 Some GMs are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them, and in the past these bastions of the hospitality industry have typically been men. But those days a new breed of GM is working its way through the hotel ranks and making its presence felt. Strong leaders, with similar organizational expertise and especially accomplished on the interpersonal skills – the fairer sex is smashing old-fashioned stereotypes and proving that no top job is beyond them.
Brunei’s Empire Hotel & Country Club has just such a woman at the helm in Anne Busfield. Garnering awards as she rises up the ranks, Busfield won the trophy for the top female student at Southend College where she studied hotel and catering operations, and just five years later was in Caterer & Hotelkeeper’s list of the top 30 hotel managers under the age of 30. Now leading one of Asia’s most prestigious hotels she is, as expected, taking it all in her very successful stride.
But being GM of a world renowned hotel wasn’t on the cards for Anne when she was a teenager who at that time, along the lines of many girls of her age, was planning a different career altogether.
“The truth is that when I was around 13 years old I wanted to be an air hostess,” she confides. “My careers advice officer at my school told me that this was the dream of all young girls and didn’t really take me seriously. So I wrote off to the major airlines and they all told me to study hotel reception or nursing till I was old enough to apply to the airlines. I didn’t like the sight of blood so I decided to study hotel reception.”
It is a squeamishness which has served her well since, and her stellar career bears testimony to her natural flair in the industry. But she brushes aside suggestions that she is exceptionally talented. “I believe that I possess some of the essential skills to be able to succeed in the industry.”
And how! By 24 she was Group Manager of Rank Hotels’ five star Royal Garden and Royal Lancaster Hotels before turning to sales and working with pub giants Bass, swiftly turning around the sales ranking of her area.
“I think that my main motivation is really that I consistently drive to move ahead with whatever I do,” she explains matter of factly. “I am not the kind of person to stand still and just accept a situation for what it is. So I continuously tend to look for ways to develop.”
Following her own advice, from her job at Bass she spread her wings and travelled: from London to Beijing, then Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Fiji and last, but not least, Brunei.
“Initially I experienced a culture shock, as I think all expats do when they move to Asia,” she says, “as there are significant differences [in the industries]. However, it didn’t take me long to adapt to working in the region and I really do enjoy working in the Asian hospitality industry very much. I think that the main differences are the influences of the different cultures on the style of service that obviously create points of difference with the overall guest experience.”
Rather than finding difficulties rising through the traditionally male ranks Busfield has experienced a lot encouragement from colleagues and has found that many of her guests are just as supportive. “I frequently get approached by female guests who come and shake my hand and tell me how wonderful it is to see a woman running The Empire Hotel & Country Club,” she says. “I always wanted to work overseas and develop my career within the hospitality industry; however, I never expected that I would be running a magnificent property such as this.”
When asked why she thinks fewer women have traditionally made it to GM her opinion is that “traditionally a lot of general managers have risen through the ranks of food and beverage or rooms. I believe this is one of the contributing factors as to why there are so few women in GM positions. I personally believe that sales and marketing is a great foundation for GMs. There are an immense range of skills required to succeed in sales and marketing and these skills are definitely a significant asset to GMs.
“More and more GMs are coming up through sales and marketing so it is natural that [in the future] there will be more female GMs. Women are just as well equipped as men to work in high profile positions in the hospitality industry.”
The reputation of the property speaks volumes as to her skills and the value of her sales and marketing background. In fact it seems to emphasize that you can take the girl out of sales and marketing but you can’t take the sales and marketing out of the girl. While concentrating on the running and operations, she is still well aware of the power of an effective marketing strategy, as well as the value of working with a great team.
“I’m very happy with where I am right now in my career,” she says. “I have been very fortunate and had a lot of great people helping and supporting me to get where I am today. I would eventually like to move into a regional operating role, as I believe this would be very challenging and highly rewarding.”
She finishes with some advice for anyone, not just women, with their sights set on making it to GM.
“Set timeframes and goals for what you want to achieve and stay focused. It is very, very hard from time to time, the work can be very demanding and it is a challenge to create a balanced life. However if you remain focused it can be achieved.”
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