Cape Town City Centre: Head Butler

About the Role

The Head Butler is a critical member of our hotel’s leadership team, responsible for ensuring exceptional guest experiences while maintaining operational efficiency. The ideal candidate will possess excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, with a strong passion for delivering world-class hospitality.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain a beverage stock variance.
• Achieve and maintain a low Room Amenity Cost with correct billing and ordering levels.
• Maintain and regularly update a clear job profile for each individual butler.
• Maintain the best possible guest satisfaction/experience at lowest cost.
• Continuously achieve and improve on revenue income.
• Coordinates and communicates closely with Housekeeping, Food Production & Service Department, and Engineering as required.
• Hold monthly team communications meetings and distribute minutes to F&B Director and HR Manager.
• Continuously improve and innovate upon product and services.
• Plan and forecast occupancy and activities for the department on a weekly basis.
• Implement systems and procedures that achieve higher cost efficiency and guest satisfaction.
• Prepare monthly reports on the performance of the outlet.
• Ensure that the outlet procures the best quality raw material and cost-effective equipment.
• Conduct mid-month and month-end beverage inventory audits and publish stock variance checks, explanations, and remedying action plans.
• Implements butler procedures and performance against results.
• Distributes work assignments for each butler within the team.
• Inspects all rooms sporadically to ensure that standards are met and maintained.
• Manages processes to ensure no beverage or mini-bar stock item ever reaches its expiry date.
• Conducts daily audits in the rooms to ensure compliance to standards.
• Implements & maintains an effective system of recording guest history, preferences, and other guest-related data in Amadeus.
• Gives the guest a fond farewell and hands over all departure gifts and processes relating to it.
• Guides and helps butlers in their daily tasks to ensure a consistently high quality of work delivered.
• Makes training plans and audits members accordingly to improve overall staff potential.
• Provides hands-on training for the team members on a continuous basis.
• Manages the selection, training, and development of employees with an eye toward maximum employee satisfaction, productivity, and guest satisfaction.
• Maintains morale of staff to achieve minimal department turnover.
• Coaches, counsels, and disciplines staff, providing constructive feedback to enhance performance.
• Approves leave requests after considering peaks and troughs in the business.
• Ensures staffing and rostering requirements are met for the department and submitted to F&B Management and HR.
• Facilitates learning and development for all team members of the outlet.
• Ensures staff is well-groomed and well-informed.
• Motivates staff through leadership.

Requirements

• Relevant hospitality and butler qualifications.
• At least 2 – 3 years experience in a large 4 / 5* hotel.
• Fluent in English (additional language advantageous).
• Knowledge and experience of all hotel services.
• Knowledge about Food and Beverage service, including cuisines, menus, accompaniments, wines, beers, spirits, cocktails, tobacco, teas, coffees, other non-alcoholic beverages, and their service.
• Rules of F&B service and service etiquette.
• Ability to provide accurate information to guests in a courteous manner; fill all reasonable guest requests and requirements; anticipate guests’ needs.
• Ability to know what activities are available in the city (i.e. theatre, the arts, special exhibits, concerts, shows, sports, leisure activities, sightseeing tours, etc.).
• Ability to recite all hotel services, hours of operation, key personnel, hotel policies, etc.

Qualifications

None mentioned.

Salary & Benefits

Not specified.

Note: The salary and benefits information was not provided in the original job description.