Questions to Ask a Hotel General Manager
Questions to ask the GM of a hotel when you have been given half an hour of their time: as a hospitality student who asked for the meeting, as someone newly hired, or as a candidate in the last round of interviews. They run in six groups, starting with how the general manager spends a day and moving through rooms revenue, guests and reviews, the owners and the brand, and the team, before ending on the GM's own career. Nobody gets through the whole list in one sitting, so the guide after it says which handful suits each kind of meeting.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The day
What does a typical day look like for you as the general manager here?
Why ask it
Expect a morning walk of the building, a meeting with the department heads, then a day taken over by whatever broke. Listen for how much of it happens in the lobby and corridors and how much behind a desk, and ask which part they would protect if the day ran short.
What are the biggest challenges facing the hotel right now?
Why ask it
Whatever the GM names first is where their attention is going, whether that is staffing, an aging building, a new competitor nearby or pressure from the owner. If you are joining the hotel, ask how your department touches that problem. A student can ask what has been tried so far.
Which report do you open first each morning, and what are you looking for in it?
Why ask it
The answer shows what the GM thinks drives the hotel: last night's occupancy and rate, the arrivals list, the guest comments or the labor sheet. Ask what they do when the number is off, because that is the part a student or a new hire can learn from.
What do you check on a walk of the property that most people would walk straight past?
Why ask it
Good operators carry a list in their heads: the smell of a corridor, a scuffed luggage cart, how long the phone rings at the desk. Their answer is a free lesson in what to look for, and you can try it yourself on the way out of the building.
Who is at your morning meeting, and what gets decided there?
Why ask it
The daily meeting is where arrivals, VIPs, groups in house and rooms out of order get passed between departments. Who is invited shows which departments have a voice. A new hire can ask to sit in once.
Which decisions come to you that nobody else in the building can make?
Why ask it
Large refunds, removing a guest, closing a floor, speaking to the press: the list shows how much the GM hands down and how much they hold. If it is long, ask whether that is the owner's rule, the brand's or their own habit.
How does the manager on duty rotation work, and how often is it you?
Why ask it
Someone has to answer for the building on nights, weekends and holidays, and hotels arrange that in different ways. If you are heading for a supervisor or management post, ask when you would join the rotation and what training comes before the first shift alone.
What kind of call gets you out of bed at three in the morning?
Why ask it
Every GM has a threshold, whether a flood, a fire alarm, an injured guest or police in the lobby. Where it sits shows what the night team is trusted to handle, and it usually comes with a story worth hearing.
How does your job change between a sold-out week and the slowest week of the year?
Why ask it
Full weeks are about service and stamina, quiet ones about cost, repairs and training. Ask what gets done in the slow season here that could not be done otherwise. That shows whether the hotel plans for the lull or just waits it out.
Revenue
How have occupancy and average rate moved over the past year?
Why ask it
Some GMs will give figures and some only a direction, and a direction is enough. Rate up with occupancy steady is a different hotel from rooms filled by discounting. Ask which of the two they would trade for the other this year.
Which number are you judged on most: occupancy, rate, revenue per available room or profit?
Why ask it
The measure the GM is held to shapes every decision below them, from how many housekeepers are scheduled to whether a group gets a discount. If the answer is profit, ask how much of the cost side is really theirs to control.
Who sets the room rates from day to day, and when do you step in?
Why ask it
It may be a revenue manager on site, one shared between several hotels, a pricing system, or the GM with a spreadsheet. Students drawn to revenue management should ask to meet that person. Everyone else can ask about the last time the GM overruled a rate, and why.
Which kinds of guest bring in the most revenue here, and which would you like more of?
Why ask it
Corporate accounts, weekend leisure, tour groups, airline crews and long stays each fill different nights at different prices. The mix explains the rhythm of the building, and the segment the GM wants more of tells you what the sales team is being asked to chase.
How much of the business arrives through online travel sites, and how much books direct?
Why ask it
A booking through a third party usually costs the hotel a commission, so the split matters to profit as well as to marketing. Ask what has worked to bring guests back directly, and whether the front desk has a part in it.
