Michael Schreiner
HLT 2016

Company: JW Marriott Hotel Frankfurt
Position: Director of Rooms

Dear Michael, how did you become what you are now? What were your most important career stages?

Hello everyone, of course my education at the tourism schools in Bad Gleichenberg and the many areas that I was taught and became familiar with had an impact on me. In a hotel, the product for the guest consists of many individual parts and every employee contributes to making this an experience for the guest. My mentor at Le Méridien Hotel Hamburg taught me to always keep an eye on the whole, but never lose focus on the individual. Before that, I started my career as a junior concierge and shortly afterwards I was promoted to concierge at the Steigenberger Hotel Hamburg. At Le Méridien, I started in May 2019 initially as Duty Manager, was promoted to Assistant Front Office Manager 5 months later and was allowed to call myself Interim Front Office Manager just another 5 months later.

Here, I was able to achieve a lot through constant commitment and quickly took on a lot of responsibility. From the well-established to something completely new, the opening of the JW Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt. In April 2022, I took up my role as Director of Rooms in Frankfurt.

I risked something, believed in myself and yes, also worked hard for it. But in the end, such steps always pay off. The many different experiences you have, whether good or bad, eventually make you grow and become who you are.

What are your 3 most important to-dos?

• Break routines
• Be a motivator, coach & leader
• Responsibility of sales & cost management of the entire Rooms department

What do you love most about your job?

The variety. The challenges. The responsibility.

My work is very difficult to summarise in daily tasks, but rather in seasons. Because the way things are in tourism right now, that’s also the way it is for me in my job. At the beginning of the year, the focus is on staff satisfaction and we work together on training courses to be perfectly attuned to our goals. Later in the year, the main focus is on quality and meeting all standards. In the third quarter, a lot of attention is paid to figures, because at this time of the year the budget for the next year is usually just around the corner. Towards the end of the year it is time to assess performance and work on development potential. It should be mentioned that this is a rough classification of the tasks, but you are still confronted with everything every day and have to pay attention to everything all the time.

I enjoy everything that the job entails, be it being the host for our regular guests and greeting them personally or finding out about other preferences over a cup of coffee. I also enjoy working on projects with my staff and challenging and encouraging them at all times.

I love being a coach, motivator and leader and that is what characterises my leadership style. I pay great attention to strategic cost management. Constant monitoring, control and recalculations are the way to success. All this and much more is what makes the Rooms area so exciting and thrilling for me.

4. Unique guest experience is currently on everyone’s lips. What measures do you and your team take to create such unique moments for your guests?

The guest experience is also a big topic for us in Frankfurt and incredibly important. I tell my staff that we sell emotions in the hospitality industry, which sounds simple, but it’s not. Our guests who come to a 5-star hotel expect not only a clean room, friendly service, a good breakfast buffet, an extensive F&B offer, a spa and other services. They expect that certain something that I cannot produce materially, and here I am talking about emotions. I am constantly working on the interpersonal communication with my team. If we create a home coming feeling for the guest, where he can let go and find peace in a hectic everyday life, we have done our job. Such emotions evoke unique moments for our guests.

5. You recently came second in the German Hotel Industry Young Talent Award. Congratulations! How did you get there, what experience did you gain and how did the award help you?

Many thanks for the congratulations! The German Hotel Young Talent Award, presented by the ahgz and the German Hotel Directors Association, is an annual award given to young hotel managers in the 2nd or 3rd row with a maximum age of 32 years. I myself have been following the award for years and last year in December I said to myself: you are Director of Rooms – the number 2 in the hotel, 26 years young and you want to tell people your story – so what are you waiting for?

It all started with a written online application, where I was convincing and made it into the top 15. After that, a written application with a personal touch was required. Here I was able to convince with a branded book in which I told my story. Finally, the title was awarded in a grand final between 3 people via public vote.

What can one gain from such an award?

I think it makes you realise that you’ve done a lot right in your career so far and that you can be proud of your achievements. After all, you are the 2nd most sought-after equity in the hotel industry in Germany.

I was not able to gain a professional advantage in the first instance, but I made an incredible number of new contacts in the industry in all areas, system catering, suppliers, restaurateurs, trade media and many more.

As Director of Rooms you have team responsibility: What is most important to you when leading and supporting people and why?

I would divide my leadership style into two broad areas, on the one hand I act as a motivator and coach, on the other hand as a strategist in the organisation. Coaching a team with many characters brings along challenges but gives me great pleasure. Every staff member has different qualities and characteristics, which need to be used correctly. Time management and meeting deadlines are important to me personally in order to achieve progress in a timely and targeted manner.

I motivate my staff to break routines in order to get a new perspective on tasks. Being close to my managers is important to me so that I never lose sight of what is happening on a daily basis. So, I also like to work with my housekeeping manager in the warehouse once in a while and it is exactly at this time that we come up with the best ideas for new processes and projects.

My approach is to look at many things in a strategic and structured way. In a hotel business, the big picture is crucial and you often can’t get hung up on details. Part of my daily work is to monitor and analyse upcoming budgets, forecasts or costs. Goals are clearly defined and agreed with my HODs, just like a single football player can’t win a World Cup, it always takes the whole team.

As we all know, the best way to learn is from the mistakes and successes of others.

Do you have an example of your personal career do’s and don’ts for our TSBG family?

Let’s start with the Don’ts

I would advise all young aspiring employees not to be shy and reserved. By this I don’t mean character, but how you interact with superiors. Asking questions is perfectly fine and shows interest. However, I also have to say that there are certain contents that can be researched in just a few clicks. It is precisely this initiative that shows great commitment.

Another Don’t is to be negative towards new suggestions, whether from staff or superiors.

My last advice is, try not to cling to superiors, even your own boss, who do not help you. Look for someone outside your environment who can give you strength, courage and motivation.

Do’s

It is important to convey information to superiors in a concise manner, don’t beat around the bush.

Try to gain as much motivation from yourself and avoid needing extrinsic motivation.

Be self-reliant, your superior will not praise you all the time, but in the long run he will trust you and rely on you.

Don’t forget to think about yourself, if you are physically, mentally and spiritually healthy, even defeats can’t throw you off course.

The most important thing I would like to give you on your way is to believe in yourself and don’t stop but go on your way, no matter how difficult it may seem!