Complete guide to hotel organisational charts

Hotel organisational chart example: What’s typical?

A close examination of your hotel organisational structure will inform the format and inclusions for your hotel organisational chart. Factors you need to consider include:

• The size of your hotel
• The number of departments and employees
• The role, responsibilities and functions of each department
• The relationship between departments
• Hotel staff structure

If you’re creating a hotel organisational chart with duties and responsibilities, you’ll also need to cover the role, responsibilities and functions of each employee and who each employee needs to communicate with to get the job done.

Typically, there are four types of charts that you might follow:

Hierarchical Organisational Chart

As the name suggests, this chart reflects a traditional business structure with senior leaders at the top and the structure divided into traditional hotel departments such as finance, front office, human resources, food and beverage, sales and logistics. It can be used in both large and small hotels.

Functional Organisational Chart

A functional hotel organisational chart includes the hierarchical organisational structure along with positions listed according to their function in the hotel and the skills the position requires. This is a popular type of chart, though is sometimes criticised for contributing to silos within an organisation and hampering communication between departments.

Matrix Organisational Chart

The matrix chart accommodates organisational structures where multiple departments work cross-functionally. This style avoids the complexity that would otherwise occur with the hierarchy chart in this situation.

Flat Organisational Chart

Often used by start-ups, this type of chart is also preferred by companies wanting to empower all employees by encouraging self-management and greater decision making ability. It’s a horizontal chart showing few or no levels of management between executives and all other employees.

How to use the chart at your property

The chart can be used to help both new and existing employees understand their position and where it sits within the organisation. It should be a practical document, giving people the knowledge to know who to contact when issues arise. It can also provide some career inspiration, highlighting opportunities within the hotel.

From a business perspective, a hotel organistion chart can be used for resource and financial planning, recruitment and overall business planning.

Six tips on hotel hierarchy and staff structure

To get the most from your hotel organisational structure, keep these things in mind when creating your chart:

1. Make it easy-to-update and accessible – so you can quickly accommodate changing needs and business priorities and your people can use it day to day
2. Get feedback from all departments and people – talk to your managers and people about whether it really reflects what is needed to keep operations running smoothly
3. Make sure it ties in with and supports your business vision, aims and goals
4. Check that it includes all the information necessary to help you and your people do your jobs and make decisions
5. Eliminate any information which only serves to over-complicate the chart
6. Remember to update it and use it when hiring, training, managing, and motivating your whole team of staff