Which hotels do you count as your competition, and where do you stand against them?
Why ask it
Hotels commonly benchmark against a named group of nearby properties. Hearing who is on the list, and who the GM thinks should be, shows how they see their own hotel. Look those properties up afterward and read their reviews next to this one's.
Apart from rooms, where does the money come from?
Why ask it
Restaurants, bars, meeting space, parking or a spa can matter a great deal or hardly at all. Ask which of them makes a profit on its own and which is there because guests or the brand expect it.
When a month comes in under forecast, what do you cut first and what do you refuse to touch?
Why ask it
This is a question about values dressed as one about finance. Hours, training, maintenance and the quality of breakfast are the usual places to save, and the item the GM protects is what they believe the hotel is selling.
Guests
How do you measure guest satisfaction, and which score are you held to?
Why ask it
It may be a brand survey, a ranking on a review site, a comment card or all three. Ask how the score reaches the people who earn it, since a number that stays in the GM's office changes little on the floor.
Which complaint keeps coming back in the reviews, and what would it take to fix it?
Why ask it
Read the hotel's recent reviews first so you can tell whether the GM names the same thing the guests do. Some fixes are a matter of training and some need the owner's money, and the GM's tone about the second kind says a lot about that relationship.
Who replies to online reviews, and do you read every one yourself?
Why ask it
Compare the answer with the replies you saw online, since a GM who writes them personally sounds different from a template. Ask what happens inside the hotel after a bad review, and whether staff praised by name in a good one get told.
How much of your business is guests coming back, and what brings them back?
Why ask it
A hotel beside a highway and a resort that families book every summer will give very different answers, and neither is wrong. Listen for whether the GM credits the loyalty program, the location or particular members of staff. If it is the staff, ask how the hotel holds on to what those people know about regular guests.
Can you tell me about a guest problem you dealt with personally in the last month?
Why ask it
A recent story beats a philosophy of service. Notice whether the GM talks about the guest, the staff member involved or the cost, and ask what changed afterward so it would not happen twice.
Does the hotel ever sell more rooms than it has, and who decides which guest is sent elsewhere?
Why ask it
Some hotels overbook to cover cancellations and no-shows and some never do. Where it happens it is a revenue decision that the night desk has to live with, so ask who makes the call, what the guest is offered, and who phones them the next morning.
If you had a free hand, what is the first thing you would change for the guest?
Why ask it
Give the GM time on this one, because the answer is often something they have asked the owners for more than once. A follow-up on what it would cost, and who would have to approve it, shows how far the GM's own authority reaches.
Owners and brand
Who owns the building, who manages it, and who do you report to?
Why ask it
The brand over the door, the company that employs the staff and whoever owns the property can be three organizations or one. Ask for the simple version first, then who the GM speaks to most. For a candidate it also settles who the employer would be.
What do the owners want from the hotel this year?
Why ask it
Steady cash, a higher value ahead of a sale, a move upmarket or simply fewer surprises: each sets a different mood in the building. If the GM is guarded, ask what a good year would look like to the people they answer to.
How often are you in front of the owners, and what do they ask about first?
Why ask it
A monthly call about the profit and loss statement is a different job from an owner who walks the lobby every Friday. Whatever they ask first is what the GM must have ready, and that pressure passes down to every department head.
Which brand standard is hardest to meet in this building?
Why ask it
Standards are written for a typical property, and every real one has an elevator that is too slow or a breakfast room that is too small. At an independent hotel, ask which of their own standards slips first on a full night.
How do brand inspections or quality audits work here, and what did the last one find?
Why ask it
Whether visits are announced and what follows a poor result differ from brand to brand, so ask how it works under this flag. A new hire should ask which items on the checklist belong to their department.
What renovation or capital work is planned, and how did you make the case for it?
Why ask it
New guest rooms, a lobby refresh and a replacement boiler all compete for the same owner's money. Whether the GM argued from guest scores, from rate or from safety is a small lesson in how the business side of the job is done.
When did you last push back on the owners or the brand, and how did it end?
Why ask it
The GM stands between the people who pay for the hotel and the people who work in it, and one real example shows which way they lean under pressure. Skip it in an interview if the conversation has been formal up to that point.
