30 years later!! It’s been thirty (30) years since Michael Singer joined ACCOR and specifically the Novotel Brand in 1988.
Being the youngest General Manager in the company he was appointed to manage the opening of Novotel Ipswich in United Kingdom. He wanted to appeal to the local corporate market that needed a hotel like Novotel to cater for the businessman travelling by car and for the ever expanding conference market and help Novotel Brand build its weekend trade.
The fruits of his labour were being realized with the opening of Novotel hotels in Ipswich and Novotel London Heathrow in United Kingdom. From 1999 he has held senior-level positions in Toronto, including General Manager at Novotel Toronto North York, Novotel Mississauga, and Novotel Toronto Centre.
It is because of incredibly talented leaders like Michael Singer, pillars of the company, ACCOR has become one of the world's leading hotel operators. His sharp business acumen has led to the development and implementation of key strategies that have paved the way for Novotel's success, and he has kept elevating the brand with his results-driven and forward thinking vision.
On this very special occasion we decided to interview Michael and hear what he has to share with us.
Q: What do you love about your job?
A: Variety. Very difficult to plan your days. No two days are the same. Working with different cultures, with different people.
Q: What motivates you to do this job?
A: I simply love working with lots of people in an environment that I helped to create. I have always said that if I ever wake up in the morning and not want to go to work, then it is the time to pack it in.
Q: What is the one thing in the company that you would want to change?
A: Firstly my biggest disappointment, the lack of development of Novotel in North America. I have made the company a lot of money, guest satisfaction has been good, however I get my biggest kick / thrill when I look at colleagues and managers who have gone on to have successful careers.
Q: What are the major reasons for your success?
A: I think I am a good leader, I empathize with people of all cultures and generations. My experience helps me compartmentalize issues and look at the big picture. I let people get on with their jobs.
Q: What is the biggest achievement you are really proud of?
A: Not one thing, probably seeing youngsters join the hotels and go on to great success.
Q: The rejuvenation of NNY hotel has been a hot topic. Tell me more about the renovation and the outcome of it?
A: It has certainly been a challenge, delays, cancellations, changes, more delays, poor decision making, etc., however we have now finished the refurb. Our bedrooms are without doubt the best in our market, 90 of them to the new "N" Novotel standard, in fact all bedrooms now look great. The challenge now is too maintain them in this "new" condition through a consistent Property Preventative Maintenance program, Housekeeping cleanliness and our Sales and Revenue teams maximizing all sales.
Q: What do you think our distinctive advantage is within the industry?
A: Every hotel says it is their team members. Let’s be honest, we have some customer centric staff that are also thinking of the guests, others not so much. Guest Service – A key goal for all team members in the coming months. We are expecting guests to pay more, we have to up our Guest Service / Quality standards. Definitely our greatest advantage is our location and bedroom product.
Q: What is your vision for 2018?
A: Has never really changes over the years…
Guests – Hug every single one of them, treat them as a good friend visiting your home.
Team members – Hug every single one of them, train and coach them every day and make clear our expectations & hold them accountable.
Owners – Hug them every day, but we need to treat this hotel as our own, take pride every day in what we do. And of course make money at the bottom line.
Q: Share some insights on managing multiple Brands of various International hotel chains. How does it differ from managing multiple properties of the same brand?
A: Very interesting. Firstly comparing the support offered by different brands to franchisees, and also recognizing I cannot know everything about each brand, I rely on the managers to handle brand standards. I can play a big part in Leadership and Management.
Q: How can the hotel industry best entice new, young talent?
A: It is a challenge every industry has, all want to recruit the best talent… Youngsters today do not want to be bogged down with process and procedure, they want to think for themselves, they consider themselves experts very quickly and can become bored. We have to adapt to new ways of doing things, of technology, we have to change, and we must listen to new employees.
I think we all know that our real challenge is how do we stand out from the crowd as an employer? And if I knew all the answers, well, we wouldn't ask this question.
Q: What is your involvement and contribution into development of the industry being the board member of Greater Toronto Area Hotel Association?
A: Back on the Board this past year and now on the Nominating Committee. I always have something to say and offer an opinion or seek clarity. This is an area I know I have to step up and be more active. This year I have been invited to join a TTC working group on the Northern relief line and I will be attending more industry events.
In 2014 Michael Singer was promoted to Area General Manager of all Toronto Novotel hotels in addition to his role as General Manager of Novotel North York. This is another success story. His responsibilities included the operations of all Novotel Toronto hotels to maximize performance and quality. Michael created a strategic plan for market growth in Toronto by implementing cohesive Sales, PR, and Marketing activities among all properties, while also overseeing Food & Beverage profitability and conceptual culinary developments.
At the end of 2015, Novotel Toronto Hotels moved to franchised ownership type and this had another turn in Michael’s career. He became Area General Manager for Vrancor Hospitality Group, overlooking performance of Novotel Toronto North York, Novotel Mississauga, Staybridge & Holiday Inn Oakville and Sheraton Hamilton, Ontario.
And the journey continues…….
