

I'm no authoritative source, but my information is that he "runs the (floating) hotel." That means he is in charge of everything that is not the purview of the captain or the chief engineer.

He's responsible for such things as housekeeping, food, beverage and probably the cruise director, shore excursions all other activities.

I'm no authoritative source, but my information is that he "runs the (floating) hotel." That means he is in charge of everything that is not the purview of the captain or the chief engineer.

 

He's responsible for such things as housekeeping, food, beverage and probably the cruise director, shore excursions all other activities.

Agreed. Essentially the Hotel Manager supervises the food, beverages, cabins, entertainment, etc. All the things the average cruiser comes in daily contact with. However, the Hotel Manager's immediate supervisor is the Captain, and the Captain has purview over everything.

I'm curious to know exactly what the hotel manager's job is? Appreciate any information.

Thanks.

Good Question:)

I did a Google Search for: "What is the job description for a Cruise Ship Hotel Manager"

and this is the first listing, which I think would be about the same for most Cruise lines:

"

Company: Corsica & Sardinia Ferries

Position: Hotel Manager

Department: hotel

Reports to: Captain

Job description:

Amongst his /her duties:

1. Hotel manager supervises hotel departments on board including housekeeping, galley, restaurants bars and lounges.
   
2. he/she is responsible for the ship’s general cleaning and interior appearance.
   
3. He/she is responsible for the respect of the company quality procedures in terms of service to passengers and food.
   
4. he/she is responsible for the passenger’s onboard revenue target fixed by the company’s and has to make proposals for its increase.
   
5. every single voyage, point of sales are closed and the various managers report to Hotel Manager for the counting of cash in accordance to the bills issued to the passengers. Onboard our ships there is no cashless system as passengers stay a maximum of 8 hours (longest trip from port to port)
   
6. He/she is responsible for the cash on board and periodically disembarks the cash ashore.
   
7. Duties include the supervision of the point of sale opening and closing times, personnel time tables and rest hours are respected.
   
8. Insures that all departments maintain high standards.
   
9. Reports directly to the Hotel Operation coordinator at the shoreside office and to the human resources Director for the crew performance.
   

Job profile

Hotel Manager on cruise ships or ferry and/or experience in Hotels ashore.

Knowledge of at least either Italian and French languages is a must.

Salary: information will be shared with screened candidates, its construction is based upon a fixed salary, bonus and incentive based on company’s target achievement.

Benefits and taxes: contribution for pension is paid to Italian national public fund as a must, full cover against sickness and injury. Income taxes are deducted at the source and paid in Italy. Notwithstanding the above benefits and taxes, salaries are still interesting.

Contract duration: 3 months on / 1,5 to 2 months off

Operation area : Mediterranean sea – France to Corse and Italy to Corse and Sardinia.

Overview on the environment where he/she will operate:

Full UE crewmembers – mainly Italian, Portuguese and French, Romanian and Lithuanians

This one is from Viking River Cruises:

Job Category: Management

Position: Hotel Manager

Job Description

Areas of responsibility:

• responsible for the hotel department on the ship
  
• supervising and motivating hotel staff
  
• constant attention to passengers
  
• control of hotel costs and budget
  
• supervise ordering
  
• ensure implementation of standards in the hotel area
  
• cooperate with Captain and nautical staff
  

Profile

• education in hotel management
  
• leadership experience
  
• food and beverage experience
  
• ship experience is an advantage
  
• fluent in English and German; other languages are a plus
  
• familiarity with MS Office; Protel and Abacus are an advantage
  
• customer- and team-oriented
  
• cost-conscious
  
• a minimum age of 28 years is required
  

And Lastly, from About.com:

Hotel Department

If you've ever vacationed or stayed in a hotel for business, then you are familiar with many of the jobs that fall under the hotel department. This department is the largest and most diverse on the ship, and is run by the hotel manager. The divisions and hierarchy of the department mirror those in a hotel.

Let's start with the most obvious--the cabins or staterooms on a ship. Responsibility for the cabins fall under the steward division, which is similar to the housekeeping department in a hotel. This division is responsible for making passengers comfortable while they are in their rooms, and includes the care of the cabins, room and messenger service, and laundry pick up and delivery. Positions in the steward division include the cabin stewards/stewardesses who clean and do daily maintenance of the cabins and general housekeeping.