The team
How would you describe the way you manage, and would your department heads say the same?
Why ask it
Most managers answer with a kind word about themselves, so the second half does the work. Ask for something from last week that fits the description: a decision left to the housekeeping manager, or one the GM took back. In a final round it is also a preview of how the GM would treat the person you would report to.
Which department is hardest to keep staffed, and why?
Why ask it
The reason matters more than the department. Pay, the hours, the commute and a difficult supervisor each need a different fix, so ask what has been tried so far and whether it helped. If the answer is the department you are joining, better to hear it now.
What does turnover look like, and where do people go when they leave?
Why ask it
Leaving for a promotion at another hotel is a different story from leaving the industry. A GM who knows where people went has been talking to them on the way out. Candidates can follow with how long the last person in their role stayed.
How do you set staffing levels against the number of rooms sold?
Why ask it
Many hotels flex hours with occupancy, and the method decides how predictable a paycheck is for hourly staff. Ask who makes the call each week and what happens to people's hours in the slowest month.
What has made the biggest difference to keeping good people here?
Why ask it
Pay is the obvious answer, so notice what comes after it: a fixed schedule, a staff meal, a route to supervisor, a manager who says thank you. If you get the chance, ask a room attendant or a desk agent the same thing and compare.
How many of your supervisors and managers started in hourly jobs at this hotel?
Why ask it
A count with names behind it means promotion from within has happened here and is more than a line in the handbook. The most recent case is the useful one: find out what that person did in the year before moving up. If nearly every manager was hired in from outside, the GM will have a reason, and it is worth hearing.
Where do front desk, housekeeping and maintenance most often get in each other's way?
Why ask it
A GM who can name the friction has looked at it: a guest promised an early check-in, a repair request nobody closed. Ask who settles it on the day, and whether the three department heads share a target or are scored separately.
What happens to a room between checkout and being sold again, and where does it get stuck?
Why ask it
Following one room through the building is the quickest way to understand how a hotel works. Students can ask to see the board or screen that tracks room status. Listen for the step that depends on one person or one radio call.
How do sales and operations sort it out when a group has been promised something that is hard to deliver?
Why ask it
Sales is there to say yes and operations has to make it true on the day. Ask about the last event where this came up and who was in the room for the handover. It matters most if you are heading into events, banquets or the front office.
Who are your department heads, and how long has each of them been here?
Why ask it
Long tenures suggest a GM people stay for, though a team that has never changed can be slow to accept a newcomer. In a final round, ask which of them you would work with most and whether you can meet that person.
What do you look for when you hire someone with no hotel experience?
Why ask it
This one is for the student or the career changer. The qualities the GM names are the ones to show in your own application, and their examples of people who made it are worth writing down.
Career and advice
How did you become a general manager, and which departments did you come up through?
Why ask it
Rooms, food and beverage, sales and finance all produce GMs, and the route leaves its mark on how each one runs a hotel. Ask which department they knew least when they got the job and how they caught up.
What do you enjoy most about running a hotel, and which part still feels like a chore?
Why ask it
The first half tells you what kind of GM this is: one who lights up about guests, about the numbers or about watching a room attendant become a supervisor. The chore is often paperwork or late-night calls, and it is an honest look at the parts of the job the title hides.
Which skills does a general manager need that no single department teaches?
Why ask it
A department head can be excellent at the front desk or in the kitchen and still never have read a full profit and loss statement or presented to an owner. Ask where the GM learned those things, and whether a degree or a certificate counted when they were hired, since that differs by company and by country.
If you were starting out now, which department would you choose first?
Why ask it
The reply reflects where the GM thinks the industry is going as well as where they came from. Ask whether the advice changes for someone who wants to run a large branded hotel as against a small independent one.
What should someone at my stage do in the next two years to be on the path to your job?
Why ask it
Say where you are first, in one sentence, so the advice fits. Press for something you could act on this month: a department to ask for, a report to learn to read, a person to shadow.
How many times have you moved for the job, and would you do it again?
