Daring To Be Great: Leadership Insights With Bryan Stuercke

Q&A with Bryan Struercke Assistant Housekeeping Manager Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa

Describe your professional journey/path in the hospitality industry (and at Davidson). What was your first position and why did it appeal to you?
Having started as a lifeguard, I had always appreciated the satisfaction that job well done that the service industry provides. When it came time to select an area of study in college, I selected hospitality management, in part, for that reason. Through the college, an internship here at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey opened up with Davidson, and provided the opportunities in service and professional growth I was looking for.

How did you end up in your current role?
As the internship term with Davidson ended, I asked to be kept on, and was offered an Operations Trainee position, through which I learned about front office management, and would eventually be promoted to Assistant Front Office Manager. After a couple years at the front office, it came time to move on, and I transitioned to my current role as Assistant Housekeeping Manager.

“As a varied and diverse industry, hospitality provides opportunity to continue learning endless new skills. Whether that be a singular or multiple roles, these opportunities are plentiful, and when paired with the experience of undoubtedly the best team of people I have ever worked with, it’s a true pleasure to grow and develop oneself in.”

What do you love about this industry?
As a varied and diverse industry, hospitality provides opportunity to continue learning endless new skills. Whether that be a singular or multiple roles, these opportunities are plentiful, and when paired with the experience of undoubtedly the best team of people I have ever worked with, it’s a true pleasure to grow and develop oneself in.

What do you love about your role/what inspires you to be great?
There is a very simple goal in Housekeeping, that being cleanliness. While the goal may be simple, the methods of achieving and maintaining this goal is where the the challenge begins. Working within and outside this department, everyone has a role to play, and coordinating those efforts into a successful operation with such an incredible team is the core of what I love about my role.

What are your professional aspirations; where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
I hope to continue to develop myself within the hospitality industry; acquiring experience in various departmental roles, before moving into operations management. Along the way, I may find a particular line of work I enjoy above the rest, where I might pursue specialization.

What advice/tips resonated with you most from mentors throughout your career?
Two bits of advice that I found particularly pertinent to a successful career, was to “Take care of your team, because when you need them, they will move mountains for you”. As I’ve learned just what it means to take care of your team from those mentors around me, I’ve been able to see just how true that advice holds.

What advice would you give someone who is coming up?
The advice I would give to someone else coming up in any role, is to remain a student. Know that everyone around you can be a teacher, so long as you remain willing to learn.

Anything else you want to add?
As is likely apparent for those reading these thoughts, I am grateful and full of respect for my team here at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. To have started with nothing to feeling like I had always belonged, this group of mentors, friends, and diligent professionals have made this experience one which I will hold in high regard as I continue develop a career within the industry and with Davidson.