The COVID-19 pandemic has been a high-stakes situation for everyone during the past year, which has inspired hotel general managers to lend a helping hand to their communities while seeking to better understand the role they play at their hotels during a crisis.

As part of a series focused on general managers, Hotel News Now asked property leaders about the strategies or philosophies that have helped them the most throughout these unprecedented times.

Skip Adams, dual general manager (comments provided as part of an interview for an article published on March 9): "The one thing I've learned is no matter what's happening in our industry, the team, the guests and the owner are all relying on you. ... All three of them are relying on the general manager of the property to direct the path we're going to take and make sure we do it in a responsible fashion.

"There weren't a lot of answers early on with COVID. I think that as a world population, there were days where we just didn't know which way the wind was blowing. And to be in a position where you realize how important it can be — because we're talking about people's livelihood, their safety, their emotional health and mental health — it all kind of falls on the general manager at the property.

"I think that makes hospitality a very unique space to work in because at the end of the day, it boils down to the leadership position for all three of those stakeholders to be pleased with their experience. That was eye opening."

Donte Johnson, general manager (comments provided as part of an interview for an article published on Feb. 4): "From a strategic perspective, very early on in March of last year, we took a step back from the day-to-day business and said, 'what is the best thing that we could be doing right now to add value?' Value doesn't have to be profit, it doesn't have to be revenue because there was a time last year where the ability to drive revenue and profit just wasn't something that was on the table.

"We're obviously coming out of that as we speak, but there were tons of opportunities to drive value to your business from a community standpoint. There were tons of opportunities to drive value to your business from an employee morale standpoint.

"All of the challenges of this moment have presented some really amazing opportunities to show up for people in a way that's both needed and also fundamentally different from what our industry has traditionally done.

"The biggest strategy to me was to throw out the strategy and really lean into the humanity of the moment. As we come out of the pandemic and business starts to pick up for the city and the industry ... my belief is that people will remember how you showed up for them."

Martin Mangan, general manager (comments provided as part of an interview for an article published Dec. 22, 2020): “There is not one strategy that I can refer to, but my philosophy is very much centered around culture and making the right decisions for our guests, team members, our owners and our families. I have a responsibility to all of the above to ensure their safety and what’s the right decision for our business, not just financially, but what is morally the right decision and the correct thing to do.

"With every problem thrust upon us by this pandemic and the unpredictable nature of it, we have been forced into making extremely difficult decisions often with very little time to consider the consequences. When I look back on this past year, not just now but in years to come I know we will be judged for how we responded to this pandemic, what decisions we made and how it impacted our business, our guests and those around us. Acting with integrity and having empathy for our fellow human beings during this crisis has been and will also continue to be my guiding philosophy.”

Amanda Joiner, general manager (comments provided as part of an interview for a story published Oct. 22, 2020): "I have been with this company for more than 25 years, and our Gold Standard, our credo, our employee promise ... our motto, 'ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,' are as relevant today as they have ever been. During the pandemic, they continue to be the foundation for us to be successful.

"Our philosophy is that we are service professionals, those ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen, and we have to empathize and put ourselves in our guests shoes to truly anticipate and deliver on their expressed and unexpressed wishes and needs. I'm so grateful that my company has a solid foundation and philosophy and culture because that culture is what differentiates us from the other hotel brands."