Guest Relations Manager

The Group

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, resorts and residences. Having grown from its Asian roots into a global brand, the Group now operates 38 hotels and six residences in 23 countries and territories, with each property reflecting the Group’s oriental heritage and unique sense of place. Mandarin Oriental has a strong pipeline of hotels and residences under development and is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group. 

The Hotel

A stunning fusion of modern design with stylish oriental flair, Mandarin Oriental, New York features 244 elegant guestrooms and suites — all with breath-taking views of Manhattan and Five-Star hospitality. Luxurious amenities include MO Lounge, all-day dining overlooking Central Park and the Manhattan skyline; a 14,500 square-foot Five-Star Mandarin Oriental Spa; and a state-of-the-art fitness center with a 75-foot lap pool. In addition, there is premium meeting and event space, including a 6,000 square-foot pillar-less ballroom with three walls of windows overlooking Central Park. Located in Columbus Circle’s Deutsche Bank Center, Mandarin Oriental, New York is in an idyllic location just steps away from world-class dining, shopping and entertainment, including the Broadway Theater District, Lincoln Center, Central Park, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the shops of Columbus Circle.

Strategic Intent

It is the mission and intent of this position that the incumbent will keep the guest’s perspective in mind at all times and carry out the mission of the Rooms Department

Scope of Position

The Guest Relations Manager is responsible for supervising and supporting the Guest Relations Agents daily, assisting in answering calls, emails and messages and ensuring equal distribution of the Guest Relations tasks. They are responsible for walking guest rooms prior to arrival to ensure all pre requested preferences and amenities are set, as well as welcoming guests on arrival and ensuring satisfaction with their accommodations. They are responsible for communicating key information for all our guests with all departments in the hotel and executing delivery of amenities, ensuring that guest preferences are met while delighting and exceeding guest expectations.

Organizational Structure

The Guest Relations Manager reports directly to the Director of Guest Relations. The Guest Relations Manager works closely with the Executive Office, Front Office, Housekeeping, Room Service, Culinary, Concierge and Sales department.

Duties and Responsibilities

Major responsibilities 

• Review all arrivals for the upcoming days and ensure all preferences are recorded/communicated with relevant departments
• Greet guests on arrival as designated by Director of Guest Relations (Fans of MO, families, long stay guests)
• Walk arrival rooms on a daily basis to confirm preferences and amenities are placed correctly
• Run reports to prepare for VIP meeting with all operational departments
• Select guests to be met by GR Management and Higher Management pre-arrival, during stay and at departure
• Coordinate all guest preferences with other departments (IRD, HSK, IT, Eng etc) on a daily basis
• Responsible for physical inspection of rooms with special requests (i.e, fridge, microwave) prior to arrival
• Coordinates all VIP Amenities as requested by Executive Office, Sales and Front Office for Housekeeping, Room Service, Concierge, Front Office, Reservations and Sales
• Arrange last minute amenities as needed – communicating with departments for day of arrival
• Review Guest Profiles and ensure details/special requests are recorded in correct MO format
• Highlight VIPs on monumental stays and arrange amenities and update spreadsheet
• Write welcome cards for guests as directed by GR Manager
• Review group resumes and guest riders when received to arrange all items prior to arrival
• Source & coordinate with concierge for purchase of items outside of the hotel 
• Respond to any colleague/guest emails that are received
• Assist guests prior to arrival to arrange amenities for special occasions
• Maintaining spreadsheet for all MOWOWs
• Send pre arrival emails to all guests 3 days prior to arrival
• Daily deduping of duplicate guest profiles and deduping monthly report once received from corporate
• Responsible for maintaining the highest quality database relating to Guest History
• Accountable for results from Guest Satisfaction Survey and all mystery shoppers (MOQA, Forbes), in areas relating to Guest Recognition Program
• Preparation of guest turn down letters
• Represent GR Management team at daily/weekly meetings if necessary
• Assist with BC Enquiries
• Monitor LRA surveys & Follow Up’s
• Ability to be flexible based on business needs
• Ability to respond to basic guest requests (send folios etc)
• Assist Guest Relations Agents in answering phone calls and respond to helloMO messages
• Cover Guest Relation Agents lunch breaks and vacation requests
• Answer hotel’s main telephone number and connecting guests and colleagues to the correct telephone extension.
• Greeting all callers with a warm and sincere greeting.
• All telephone calls will be answered within 3 rings.
• All callers will be asked for permission before being placed on hold, apologies will be made to said caller on hold when returning to the line. An acknowledgement is made before transferring or connecting a call.
• Answering guest messages via helloMO channel
• Anticipating and recognizing individual guest needs.
• Passing on requests in a timely and accurate manner to appropriate colleagues.
• Utilizing Hotsos system to share guest requests with other departments
• Recording guest wake-up calls in a clear and organized manner
• Delivering personalized wake-up calls within 5 minutes of agreed upon time in a clear and pleasant voice.
• Must be able to remain calm and communicate clearly with Guests, Management and colleagues in the event of an emergency.
• Be a part of the Hotel’s ERT team and follow the necessary steps for all BCP scenarios
• Communicate with the ERT command centre as necessary in the event of an emergency.
• Clear communication and handover between colleagues from shift to shift
• This description for the Guest Relations Manager has excluded the marginal functions of the position that are incidental to the performance of fundamental job duties.  All duties and requirements are essential job functions.
• This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position.  The Guest Relations Manager will be required to perform other job-related duties assigned by Director of Guest Relations.

NOTE: The above is not an all-inclusive list of job duties and responsibilities. Mandarin Oriental, New York reserves the right to add, delete, change or modify the job duties and responsibilities described in this job description at its discretion with notice.

It is Company policy to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including by providing reasonable accommodations that do not constitute an undue hardship on the Company.  Employees or applicants should direct requests for accommodation to Director of Human Resources.

Salary: $82,000 to $87,000