The Audi wagon is packed up with shorts, sandals, a couple of nose-pickers in the back seat and a canoe on the roof rack. You’re braced for sunburns and jelly fish attacks, but nothing can break up a solid summer vacation quite like a harrowing hotel stay.
“A general manager sets the tone for the hotel. You cannot have a bad day,” said Jim Riker, who recently took on the position at the Hilton Hartford Hotel. “I love coming into a hotel and making it better than it was.”
Riker certainly knows how to create a good time – he even has a degree in it. Up in the Rocky Mountains, Riker graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in commercial recreation.
Since his days of skiing in the West, Riker, now 48, has held a variety of positions and lived and worked in ten states. Before joining the Hilton in Hartford, Riker was a regional director of operations for the Waterford Hotel Group which entailed overseeing about 15 hotels in five states at a corporate level. His new position is scaled back, but Riker said he made the switch because he likes to see results of his local work. At his new post, he’s training employees to be strong managers and leaders in their areas.
“It’s not just about how many vacuum cleaners we have…It’s all about the service,” said Riker, who believes the quality of service patrons receive is what they remember most about their stay.
When Riker thinks about an example of good service he received while he was traveling, he recalls a trip he took with his family to San Francisco. Upon arriving at the hotel, the staff greeted his young daughter, learned her name, gave her a flower and delivered a balloon, animal crackers and milk to the room. It was the extra steps no one in the family ever forgot, and Riker strives to make that impact here.
It’s not all balloons and animal crackers, though. Riker spends time ensuring the safety of guests and employees, managing the staff, and reviewing finances.
At one point, Riker entertained the idea of owning his own small hotel, but has since pushed that aside.
For now, he’s on Trumbull Street, enriching staff and guests alike.
Â
Amanda Blaszyk is a staff writer for the Hartford Business Journal.
