From Front Desk to Founder: What 30 Years in Hospitality Taught Me About Leadership
Start with the Floor, Not the Boardroom
I didn’t learn leadership from a textbook. I learned it at 7:00 a.m. behind a front desk, checking in tired guests and helping with their luggage. I was 21, fresh out of school, working at a luxury hotel in Miami Beach. My first “management” moment was cleaning up after a coffee spill before anyone noticed.
Leadership starts where the guest journey begins—usually at the lobby, not the boardroom. If you want to lead people, you first need to understand their job. Not from a chart, but by doing it. Housekeeping, food service, night audit—I’ve done them all. You can’t coach what you don’t know.
Be Present and Pay Attention
I’ve spent 30 years in hotels across Florida and the Caribbean. From private islands to roadside motels, one thing stays the same: people watch their leaders. If you disappear, so does morale.
In one resort, I noticed team members skipping small talk with guests. When I asked why, one said, “We were told to stick to the script.” That script was killing the vibe. We threw it out. I asked them to treat guests like neighbours, not names on a room key. Reviews shot up within weeks. The staff smiled more. So did guests.
Leadership is small things, seen often.
You Can’t Lead What You Don’t Respect
When I started Meeuwsen Hospitality Consulting in 2018, I didn’t launch with fancy systems. I launched with a notebook and a habit: walk the property, talk to people, write down what works and what doesn’t.
I once shadowed a bellhop for a full shift. Not to audit him, just to learn. He told me, “Most of my job is calming people down.” That wasn’t in his job description, but it was the key to his success. Leaders should do the same—calm the room, not command it.
If you want your team to respect you, respect their role first.
Fix Culture Before You Fix Software
In one hotel, the GM asked me to help improve their guest journey tech stack. They had invested in touchless check-in, mobile concierge, all the buzzwords. But their TripAdvisor score was stuck below 3.5.
I shadowed the front desk again. No one looked up. Guests were frustrated with the kiosks. Staff blamed the system. But the real problem was culture: no one felt ownership.
We didn’t change the tools. We changed the conversation. I asked staff one question each shift: “What did you do today to make someone’s stay better?” It became a habit. Score jumped to 4.4 in six months.
Culture is upstream from software. Fix that first.
Train Like You Want People to Stay
Hospitality has one of the highest turnover rates of any industry. In the U.S., it’s over 70% annually according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s not just expensive—it’s disruptive. Every time someone leaves, you don’t just lose labour. You lose trust.
Most staff leave because they don’t feel trained, seen, or challenged. Leadership isn’t just being the boss. It’s making others feel ready to lead too.
My advice? Stop hiring to fill a shift. Start hiring to build a bench. Train your team like they’re going to replace you. One of my former front desk agents now runs her own property. That’s the real win.
Look, Listen, Walk
Here’s a leadership habit that costs nothing: walk the floor once a day. No agenda. No clipboard. Just watch and listen.
You’ll spot broken processes in five minutes. You’ll hear tone changes in service. You’ll catch your rising stars before someone else hires them away.
In a 2022 property audit, I spent an hour in the breakfast area each morning for a week. No one knew I was there to observe. I found two patterns: guests loved the food but hated the long wait. It wasn’t a kitchen issue—it was the traffic flow. We moved the toaster station. Wait times dropped 40%. No new hires. No big spend. Just observation.
Leaders who sit still go stale.
Don’t Skip the Pre-Opening Work
Too many hotels launch before they’re ready. I’ve consulted on openings where everything looked good—website, decor, brand story—but the service flow was a mess. No one knew who did what when a VIP arrived. Check-in was awkward. F&B staff were still learning the menu on opening night.
Plan for flow, not just flash. Use a guest walkthrough—literally walk the path from booking to checkout. Ask yourself: where do questions arise? Where do people hesitate? Fix those spots early.
Also, staff your leadership early. If you hire managers after opening, you’re starting behind.
Mentorship Is Part of the Job
If you’ve been in the game long enough, you’ve been mentored—probably by someone who saw more in you than you saw in yourself. Now it’s your turn.
I mentor through the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. I also make time for college students and new hires. One of the best conversations I’ve had recently was with a 19-year-old front desk trainee who wanted to open her own B&B someday. We talked guest flow, local sourcing, and reputation building.
You don’t need a formal program. Just give people your time. Ask them what they want from the industry. Help them get closer to it.
Build Success You Can Feel, Not Just Measure
A lot of leaders chase performance scores and revenue per room. Those matter, sure. But they’re outputs. Focus on the inputs first—team energy, guest smiles, smooth check-ins, fewer complaints. You’ll know you’re winning when the vibe is right before the numbers even catch up.
Eric David Meeuwsen says it this way: “Success is when a guest leaves happy, a staff member feels proud, and no one needed to escalate a problem.”
That’s the kind of leadership that lasts.
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Action Steps You Can Take Now
- Walk your property daily. Watch, listen, observe without an agenda.
- Ask your team weekly: “What’s one thing we could do better?”
- Train one person each month like they’re your future GM.
- Remove friction from guest touchpoints with common sense, not more tech.
- Thank people often. It costs nothing and builds everything.
Leadership isn’t about being in charge. It’s about being there when it counts. And that starts at the front desk.
