Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
I think you have a skewed view of what a regional manager is tasked with fixing. Those folks concentrate on major issues like health safety problems, late or incomplete quarterly reports, properties not meeting revenue goals, and supporting brand new general managers. They aren't worrying about pushing good hotels to become great ones.
Additionally, regional managers are traveling more than they are at their home bases. So, just because they are based in Chicago doesn't mean they are actually in Chicago.
Also, it's important to note that main client of a hotel group is the hotel...not the traveler. As such, the folks at the corporate office are spending their time supporting current hotel owners and prospecting for new owners to purchase franchises. If a hotel is meeting brand standards and making money, no one at corporate is going to care if that hotel is ranked subjectively higher than competitor hotels.
Source: I worked at a corporate-owned hotel in the same city as the corporate office. (Not Hyatt.) Additionally, I worked closely with the regional manager from corporate for several years because our hotel was a beta-test site for new products, services, and software.
So you believe that most of the listed properties above are franchised rather than being corporate owned?
Also, as far as the Chicago Region that encompasses Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Within a 20 mile radius of Chicago sits 3/4 of Hyatt’s properties for all 3 states. Meaning a regional manager specifically for Chicago would likely be there most of the time.
I definitely understand what you’re saying which is as long as they’re staying at the same quality level as other Hyatt’s they’re fine. They’re not concerned about being better.
Originally Posted by
HoustonConsultant
Also, it is not like folks walk down to HQ to complain.
The physical distance of the hotel from HQ would not affect how any guest actually communicates with higher-ups.
The only possible influence would be if the hotel was close enough to HQ that many Hyatt staff and suppliers are staying at the hotel while visiting HQ. In which case, I might expect the hotel to be kept up a bit more, but I wouldn't think it would translate into better upgrades and such for your random Globalist.
Really strange concept to me, as I’ve seen stores which are located next door to their Corporate Offices or Regional Manager’s Office (CVS and Target) and if I've had an issue at the store I’ve simply walked in to the Corporate Office or Regional Manager’s because of its proximity and they resolved the issue on the spot.
My thought would be in Hyatt’s case say you’re a Globalist and show up, online it shows Standard Suites available, but the FDA says none are available. If it were only a 5 minute walk why not go to the Corporate Office and ask them to resolve it? IMO they’d even feel bad you had to walk over and may throw some points in your WOH account.
Thats just an example of a situation I would think would be beneficial to having Corporate nearby.