William Nassikas: What You Need to Know About Restaurant Management

William Nassikas is a successful resort developer and operator who started his career more than forty years ago. As a student at Cornell University, he spent his summer and winter breaks working at the Hyatt San Francisco, where he spent time as a cook, assistant beverage manager, and restaurant assistant manager. After graduation, “I went to Switzerland enrolling in the Swiss Hotel School. My focus was to learn the European way of hotel keeping and high-end restaurant management,” he explains. This early experience and education, set him up to become the President and Chief Operating Officer for Westroc Hospitality. During his time at the Hyatt San Francisco, he learned what it takes to be a successful restaurant manager.

1. Restaurant managers must have exceptional customer service skills. Not only do you have to know how to deal with customers, but how to deal with staff as well. You will need to be able to deal with staff conflicts, as well as customer complaints.
2. The Point of Sale (POS) system provides you with numerous benefits including having the ability to easily track cash flow, sales, inventory, and food. POS systems help to simplify the day-to-day tasks of managing a restaurant.
3. You need to be approachable and accepting of the constant change that occurs in restaurants. As a manager, you must be able to adjust to the constant changes in policy and procedure and be able to clearly communicate these changes to your staff.

It is important, as a restaurant manager, to make sure that all the responsibilities and concerns of the restaurant are covered to ensure the staff is happy and the restaurant operations run smoothly. William Nassikas has extensive experience in all aspect of restaurant management, having worked in the hospitality industry for more than four decades.

Also can read: William Nassikas: Resort Development: Eight Steps for New Developers

William Nassikas: Resort Development: Eight Steps for New Developers

William Nassikas is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westroc Hospitality, a company that redevelops and operates several boutique resorts throughout Arizona. He has extensive experience in the industry; “I grew up within the hospitality industry with my hotelier father, James A. Nassikas, founder and past President of the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco,” he explains. He has led the development for many of the resorts he and his team now manage. When it comes to hotel development, there are several steps that should be followed if they want to avoid ending up with a non-performing asset.

1. Identify the market segment your resort will cater too and understand why you want to enter that market.
2. Find the site that best fits the type of resort you plan to develop. Make sure the site location and development density are in line with the expectations of the market.
3. Talk to a hotel management company if you aren’t already experienced in hotel operations.
4. Look at similar resorts and determine their operating performance. This will help you determine the annual average room rate, operating expense, and occupancy of similar resorts in the area.
5. Determine the project’s financial status by going through the process of establishing the cost of capital.
6. Prepare a financial feasibility study to determine cash flow over the first ten years of ownership. Hotel management companies can help you with these figures.
7. Establish the development budget based on the discounted cash flow from the financial feasibility study.
8. Execute and manage the development budget. This needs to be handled throughout the entire planning, design, and construction process.

Completing these eight steps will put you well on your way to developing a resort. William Nassikas and his team at Westroc Hospitality are currently developing the Mountain Shadows resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Also can read: William Nassikas: Three Skills Spa Managers Must Possess

William Nassikas: Three Skills Spa Managers Must Possess

William Nassikas is a successful hotel and resort owner based in Arizona. He is the President and COO of Westroc Resorts in Scottsdale, Arizona. His job has enabled him to redevelop and design several new resorts, spas, and hotels in the area, including Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, a spa and boutique resort. Nassikas has managed spas, restaurants, and lodging during his career in the hospitality industry. Here are three skills all spa managers must possess to be successful:

• Strategic planning abilities. A spa manager has to look ahead to anticipate changes in the market. The changing of seasons throughout the year, for example, could have a heavy impact on the spa and how many customers it can expect to bring in. William Nassikas has learned how to head off possible crises by adjusting to market trends and other foreseeable changes before they occur.
• IT skills. Information Technology skills are becoming more useful in all industries. Spa manager now have to be able to do basic website work, manage online systems for customers such as reservations, and enable their employees to do their jobs more efficiently and with more accuracy using network computing and databases if necessary.
• Public relations and promotional skills. Spa managers have to be the face of their spa. They have to be able to promote their spa to the public and be a competent, reassuring public face. Spa managers today have to develop their own promotional strategies and implement them through their teams to stay ahead.
• William Nassikas has managed hotels and spas for many years in the hospitality industry.

