In 2009, the hotel industry had more than its fair share of reorganizations, budget cuts, profit warnings and lay-offs. Property employees as well as head office staff were sometimes reluctant to open their inbox, afraid that more bad news would be announced.
But what about the top jobs, what about the CEO's? When a football club is in trouble, the coach is usually fired – so one would think that the heat is on for many Presidents of large hotel companies. A study by HSV Executive search shows, however, that 2009 was a relatively quiet year for top job hunters. Compared to 2008, there was a 50% drop in Executive movement: as a matter of fact, succession rate was the lowest it has been for the past five years.
Why are there so few executives on the move? There are a couple of reasons. Some of them are quite surprising. We have listed the most important reasons.
First, in times of crisis, many boards and owners prefer not to take risks.They choose to keep the captain on the ship, especially in heavy weather. This kind of triggers the second reason: new career opportunities for senior executives are in short supply, and most of the CEO’s are far too busy getting on with their day to day priorities to have time to check what the market has to offer.
A third reason is that “the market” or “the crisis” can be blamed for this year’s under performance. As most of the owners or shareholder companies are up to their neck in their own difficulties, they tend to understand this argument.
A fourth important reason for executives to be able to stick to their seat is the recent launch of big cost saving programs. Most of the CEO’s nowadays supervise themselves the implementation of these ambitious plans, including less investments, less staff and less general spending. They know that the only way to grab some bonus extra this year is to assure that the cost savings materialize. So they make it their personal goal.
We think that in the second half of 2010, when the dust settles and the hospitality industry can look forward to good forecasts again, many owners will compare the performance of “their” core team in the recent crisis. It will be interesting to see whether this will initiate new destinations for some or many of the top guys.
In 2009, the hotel industry had more than its fair share of reorganizations, budget cuts, profit warnings and lay-offs. Property employees as well as head office staff were sometimes reluctant to open their inbox, afraid that more bad news would be announced. 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
