After he graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1980 with a degree in city planning and design, Jeffrey Roike soon fell back on the bartending experience he’d gain in college.
“I was working in nightclubs and restaurants, but saw it as a brutal life and not the future I wanted,” Roike said. “So I moved up the food and beverage ranks and became food and beverage director at a Holiday Inn in Mobile, Ala.”
Now the 51-year-old Ohio native with 26 years of experience in the industry is taking on the role of general manager at the Hartford Hilton. He comes to Hartford from Hyannis, Mass., where he was general manager of the Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis Resort and Conference Center.
He’s also held hotel jobs in Florida, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, typically as general manager.
But in 2003 he took on the role of director of operations at The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, a 950-room, first-tier, downtown hotel owned by Starwood Hotels.
It was a rich experience, but Roike was eager to get back in his former role.
“It’s a complex business with numerous moving parts,” he said. “My job is keeping it all operating in a smooth and coherent fashion. The guests are what you are in business for, and when you take away the day-to-day concerns, it’s about how well you took care of the guest.”
He plans to bring his management skills to the 393-room hotel, which operates with a staff of 240.
“There are two things that every property should focus on,” Roike said. “The first is the comfort, safety and welfare of the guests. To bring them high level of service and make them feel welcomed is something to accomplish on a daily basis. The same goes with hotel associates so that they enjoy coming to work, feel respected and have the tools to do their jobs successfully. If you take care of those two items, everything else falls in line.”
Emily Boisvert is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.