A clean ship is important to all cruisers. There is also a separate division that does the general cleaning and maintenance of the common areas around the ship. I shutter when I think of all of those windows that need washing, brass that needs polishing, and areas that need painting!

The laundry on a ship must run almost continually. Bed linens, towels, tablecloths, and some crew uniforms must be laundered daily.

Cruise ships pride themselves in their ability to provide a memorable dining experience to hundreds (or even a couple of thousand) of passengers and staff each day. It's not always easy to "run to the store" if the ship has forgotten something, either! The food and beverage division is responsible for all of the dining rooms, bars, the galleys (kitchens), clean up and provisions. There is a food and beverage manager who runs this department.

The dining room manager, or maitre d', takes care of seating arrangements, service, and oversees the wait staff for the dining room. Under the maitre d' are the head waiters, and each of them is responsible for several waiters and busboys. Even though waiters and busboys are considered entry level positions, many cruise ships prefer those with previous experience from a restaurant or hotel dining room. Depending on the size of the ship, there may be several bars, and the service of drinks is a popular job on board. Bar tenders and wine stewards must usually have prior experience.

The executive chef is responsible for the ship's cuisine. There are dozens of jobs in the galley (kitchen), many of which require extensive prior restaurant or cruise ship experience. The galley is usually divided into the hot galley and cold galley. The hot galley positions include all types of cooking--vegetables, fish, soup, and grill. The cold galley positions include baking, pastry, and buffets.

With all of this food preparation and dining, there has to be a team responsible for cleaning up after the passengers and cooks. A cleaning crew (utility division) washes all of the dishes and tableware (including the pots and pans), changes the table cloths, vacuums the floors, and cleans the windows and bar areas.

The provision division is responsible for procuring, storing, and issuing all of the ship's food and beverage requirements. The provision master and his staff orders the supplies and takes the weekly inventory of the ship's stores. As someone who keeps a running "grocery list" on her refrigerator for a family of only two , I can only marvel at the thousands of pounds of provisions that a ship would need each week for the thousands on board!

The cruise staff also fall into the hotel department. They are responsible for all of the activities and entertainment on board and ashore. The cruise director is in charge of the cruise staff. The size of this staff, like all of the other departments, is dependent on the size of the ship. Entertainers such as singers, dancers, and musicians are needed on ships along with shore excursion leaders/coordinators, dive masters, and lecturers. Most of the cruise staff have a lot of interaction with the passengers, and must be able to focus on providing a "good time" for the cruisers. This "good time" attitude means that cruise staff have to be almost like cheerleaders--up beat, happy, and courteous to everyone. Some might think that the entertainers would have less hours to work than many of the other hotel staff. This normally is not true, because the entertainers often serve as hosts and hostesses during the day, or help with other areas of the hotel operations.

The last division of the hotel department is the administrative section. This group is responsible for all of the ship's "paper work"--the mail, accounting, and daily newsletters. The medical staff also falls into the administrative group. The chief purser heads up the accounting, printing, and payroll sections, and the ship's doctor or principal medical officer is over the medical staff onboard. For those of you who were fans of the TV show "The Love Boat", it is important to note that the purser staff are not all like the character of Gopher on that show. (I never saw Gopher do ANYTHING!) The purser staff maintain all of the ship's documents and the passenger manifests and clearance papers. They also keep the safe, safety deposit boxes, and the passengers' bills and accounts. The information desk on many ship's is often manned by someone from the purser's office.

Many of the other jobs that might fall into the Hotel Department are often concessionaires. These independent subcontractors lease space on a ship and then pay the cruise line a percentage of their profits. Concessionaires often operate the photography studio, gift and clothing shops, spas, and casinos. Some cruise lines use concessionaires to provide staff for most of the hotel operations on the ship, with a cruise line employee as the overall manager. Other cruise lines use concessionaires for the entire food and beverage operation.

Joanie

I'm no authoritative source, but my information is that he "runs the (floating) hotel." That means he is in charge of everything that is not the purview of the captain or the chief engineer.

One of the Hotel Manager's little known duties is to check every single piece of luggage for packed stewards the night before disembarkation. ;)

So, if DH and I had so many problems on the Veendam, day after day, and requested to meet with him many times, should we have been told everyday he was unavailable? He was at meetings the entire cruise according to the front desk.

So, if DH and I had so many problems on the Veendam, day after day, and requested to meet with him many times, should we have been told everyday he was unavailable? He was at meetings the entire cruise according to the front desk.

