Between the classroom of a hotel school and the real world of business, there is a gap that can only be filled by real life experiences. This is the essence of
What They Don't Teach You at Hotel Schools
. The title, and the concept of the book, is inspired by the bestseller
What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School
by Mark McCormack.
The book captures, in a structured way, the life as an international hotelier, with its pros & cons, opportunities & challenges. The content is based on the author's more than 40 years of experience as a hotelier with impressions, learnings, feedback, stories, and anecdotes from four continents. It's not a biography, though the theory of hotel business is captured in real life as experienced by the author. Each chapter is summarized with bullet point take-aways;
What I have learned
. The book covers most aspects of the life as a hotelier. From cultural differences, daily operations and owner relationship to HR, leadership, sales & marketing and career planning, as well as how the family is affected by the expatriate life.
The author also has extensive experience as asset manager, i.e., representing owners / investors of hotels. The book therefore broadens the concept of being hotelier, it adds an interesting perspective from "the other side of the fence". The reader will also find valuable input from hoteliers around the world about the characteristics that form the best General Managers.
40+ years of international experience, in 17 locations, representing hotel management companies, working directly with hotel owners, plus experience as an asset manager has given Kirstein a unique insight. The ideal person to communicate in an honest, sometimes quite humorous and self-ironic, way the true life as an international hotelier.
The book can serve as inspiration for future General Managers, however, as much as it will encourage many to pursue the life as a hotelier, the book could even discourage others. General Managers and asset managers, will find many worthwhile take-aways, though they might not always agree with some of the author's conclusions and recommendations......
Kirstein's assignments have covered Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Australia.
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