What a hotel general manager does
Hotel general managers lead the entire property. They oversee front office, housekeeping, food and beverage, sales, maintenance and finance, set budgets and forecasts, and work with revenue managers on pricing and distribution. At branded hotels they answer to an owner or management company and must meet brand standards and guest satisfaction targets. At independent properties they often shape the guest experience and marketing themselves. Either way, the GM’s decisions show up in reviews and in financial results.
Hotel GM searches often reach beyond one city, because the right person may be running a property elsewhere in Ontario or in another province. Finch runs these searches from Toronto by phone and video, recruiting only candidates already eligible to work in Canada. We match candidates by property type, brand family, size and service level, and screen for revenue management knowledge, owner reporting and the ability to lead department heads through change.
Typical responsibilities
- Leading department heads across rooms, food and beverage, sales, engineering and finance
- Preparing annual budgets and forecasts and reporting results to owners or the management company
- Working with revenue and sales teams on pricing, channel mix and group business
- Maintaining brand standards, guest satisfaction and online reputation
- Overseeing capital projects, maintenance and life safety programs
- Building relationships with local businesses, event planners and community organizations
Qualifications and credentials
- Senior hotel operations experience, often as a GM, hotel manager or director of operations
- Experience with the brand standards and systems of major hotel companies, or with independent and boutique properties
- Strong financial skills, including profit and loss management and owner reporting
- Revenue management knowledge and familiarity with property management systems
- A hospitality or business degree or diploma, which many owners prefer
- Understanding of Ontario requirements that affect hotels, such as AGCO liquor licensing and accessibility customer service training
Who hires a hotel general manager
- Branded full-service and select-service hotels
- Independent and boutique hotels
- Hotel management companies and ownership groups
- Resorts and conference centres
Where we recruit hotel general manager candidates
We fill hotel general manager roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- Experience with properties of similar type, size and service level
- Track record on budgets, revenue and guest satisfaction, discussed with references
- Brand and system experience relevant to your property
- Leadership of department heads, and experience with unionized staff where relevant
- Willingness to relocate, and timing, for searches outside the candidate’s city
Interview questions to ask
- Tell me about a time your hotel missed its budget. How did you explain it to ownership and what did you change?
- How do you work with your revenue manager when demand drops unexpectedly?
- Which department head have you developed the most, and how?