Trust Isn’t a Title

Wearing the GM name badge doesn’t automatically mean your team trusts you. That’s something you earn one decision, one conversation, one action at a time.

Trust in a hotel doesn’t come from your authority. It comes from consistency, honesty, and accountability. It’s showing up on the floor when it matters, owning mistakes in front of your staff and owners, and doing the right thing even when it’s not the easy option.

Here’s the tough truth: if your team doesn’t trust you, the problem isn’t them. It’s you.

When a GM takes credit for positive guest comment cards but blames department heads when QA scores slip, trust disappears. When decisions about schedules, budgets, or promotions are made in secret or favoritism shows up in room assignments and perks, people notice. And once trust is broken, leading feels less like influence and more like fighting through complaints and turnover every single day.

Ever had a GM who said “my office door is always open” but you needed a search party to track them down on property?

I once worked with a leader who preached transparency but kept brand audit scores and ownership feedback hidden until it was too late to course-correct. The result? A disengaged staff who stopped offering solutions. Not because they didn’t care, but because they no longer believed their input mattered.

So ask yourself: Am I leading in a way that earns trust? Do I back up what I say with consistent action? Am I fair, clear, and transparent with my staff and my owners alike?

In hotels, trust isn’t built through grand speeches. It’s built in the everyday. How you treat a housekeeper who makes a mistake, how you respond to a guest issue at 11 PM, and how you talk about your team when they’re not in the room.

The question is: how are you showing up for your hotel today?

#LeadWithIntegrity #HotelLeadership #TrustIsEarned