He never met with us on the Zuiderdam either, but sent one of his assistants to deal with us. However, I kept bumping into him so he got an earful each time:D Total waste of time though.

So, if DH and I had so many problems on the Veendam, day after day, and requested to meet with him many times, should we have been told everyday he was unavailable? He was at meetings the entire cruise according to the front desk.

wow Carol - that's sad:( I've asked to see the HM twice - once to fix a meet and greet muck up and once with a huge problem with a Sommelier package. I had no problem meeting with either one. Both were cordial, apologetic and rectified the situation promptly:)

For one, I asked for a meeting when I saw the HM - for the other I wrote a note and requested a few minutes of their time. I had a call with an appointment within two hours! I think direct contact is the way to go IMO.

That's a nice concise description. :)

Thank you! I have learned that when someone asks "What Time is it?" - it is not necessary to tell them how to build a clock.

That's just not acceptable IMO. I hope you mentioned this on the end of cruise survey?

I'm curious to know exactly what the hotel manager's job is? Appreciate any information.

Thanks.

The ship is a floating metal box surrounding a land-based type hotel operation. The captain runs the ship - the engineers keep the metal box going and the hotel manager keeps the guests inside the floating metal box happy. The rest of the staff does everyone's bidding, which make it all work together for the benefit of the paying guests.

85% of the time it all works wonderfully. But sometimes somethings can go wrong. They key to any companies success is not how well it does when things go wrong because that is the basic expectation of any business, but how does a company respond when things can and will go wrong. We give HAL high marks for the latter; other have had different experiences.

With the VERY long job description that Joanie posted for a position open on a River Cruise boat. You can only imagine the much larger description of things a Hotel Manager or Hotel Director is in Charge of on a large cruise ship but in that he has MANY Management positions below him that report to him that also have a lot of authority. There is such a thing as chain of command. The Hotel Manager must allow them to do their job as well.

Over the years I have held many management positions but always had someone above me. I would be mighty upset if my Boss was constantly handling my job. :o

If on the case of a ship you are not getting a resolution from your Concierge and or Front Desk then the next step is the Lead or Supervisor of the Front Desk, then there is the Guest Relations Manager. 99.9% of the time the Hotel Manager should NOT handle these problems it should be done in a chain of command order.

I have always learned thru the years working in any management position that the best managers delegate work. But remember also that Supervisor at the Front Desk does not want their Boss to know they are not doing their job.

This is just another problem with Cruise Critics, we tend to learn or think we have learned a lot about cruise ships. Had we not read CC no one would even question about talking to the Hotel Manager we would just start at the bottom and work our way up till something is resolved. I am sure if the Hotel Manager spoke with every single person who said I want to talk to the Hotel Manager he would have a line up out his office 24/7 and the management team under him would be standing around twiddling their thumbs.

Once many years ago, a hotel manager on HAL, a friend of mine said tongue in cheek, "The Captain is concerned with how much fuel we have and where we go. I'm concerned with everything else" Remember it was I said joking so no slams please.

With the VERY long job description that Joanie posted for a position open on a River Cruise boat. You can only imagine the much larger description of things a Hotel Manager or Hotel Director is in Charge of on a large cruise ship but in that he has MANY Management positions below him that report to him that also have a lot of authority. There is such a thing as chain of command. The Hotel Manager must allow them to do their job as well.

 

Over the years I have held many management positions but always had someone above me. I would be mighty upset if my Boss was constantly handling my job. :o

 

If on the case of a ship you are not getting a resolution from your Concierge and or Front Desk then the next step is the Lead or Supervisor of the Front Desk, then there is the Guest Relations Manager. 99.9% of the time the Hotel Manager should NOT handle these problems it should be done in a chain of command order.

 

I have always learned thru the years working in any management position that the best managers delegate work. But remember also that Supervisor at the Front Desk does not want their Boss to know they are not doing their job.

 

This is just another problem with Cruise Critics, we tend to learn or think we have learned a lot about cruise ships. Had we not read CC no one would even question about talking to the Hotel Manager we would just start at the bottom and work our way up till something is resolved. I am sure if the Hotel Manager spoke with every single person who said I want to talk to the Hotel Manager he would have a line up out his office 24/7 and the management team under him would be standing around twiddling their thumbs.

