Hotel Managers Switch Roles for Career Development

Two hotel managers in the North West have swapped respective job roles and venues to obtain more experience and develop their professional skills.

Adam Bujok from Wild Boar Estate and Gary Tennant from Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa have changed places on a mutual month long secondment to manage new teams and learn about the different ways each venue is run.

As part of English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues’ Leadership and Development programme, the rationale for the switch is to accelerate Adam and Gary’s continuous professional development and managerial skills.

The job swap has been designed to ensure each manager benefits from maximum exposure to distinctly new environments out of their usual comfort zone, especially as Low Wood Bay and Wild Boar Estate, both near Windermere, are two distinctly diverse venues in character and set-up.

For Adam, the secondment has provided a new challenge in managing ‘The Spa at Low Wood Bay’ and supporting the spa team in all that entails. “It’s been a real eye opener to look after a new team and a departure from the norm in that my responsibilities during the secondment have been specific to spa services and management,” he explains.

“That’s been quite a different and varied challenge and I think the biggest take-away from the job swap has been getting into the intricacies of plant maintenance and equipment operations for both the spa facilities and the pools. There’s a lot of behind the scenes technical work that goes into ensuring spa equipment runs smoothly and safely.”

Gary’s move from the spa to managing the day to day running of the entire Wild Boar Estate with its Grill and Smokehouse restaurant and on-site microbrewery has been highly motivational for him too. He says: “It’s a great venue with lots of subtle, charming and traditional touches from its previous life as an historic, traditional inn.

“I’ve enjoyed the challenge of managing a full hotel operation, including rooms, food and beverage and leading a different team. The day-to-day revenue dynamics have reinforced how small operational decisions directly impact overall performance. It’s been a great opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and sharpen my leadership style in a different environment.

“The experience has undoubtedly improved my skills and that will hopefully stand me in good stead for further managerial opportunities.”

English Lakes Hotels Group Operations Director Michael Kay adds: “We are always looking for opportunities to freshen up our management approaches. The aim has been to stretch and enhance Adam and Gary’s existing skills by swapping hotels and working with other teams under different circumstances. Both of them have benefitted from knowledge sharing and each has brought new ideas and innovations to the table too.”