Let me start by saying I'm the General Manager. That is to say, I have control over the whole of the operation. As the General Manager, I must make sure that all our hotels and business outlets are fulfilling the overall vision of the company as a whole, and making money, too. We mustn't forget that our aim is to make money. The company structure works like this. The House Manager is directly answerable to me. He or she is responsible for all six in-house departments, and their job is to keep good information flows between the various departments. We cannot allow departments to be run in isolation of each other. They must also make sure that the hotel stays profitable. They have a great deal of freedom to make decisions and don't have to check with me about day-to-day issues, although we are in regular contact by fax. Of course the House Manager should use his discretion about when to contact me. In our organization, the Resident Manager has control over the customer-contact side of the business. It is the Resident Manager's job to ensure close, efficient liaison between the two sectors under his control, that is to say Front-of-House Operations and Housekeeping.

I'm the Front Office Manager. I report to the Resident Manager on a regular basis but I can make a lot of daily operational decisions myself I like the responsibility the hotel allows me to have. I have to supervise Front-of-House Operations and to do that efficiently, I need to have the assistance of the Head Receptionist, who looks after the reception area in general and has a good deal of contact with both staff and guests. We're concerned with day-to-day issues such as guests' comfort and security, but we also get involved in training and staff development, so there's plenty to do on that side, too.

I'm hoping to become Head Housekeeper in the near future. I've been Housekeeper for the Executive suites for a year now and there's a good chance I'll take over when Mrs Jones leaves at the end of the year. At the moment, I give orders to the chambermaids and cleaners personally, but I'm looking forward to getting more involved in planning and training. I know I shouldn't say this, but I think I'll be pretty good at it.