 

Thanks for that concise explanation, Lisa. I know they have a busy job, but didn't realize they were basically responsible for "all things ship" under the Captain. From personal experience, say, a 14 day cruise on the Maasdam or Ryndam and 7 day cruise on the Veendam, ships of the same size, the Hotel Manager has half the time to do everything that needs to be done for a particular cruise.

With the VERY long job description that Joanie posted for a position open on a River Cruise boat. You can only imagine the much larger description of things a Hotel Manager or Hotel Director is in Charge of on a large cruise ship but in that he has MANY Management positions below him that report to him that also have a lot of authority. There is such a thing as chain of command. The Hotel Manager must allow them to do their job as well.

 

Over the years I have held many management positions but always had someone above me. I would be mighty upset if my Boss was constantly handling my job. :o

 

If on the case of a ship you are not getting a resolution from your Concierge and or Front Desk then the next step is the Lead or Supervisor of the Front Desk, then there is the Guest Relations Manager. 99.9% of the time the Hotel Manager should NOT handle these problems it should be done in a chain of command order.

 

I have always learned thru the years working in any management position that the best managers delegate work. But remember also that Supervisor at the Front Desk does not want their Boss to know they are not doing their job.

 

This is just another problem with Cruise Critics, we tend to learn or think we have learned a lot about cruise ships. Had we not read CC no one would even question about talking to the Hotel Manager we would just start at the bottom and work our way up till something is resolved. I am sure if the Hotel Manager spoke with every single person who said I want to talk to the Hotel Manager he would have a line up out his office 24/7 and the management team under him would be standing around twiddling their thumbs.

 

good post Lisa - for the record I did go up the chain of command for the sommelier package - turns out it shouldn't have been offered on this ship:eek::eek: for the M & G I was told that was the person to see (by the concierge):)

You are absolutely correct - you don't always need the HM. Quite often someone else can fix it - however, there are times that they cannot - HM for us is a last resort - but if I have to go there - I will - i'd rather get it fixed on board than come back grumbling, moaning or complaining:)

Thanks Joanie and Lisa for the concise information on the job description of a Hotel Manager. Like I say, I learn something new everyday on these Boards. Luckily I have never needed to go that far up the chain of authority to get a problem fixed.

On some cruises, after meeting the HM at that suite party, I never see them again but on some cruise I do see them wandering around the ship checking on things

Reading the discription of the job, wow they have lots to do so I can understand why they can't meet with every passenger that has a problem.

With the VERY long job description that Joanie posted for a position open on a River Cruise boat. You can only imagine the much larger description of things a Hotel Manager or Hotel Director is in Charge of on a large cruise ship but in that he has MANY Management positions below him that report to him that also have a lot of authority. There is such a thing as chain of command. The Hotel Manager must allow them to do their job as well.

 

Over the years I have held many management positions but always had someone above me. I would be mighty upset if my Boss was constantly handling my job. :o

 

If on the case of a ship you are not getting a resolution from your Concierge and or Front Desk then the next step is the Lead or Supervisor of the Front Desk, then there is the Guest Relations Manager. 99.9% of the time the Hotel Manager should NOT handle these problems it should be done in a chain of command order.

 

I have always learned thru the years working in any management position that the best managers delegate work. But remember also that Supervisor at the Front Desk does not want their Boss to know they are not doing their job.

 

This is just another problem with Cruise Critics, we tend to learn or think we have learned a lot about cruise ships. Had we not read CC no one would even question about talking to the Hotel Manager we would just start at the bottom and work our way up till something is resolved. I am sure if the Hotel Manager spoke with every single person who said I want to talk to the Hotel Manager he would have a line up out his office 24/7 and the management team under him would be standing around twiddling their thumbs.

 

With all due respect, Lisa,I have also worked with management and know that you start at the bottom and work your way up which is exactly what we did. When you don't get satisfaction from the highest person you have access to, you go up one level, especially when the person who is in charge of Guest Relations refuses to take calls. I was finally able to meet with him after repeated requests. He said he would try to see what he could do for us.

My problem wasn't resolved on board, but with a phone call after I came home. Guest Relations at the corporate level was appalled at how we were treated and said they would look into the whole situation, including the actions of the hotel manager. Not every corporation is run in the way you described, and the woman I spoke to yesterday said Mr. Kruise would be very upset to hear what happened to us and how the hotel manager treated us, or didn't as the case was, and would indeed look into it.

