The Dominant Hotel IT Manager – Ten plus One Principles of Domination

Becoming a Dominant Hotel IT Manager starts with a question: “How can I be better?” In this context, ‘Dominant’ should not be looked upon with malicious intent, but rather a positive thought attribute.

In asking that question, I intended this post to be only a few pages long. And then it started pouring out. Expanding. I began thinking about every area that a Hotel IT Manager touches. The effects. The impacts. The potential. And it has now become a series of posts to come.

The germ of that question, “How Can I Be Better?”, led me to understand every part of what a Hotel IT Manager does and why they do it. The answers yielded analysis of my own past actions and the results. Past actions and results of others. It allowed me to break these thoughts and ideas into steps and then put them into a novel framework, which I entitled “The Dominant Hotel IT Manager”, so that whoever wanted to gain an insight, could understand it, logically and wholly.

This post, in a first series of posts, will start off by discussing the basic foundational principles and mindset, that a Dominant Hotel IT Manager should have. A set of principles that are an important basis by which all future decisions a Dominant Hotel IT Manager will have to make. Principles by which a clarity in thought process should become self evident, to become more Dominant.

However, I always look to improve upon these ideas every day, to become more Dominant, to become a better Hotel IT Manager. Which is why I welcome your input below and in the future series of posts, over the coming weeks.

One – Divine Rule

The first basic principle, or what I like to call the divine rule for any Dominant IT Manager, is to understand that a hotel or any organization can run without any technology (unless of course, if their product or service is technology based).

Having technology, allows the following advantages:

• Increase efficiency on operations
• Reduce cost and Increase Revenue/Sales
• Apply Security & Standards
• Allow a competitive edge
• Provide an outlet for Guest’s Technology needs
• Using the data from technology to make smart decisions

Remember, technology can sometimes hamper a product or service. Thereby hampering the business or even the trust of the brand. It is important to realize not to implement technology for the sake of having technology. It is important to apply it to a problem rather than applying technology to where there is no problem.

Two – Omnipotent Being

The second basic principle is that the Dominant Hotel IT Manager’s responsibility is to be omnipotent in all spheres of a hotel and its mission. Every department and every process. From Front Desk to Marketing. From Sales to F&B. From Accounting to HR. By understanding this, the Dominant Hotel IT Manager can then see if technology can be applied to attain any or all the above advantages mentioned in the first principle.

Three – Mastery of Technology

The third principle is that a Dominant Hotel IT Manager should always be looking to increase their knowledge to have a mastery of technology. A Dominant Hotel IT Manager should be like a dry sponge when it comes to understanding the nuances of technology and trends. Being humble in understanding that they don’t know everything and are open to ideas and theories and suggestions. They have to make sure that they invest in themselves and add knowledge to their repository of experience.

Four – Institutional Department

The fourth principle is that a Dominant Hotel IT Manager should treat their IT Department like their own business institute. So, the most crucial questions a business owner should be asking themselves are:

1. Does it solve a problem, is there a market for this and can I profit from it?
2. If it does, how can I sell this vision to the people?

And just like how a business owner would have a business plan presenting it to potential investors, there has to be an understanding of ROI, financing and the resources it would take to implement or run their business.

Five – Network of People

The fifth principle is to understand that the only thing that can make the technology system a success or a failure is the “people”. Be they the network of people that use the system or the network of people that support it for you or your team that supports the environment. They can make it a success, if they believe in it and use it to its fullest capabilities or they make it redundant and a waste of money and time.

The Dominant Hotel IT Manager has to lead these people to the eventual goal of success. This would and could mean by understanding what drives and motivates people.

A very successful business leader used to tell me that “vision comes from one person and is implemented by the many“. I believe that to be true of any organization and so the Dominant Hotel IT Manager has to be a leader of a network of people.

Six – Assemble Data

The sixth principle is to understand that “assembly of data” is the foundation by which the strategy for a solution is built. Understanding the building, the location of offices, the cabling, the systems that are already in place, the hardware and software, logged issues that they have to attend to and have completed is the bedrock of a Dominant Hotel IT Manager. This is the origin from which most if not all decisions are made. Further, data acquired from technology can allow the making of smart decisions, such as identifying problems, applying technology solutions, when to upgrade, capital plans, operating costs and security, to name a few.

Seven – Transmission of Communication

The seventh principle, is the transmission of communication. 70% of the work and stress can be avoided by communicating. Be it with what the Dominant Hotel IT Manager is planning to do and how it will affect the end user, or how long it will take the Hotel IT Manager to fix or find a solution to their challenge. Or even by just making people aware of where they are and what is happening. This also relates to the team members that are within the IT department.

The Dominant Hotel IT Manager has to take the time to transmit communication to set a level of expectation and garner support and understanding.

A piece of advice, never react harshly or under emotion. Be it verbally or in written form. Though easily done, as Hotel IT Managers have many pressures. This will stand the Dominant Hotel IT Manager in good stead and highlight their professionalism.

Eight – Inspirational

The Eighth principle is that a Dominant Hotel IT Manager is inspirational and always moving. They never sits on their laurels. They constantly support, maintain, upgrade and secure. They are always looking to innovate, capture things before they happen, looking to see if they can reduce the number of issues, save cost, increase profit and are ready to make sure that systems are up and running 24/7.

“If you are NOT progressing, you are stagnating. If you are stagnating, then you are regressing!” Unknown.

Nine – Overseeing Security

The ninth principle is overseeing security and that is an important principle. It is a must for any piece of technology employed. Hotels are an open building where anyone can walk in and are always a constant target of threats. We are also in an environment with different levels of technological abilities and while the threats seem grander from the outside, the bigger threat is from inside.

Ten – Narrative of Time

The tenth principle is prioritizing the narrative of time. The Dominant Hotel IT Manager has a lot to do and should always be prioritizing the work, dictating the narrative. They should always plan to dominate their time for tomorrow, the day prior. Try to get ahead before the narrative of time is fighting against the Hotel IT Manager.

If 99 out of 100 things may be working, but when that one item is not working, that is what will control the narrative. The Dominant Hotel IT Manager gets ahead of this.

Plus One – Product and Service before Profit

The plus 1 principle, what is that, I hear you ask?

“A company that just focuses on profits, will not be a good business at all. Profit is the byproduct of a fantastic product and/or service.” Henry Ford.

It doesn’t apply all the time, hence the plus one. After all, profits are very important. And sometimes, a Dominant Hotel IT Manager just has to follow orders even after their professional opinion has been voiced and ignored. Sometimes, product and or service comes at a cost due to the nature of the economic environment. The most important aspect of this is to never lose heart and to always try to put product and service before profit, whenever a Dominant Hotel IT Manager can.

In Conclusion

The above principles are a basic set of core beliefs which every Dominant Hotel IT Manager should aspire to and implement rigorously. In the forthcoming posts, I will be referencing each of these principles when articulating a topic to highlight how important these tenets are. While also giving examples of how I and others have employed them.

To help you remember the above principles, just remember the word: DOMINATION.

• D – Divine Rule
• O – Omnipotent Being
• M – Mastery of Technology
• I – Institutional Department
• N – Network of People
• A – Assemble Data
• T – Transmission of Communication
• I – Inspirational
• O – Overseeing Security
• N – Narrative of Time

Remember it, understand it and apply it. As a Hotel IT Manager, you will be on a path to becoming Dominant.

Next Week – Understanding the Hotel Dominion

NadeemSHassam.com | HotelITManager.com © 2019