It was not so very long ago when women general managers were unheard of, especially in the hotel industry. Times have changed, and today, lady GMs are taking center stage, setting the tone for hospitality with a distinctly personal touch. They are redefining what it means to run a hotel. In Cebu, we have a good number of power ladies who have embraced the demanding role of general manager.
Let us hear from three of them — Mercure Hotel Mactan GM Gwen Dela Cruz, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu GM Ann Olalo and Tambuli Seaside Resort & Spa GM Eya Shrimski.
GM Gwen Dela Cruz began her hotel journey at The Manila Peninsula, which she says exposed her to “world-class hospitality, exceptional customer service, strong operational discipline and the importance of consistency in delivering the guest experience.” It was there that she received the advice that if she wanted to pursue a career in hospitality, she should never become complacent in one position. She took this to heart, and true enough, she moved up the corporate ladder.
As GM of Mercure, she sees challenges as opportunities to do better, to learn and to improve in order to create better experiences for guests. She leads with empathy, not just authority, and she shared, “Being a woman, I am focused more on my EQ or emotional intelligence. The EQ of a woman leading as a hotel GM can be a powerful leadership advantage — not because women lead in one particular way, but because hotel leadership demands a very high level of emotional intelligence every single day.” GM Gwen always keeps in mind the importance of “grace under pressure.”
***
GM Eya started out at Cebu Plaza Hotel (now Marco Polo Plaza) as a reservations clerk, but her heart was actually in the food and beverage department. She then found work as a restaurant supervisor at Park Place Hotel. Foreign shores soon beckoned, and she left for abroad. She worked as an F&B Director in Vietnam and Thailand. In Australia, she got a teaching job in the field of hospitality management.
When she came back to Cebu, she and her husband started a food business and a consulting firm. After a while, she was offered the post of GM of the new Tambuli resort. She accepted the challenge, armed with her varied experiences abroad. She believes that one of the greatest challenges of a GM is finding the right people with the right attitude and mindset.
GM Eya points out that being a GM intrudes into one’s personal life, especially on special occasions like Christmas and New Year’s Eve, because it is not possible to be absent from work. “Our presence as a leader is not only for the guests but most especially for the staff — we stand with them. I want them to realize that we are in this together for the benefit of our guests.”
***
In the case of GM Ann, her first job was as a guest relations officer in a beach resort. She then spent a decade in the hotel sales and marketing department, after which she moved into hotel operations. This broadened her work and leadership experience, and her career path progressed.
Ann finds being GM of Radisson Blu an honor and a responsibility. Competing priorities that require attention are part and parcel of any given day. She says that running a hotel is similar to running a household because both require organization, planning, budgeting and taking care of people. “The difference is the scale and complexity — the hotel is a 24-hour business with hundreds of guests, staff, commercial and operational responsibilities. Whether at home or in the hotel, a family member or a guest will experience care, service and memorable moments.”