With all due respect, Lisa,I have also worked with management and know that you start at the bottom and work your way up which is exactly what we did. When you don't get satisfaction from the highest person you have access to, you go up one level, especially when the person who is in charge of Guest Relations refuses to take calls. I was finally able to meet with him after repeated requests. He said he would try to see what he could do for us.

 

My problem wasn't resolved on board, but with a phone call after I came home. Guest Relations at the corporate level was appalled at how we were treated and said they would look into the whole situation, including the actions of the hotel manager. Not every corporation is run in the way you described, and the woman I spoke to yesterday said Mr. Kruise would be very upset to hear what happened to us and how the hotel manager treated us, or didn't as the case was, and would indeed look into it.

 

 

 

 

Well said. I've been a part of management for years, and every member of the management team would have taken every step possible to resolve an issue, not fob it off to a junior member just as a matter of course.

With all due respect, Lisa,I have also worked with management and know that you start at the bottom and work your way up which is exactly what we did. When you don't get satisfaction from the highest person you have access to, you go up one level, especially when the person who is in charge of Guest Relations refuses to take calls. I was finally able to meet with him after repeated requests. He said he would try to see what he could do for us.

 

My problem wasn't resolved on board, but with a phone call after I came home. Guest Relations at the corporate level was appalled at how we were treated and said they would look into the whole situation, including the actions of the hotel manager. Not every corporation is run in the way you described, and the woman I spoke to yesterday said Mr. Kruise would be very upset to hear what happened to us and how the hotel manager treated us, or didn't as the case was, and would indeed look into it.

 

 

 

 

Carol - would you mind reminding us - who was the HM on the Veendam? (I believe that is the ship in question). I am glad someone is doing something and taking care of you. Better late than never

btw - Lisa - I went to the hotel manager BEFORE I knew about cruise critic. It's not really that hard to figure out the chain of command. I guess I skipped a step and make no apologies for it. How many times do you have to repeat the same story?

In my line of work the rule was the customer only told it once - if we had to pass it up we did or we resolved it. clients only told the story once - it's well known the more they repeat it the more frustrated they will get.

Jacqui, the Hotel Manager is David Wood, and yes, the ship is the Veendam.

OK, all I am trying to say is that the Hotel Manager cannot possibley see and talk to every single person with problems. Cases with the Veendam and the Zuiderdam when there have been numerous problems then it does need to be handled by going up the chain of command. Yes in many cases the Hotel Manager can be approached which I have found most of HAL Managers and Captains very approachable but they are doing their job by allowing those management teams under them to handle these problems.

I'd be surprised if every Hotel Manager didn't want the Guest Relations Manager to take care of guest relations so that the Hotel Manager wouldn't have to bother with it.

For that reason, a guest who is disatisfied with the GRM's handling of any problem and instinctively wants to appeal to the Hotel Manager, is likely to find that it's difficult to gain access to him or her. It's probably just as well, since my distinct impression is that the GRM's attitudes are almost always a reflection of the Hotel Manager's attitudes (after all, he or she works for him or her) so appealing to the Hotel Manager would be a waste of everyone's time and wasting the Hotel Manager's time as a form of retaliation is more frustrating than satisfying.

I've never had a problem that the GRM didn't resolve, but, if I did, after having made the obligatory attempt to solve it on board with the GRM, I'd wait until I got home and try my luck with Seattle (if I thought there was any chance that Seattle would overrule the ship's officers or if the problem was so overwhelmingly important that I was thinking of changing cruise lines and wanted to exhaust any chance of a resolution first.)

Jacqui, the Hotel Manager is David Wood, and yes, the ship is the Veendam.

Thanks - just in case:rolleyes: I think the Veendam is going on the bottom of my list - right next to the Nieuw Amsterdam - I'm going to have it to look it up but this name rings a bell - and the only ship I was not thrilled with was the Nieuw Amsterdam. (I do believe he could have been the HM but I am going to have to look it up).

btw = Lisa is right - the underlings convey the attitude of the HM - doesn't say much does it:rolleyes: in this case.

I've always been happy on my cruises and gotten things rectified one way or the other (usually quick and easy).

Thank you! I have learned that when someone asks "What Time is it?" - it is not necessary to tell them how to build a clock.

I love it! Not necessarily for the post you're probably referring to but for my own self. I tend to give book-long answers to simple questions. My husband is even worse. I'll have to remember your quote. It's great.