Meet the Manager
Tru GM Chris Gardiner
Chris Gardiner has worked at three out of the four H&B Hospitality properties. Nearly 6 years ago, he started at the Embassy Suites as the Front Desk Manager, before transitioning to the Homewood Suites as the Front Office Manager. After arriving at the Tru as Operations Manager, he was recently promoted to General Manager. Chris is someone who brings energy and enthusiasm everywhere he goes. I recently had the opportunity to talk with him about his life inside and out of the Hospitality industry.
What initially interested you in working in the Hotel Industry?
In all honesty, it was a bit of an accident – I had just finished getting my degree (in a completely unrelated field) and was looking for a decent summer gig to pay rent for my first apartment. I got a job as a bellman for an upscale privately-owned hotel in the area. I ended up really enjoying it, and realized it was something I had a natural affinity for. I worked my way up within the company and the rest is history!
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started?
Find the time to enjoy things in life. Hospitality can be a challenging industry when it comes to balancing work and personal life. You have to actively seek out ways to carve that time out to do the things you enjoy, especially when it comes to friends and family.
List three adjectives you think your team would use to describe you.
a) honest
b) approachable
c) fair
What is one fun or the surprising fact your team might not know about you?
Believe it or not; I am a pretty good singer AND dancer. It really catches people off-guard when I do karaoke. I think I may have been born to be an entertainer of some sort in alternate universe.
What are you looking forward to professionally?
I am looking forward to continued growth. That is definitely one of the things I am eternally grateful for when it comes to hospitality; no two days are alike, and you never stop learning and growing.
Who has inspired you in your life, and why?
Please forgive me, I know it’s a bit of a clichéd answer, but my mother truly has inspired me in so many ways in life. Her and my father moved here to North Carolina from a rural area in Louisiana after my father landed a job here when I was extremely young. My mom used the opportunity to further her education and become an entrepreneur – she started her own daycare business, and still runs it to this very day! Especially when it comes to childcare, she is the most hard-working person I have ever seen and I work hard to duplicate even a fraction of her work ethic and passion.
What qualities should a team leader have?
I truly believe in leading by example. I think it is an underrated and fundamental aspect of being a leader. You can’t ask your team to do (or not do) something you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself. I also believe that a strong leader should be flexible, especially in today’s economic climate. There are an endless amount of variables constantly at play when it comes to managing a team, and being able to change your approach to being a leader to better suit the current needs of your team can be the determining factor between success and failure.
What would be your ideal way to spend the weekend?
Three words: Grilling. Football. Xbox.