Also can read: William Nassikas: Three Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

William Nassikas: Three Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

William Nassikas, as a business owner in 2016, has to take social media content seriously. Nassikas is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westroc Resorts, a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona that has renovated several resorts and hotels to provide excellent accommodations for their customers. Nassikas ensures that the operation of these properties in Arizona are top-notch and as smooth as possible to keep the business thriving. He is also at work designing new developments for new resorts and hotels in the area. He has watched the rise of social media as a business owner and has used it to his advantage by avoiding these three common social media marketing mistakes:

• Not forming content to each channel. As a business manager, like William Nassikas, you have to choose which social media platforms and channels to use as your primary points of contact with customers and marketing tools. Some businesses need to be on Instagram and Twitter while others would be better posting to Facebook. Each of these platforms have post stylings and formats that work better than others.
• Not posting regularly. No matter which channel or platform you choose, you have to make sure that your business is regularly represented to your followers. Posting too infrequently will cause customers to lose sight of your business. You have to post regularly to stay top-of-mind.
• Promoting the right things. You have to know your audience. If your audience usually only wants more information about your business, keep posting about your company facts and new products and services. If they respond to discounts and sales, promote them loud and clear on social media.
• William Nassikas has seen success by avoiding these mistakes.

Also can read: William Nassikas: Keys for Starting a New Resort

William Nassikas: Keys for Starting a New Resort

William Nassikas is a highly successful professional in the hospitality industry. He started his career more than thirty years ago and has successfully started a number of resorts throughout the United States. As the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westroc Hospitality, he is currently involved in the redevelopment of the iconic Mountain Shadows Resort in Arizona. Starting a new resort takes time and knowledge of the industry. Here are key things to consider before starting a new resort.

1. Like with any new business, it is important to determine the best location. You don’t want to locate your new resort in an area with heavy competition.
2. Make sure you have a plan for raising capital. Opening a new resort will take millions of dollars. If you don’t have this money you will need to seek investors to back your project.
3. A business plan is essential when starting any new company. A business plan will not only help you find interested investors, it will also allow you to think through how you will accomplish your goals.
4. Take the time to structure a smart pricing strategy. To determine the rates you will charge, you will need to keep in consideration:

• Staffing costs;
• Room category;
• Time and length of stay;
• Maintenance costs;
• Competitor pricing.

5. Concentrate on quality management, including employee satisfaction. Happy employees will provide better customer service to your guests.

Starting a new resort can be challenging but very profitable if done correctly. Make sure you take the time to research and plan your project before taking the plunge. William Nassikas has successfully started nine resorts throughout the United States over the last twenty years.

William Nassikas: Top Tips for Managing a Team in the Hospitality Industry

William Nassikas has spent more than thirty years working in the hospitality industry. He has spent much of his career in various management positions, leading teams of employees toward success. While most hotels have a single manager, it takes the entire team of people to operate it. The quality of the hotel is ultimately tied to the quality of the employees. Here are some tips to help you successfully manage a team in the hospitality industry.

1. It is important to provide clarity to employees, sharing with them detailed plans about the direction of the hotel and clear guidance as to what comes next. Don’t give your employees vague goals, rather provide them with actual goals that can be measured.
2. Provide each of your employees with individualized objectives, which should include deliverable goals for both the short and long term. It is important that employees know what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed to do it.
3. Ensure each employee understands the measures by which they will be judged. Give them goals that can be easily measured, and know how you will gauge their success.
4. Communication always needs to be open and go in both directions. Having open lines of communication with employees can prevent mistakes and conflicts and can improve overall productivity and morale.

Hotel managers must keep in mind that they are responsible for the quality of their team. When you put in the effort you will find success. William Nassikas is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westroc Hospitality and has been successfully managing employees of the hospitality industry for more than thirty years.

William Nassikas: Top Tips for Finding Success as a Hotel Manager

For more than thirty years, William Nassikas has worked in the hospitality industry. He started his career as a steward and has worked his way up the ladder, and is currently the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westroc Hospitality. Building a career in hotel management is both lucrative and rewarding. Here are some of the top tips for finding success as a hotel manager.

