Day in the Life of a Function Operations Manager

Adrian is a 2021 graduate of the Bachelor of Applied Hospitality and Tourism Management. He is currently working as the Function Operations Manager for The George Hotel in Christchurch.

“My time at PIHMS was quite memorable, I loved living on campus and making new friends.”

The PSA was a lot of fun, always making sure there were activities and events on to keep us busy. I did not think I could learn much more from all my experience in hospitality but never have I been so wrong. Aspects such as Dark Tourism, Organisational Culture and management styles really open your eyes to how a business is run, I would never have known about these if I had not gone to PIHMS. PIHMS really does prepare you for a career in the industry, with courses for marketing, business management and accounting you can take the degree and branch out to almost anywhere.  

Currently I am the Functions Operations Manager for The George Hotel in Christchurch. I used to work for The George before I came to PIHMS, they knew when I would be graduating and called me up to see if I was interested in the position. I manage the functions department in the hotel so hiring, training, ordering stock, roster creating, the typical management duties. I also set up function rooms and serve guests according to their food and beverage needs. Functions are interesting because every day is different, one day you might be hosting an Annual General Meeting for a large company and the next day you might be hosting a private dinner.  

“Hospitality lured me with the great travel opportunities. To be honest, you could travel the world working in Hospitality.”

Hospitality is a lifestyle of rotating rosters, meeting quirky people, and making memories. Sleeping in and starting work at 3pm, going out on a Tuesday or Wednesday because that is your day off. The people you meet in the workplace become friends for life because everyone in hospitality is so relatable. Hospitality really appealed to me, and I have not looked back since

Some handy tips and tricks…

A tip for anyone really wanting to get into the industry would be to learn as much as you can as fast as you can. The more you can do in the workplace the more the business will rely on you and therefore the more opportunities you will get. Hospitality is not difficult, so it is not hard to progress up the corporate ladder if you commit…and also have fun with it.