Why ask it
Promotion in hotels often means a different property, and sometimes a different city or country. Hearing it from someone who did it helps you weigh that cost honestly. Ask about family only if the GM brings family up first.
What does this job take from the rest of your life?
Why ask it
Most hotels are open every hour of the year, and the person in charge is seldom fully off duty. Ask it kindly and late in the conversation. Whatever the GM does to protect a day off is worth copying long before you have their job.
What do you know now that you wish you had known in your first general manager post?
Why ask it
Let the story run without interrupting, because the detail in it is the advice. If it stays general, ask what they got wrong with an owner or with a department head in that first year.
What has changed most about running a hotel since you started?
Why ask it
A GM with decades in the trade may talk about online reviews, booking sites and phones that open room doors, and a newer one may talk about hiring. Follow with which change a person entering the industry now should get ahead of. It invites a long answer, so leave it out of a short meeting.
What would you want a new hire in my position to understand about this hotel by the end of the first month?
Why ask it
For a candidate or a new starter, this turns the GM's priorities into a short list you can work from. Write the answer down and bring it back at your first review. On an informational interview, leave it out.
Which of your department heads should I spend an hour with next?
Why ask it
One meeting becomes several, and an introduction from the GM opens doors that an email from a stranger does not. Ask whether you may use their name, and send your thanks before you contact the next person.
How to get the most from time with a hotel GM
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you meet the GM
Read the hotel before you read the list
Look at the latest guest reviews and the management replies, the room price for a weeknight and a weekend a month out, and which hotels sit nearest in price and location. Then arrive ten minutes early and walk the lobby. A question that starts from something you saw gets a fuller answer than the same question asked cold.
Learn four terms
Occupancy is the share of rooms sold. Average daily rate is room revenue divided by the rooms sold. Revenue per available room is room revenue divided by every room the hotel could have sold, so it rises when either of the other two does. Competitive set means the group of nearby hotels a property measures itself against. With those four you can follow most of what a GM says in answer to the Revenue questions.
Find out how the hotel is set up
A property may be run by its brand, by a management company under a franchise, or independently, and that changes who the GM answers to. The hotel's website or a job posting often says which. If neither does, the first question under Owners and brand settles it.
Which questions for which meeting
An informational interview
You asked for the time, so the GM's own story comes first. Open with one question from The day, spend most of the meeting on Career and advice, and take one or two from Revenue or Owners and brand to show you are curious about the business and not only the title. Six to eight questions fill half an hour.
A new hire's first sit-down
You already have the job, so ask what helps you do it: the morning meeting, how rooms pass between departments, the complaint that keeps returning, what the GM wants you to understand in the first month. Leave the questions about owners for later unless the GM raises them.
A final-round interview
The GM is deciding about you while you decide about the hotel. Take two questions from The team, one of them the opener on how the GM manages, then one from Guests and one from Owners and brand, and leave pay and scheduling with whoever has handled them up to now. If the GM asks what you would like to know about them, the first question under Career and advice is the one to have ready.
Asking about money without overstepping
Ask for direction before figures
A GM may not be free to share exact results with someone outside the hotel. Up or down, ahead or behind, and why, is nearly as useful, and it does not put them in an awkward spot. 'Is rate up on last year?' is easier to answer for a visitor than 'What is your rate?'
Let the GM choose the measure
Ask which number matters most and you learn what the hotel is run on. Ask about one you picked out of a textbook and you may get a polite answer about something nobody in the building looks at.
Keep what you hear to yourself
Occupancy, the owners' plans and staffing troubles are told in confidence even when nobody says so. Do not repeat them in an interview at another hotel or in a class presentation without asking the GM first.
After the conversation
Write it up the same day
Note what surprised you, the terms you had to look up and the names that were mentioned. The stories fade fastest, and they are what you will want when you write your thanks or prepare for the next round.
Thank them with something specific
Mention one thing you will do differently because of the meeting. For a student that might be the department to try for an internship. For a candidate it might be the answer that made the job more appealing.
Check the answers against the building
If you are staying at the hotel or starting work there, see whether the lobby, the corridors and the staff you meet match what the GM described. Small gaps are normal. A large one is worth a second, quieter question to someone on the floor.