1. Your employees will work harder if you work with them instead of over them. In order to make your guests happy, you have to work together with your staff.
2. Use your strengths and exemplify your best qualities. By using your strengths to run the hotel, your employees will follow suit.
3. Keep issues from spiraling out of control by addressing them head on. It is also important that you communicate with your employees immediately if there is a new objective for the hotel.
4. Create an exciting place for your employees to work by giving them incentives for continuing to do their work efficiently. You can hold contests, offer bonuses, or hold simple meetings at the start of each shift.
   1. Never reprimand an employee in front of others. By reprimanding them in private, they will feel their privacy is being respected, which will lead them to work harder and following your directions.

Hotel managers who work hard and are successful have the opportunity to climb the ladder into upper management or executive positions. William Nassikas has built a successful career in hospitality management and is looking forward to tackling the next chapter in his career.

William Nassikas: Tops Tips for Studying Abroad

William Nassikas is a successful hospitality professional living in Arizona. Before beginning his career more than thirty years ago, he traveled to Switzerland to study European hotel and high-end restaurant management from the Swiss Hotel School. Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many young adults. If you are thinking about studying abroad, here are some tips to help you get the most out of the experience.

1. Before you get to your new place of residence, learn a little bit about the country. This can help you to understand their laws and give you enough information so you aren’t completely in the dark when you get there.
2. If you can, try and learn the language before you leave. If you aren’t able to learn the language beforehand, be sure you make a valid attempt when you arrive.
3. Figure out what you are going to need to buy before you arrive in your new country. This can help you better plan your budget.
4. Learn how to read a map and navigate without the help of electronics. This skill will help you stay safer when traveling.
5. Be sure to scan all your documents, including your passport and acceptance letter to your university.
6. Make sure you are going to class. The whole reason you are there is because of school, making it important that you pass your classes.

Studying abroad is a fun and exciting opportunity, make sure you make the most out of your time. William Nassikas spent three years studying Hotel Administration, using the information he gained during his time to establish his career as a hospitality professional.

William Nassikas: Sales and Marketing Skills in the Hotel Industry

William Nassikas has been in the hospitality and hotel industry for decades as a manager and business owner. He is the President and Chief Operating Officer for Westroc Resorts in Scottsdale, Arizona, which has redeveloped and remodeled several historic resorts and hotels throughout the state of Arizona. Nassikas has been involved in the development of new resort properties in the area for decades. Nassikas wouldn’t have been successful as a small business owner in any industry if he didn’t understand basic skills in sales and marketing to find new customers and investors for his company. Over the years, he has developed an understanding of how marketing and sales come together for the hotel industry.

William Nassikas has developed many key skills that all small business owners have to have to be successful in any industry. In the hotel and hospitality industry, offering services and experiences that competitors cannot is the name of the game. Nassikas has to convince tourists and other guests looking for a luxurious place to stay to choose his resorts and hotels over myriad others in the same area. And what attracts customers to hotels they have never been to? The chance to stay in historic buildings, such as several of the resorts that Nassikas and his partners at Westroc have done since the company was founded in 1999. People want new experiences when they travel to new places, and Westroc has striven to provide these new experiences to all of their guests over the years.

William Nassikas has honed his marketing and sales skills over his long career.

William Nassikas: Three Things to Consider in Golf Course Management

William Nassikas, as the President of Grand Bay and Westroc Resorts, has managed several golf courses during his career in the hospitality industry. He founded Westroc Resorts in 1999. Since then, the company has renovated several historic and charming properties for guests to stay in throughout the Scottsdale area and the state of Arizona. One of the many improvements Nassikas has included in these projects is a new golf course. But there are many things to consider when managing a golf course at a resort, including:

• Approaches and surrounds. The approach to the putting green on each hole is crucial to all players’ performances. William Nassikas works hard to make the approaches as clean yet challenging as possible. Firm, smooth approaches to putting greens and fairways usually require specific maintenance inputs to deal with unique issues.
• Management and labor. You’ll have to manage the labor of putting in a new golf course and for its maintenance. Be sure you account correctly for labor hours, how to absorb costs, and how to provide the best experience for players, guests, and your own staff who keep up the course.
• There are many ways to install sand traps and bunkers to add some challenge to your golf course. There are ways of making low-cost bunkers work by carefully managing how they are installed to the type of sand used. Usually, golf courses with high-quality bunkers and hazards attract more players.

William Nassikas has renovated and designed many golf courses to fit with his customers’ needs over the course of his long career in the hospitality industry.