front desk agent

night auditor

front office manager

chef

housekeeper

Island-Hospitality-Management

Working at this company and feeling fulfilled really depends on the type of work you're doing and who your bosses are. 

I've worked here for almost four years and have gone through 2 different general manager (GM) changes and keep in mind that your advancement ultimately rides on your GM approving paperwork. The company has management training program called Pathways which let's even employees at the very bottom make their way to GMs or places in upper management. This program is arguably their greatest strengths and they should definitely keep working on improving it.

The problem is as I mentioned earlier, advancement through Pathways is highly dependent on the GM not only approving you for promotions, but mentoring as well. My first GM always seemed to find time to help and talk to employees, but my second GM does not seem to have a grasp on good time management and always postpones or forgets appointments which can be frustrating. 

I was promoted to a supervisor after a while, but I am still doing almost the exact same work I've done since I started. It's disappointing to have been given a "new" position, but have nothing to show for it aside from a title.

Your co-workers will either be your best friends or will constantly throw you under the bus. Gossiping is a big problem in the hospitality industry and it's very disappointing to have managers believe rumors about people without investigating. 

Unfortunately the pandemic has hit the hospitality industry pretty hard and IHM will no longer manage the hotels I work at, so that's disappointing for anyone that was a part of Pathways.

Oh and given the 24/7 nature if the industry you will work rotating schedules and will have a very hard time planning or have a work/life balance. 

I may have said many negative things about working here, but I am truly thankful for everything that I've learned at my job and hope others have better luck than I did with my time at this company. I really do believe they have a great foundation that unfortunately depends on the individual property managers. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part is you get to see what a poorly run workplace looks like.
You learn to recognize understaffing masked as efficiency, constant pressure without training or support, and management that prioritizes optics and numbers over people. It’s an education in red flags and a strong reminder to set boundaries and aim higher in your next role.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part is the constant fear of being berated no matter what you do.
Management yells, criticizes, and creates a tense environment where you’re always on edge, even off the clock. There’s no real break or respect for boundaries, I even experienced being shouted at from home! It’s exhausting and toxic, and left me drained every day.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture is toxic and unpredictable. Management enforces rules unevenly, GM's mood dictates the workplace, and employees are often put in uncomfortable or inappropriate positions. Favoritism and gossip are rampant, this is not a healthy environment!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day is walking in with dread if the GM is present. You juggle an outdated task list, assist gm on top of guest responsibilities, and constantly face unrealistic demands. Tasks are often assigned without regard for priorities, and you’re criticized for not completing them fast enough. It’s exhausting and impossible to keep up.

Minimal property support from corporate, and on-property management is focused on cutting costs with no regard for guest experience, then blaming poor service scores on the hourly staff. The hourly employees are constantly expected to go above and beyond the tasks related to their position with no additional compensation or appreciation.  Culture encourages no work-life balance for entry level wages, and no honest possibility for advancement even after years with the company. It may be suited to someone looking for entry level experience, but keep your boundaries set firmly and do not fall for the “we’re a family” tactic to get you to do more.

COVID-19 was handled very poorly, with it taking months before basic masks and hand sanitizer were provided to staff, and months more before masks were even loosely enforced. No value for health and safety for their staff overall. Nearly all staff was laid off immediately, and only some were ever brought back, even when the hotel was busy again. The few positives for hourly employees (a monthly employee luncheon and a small incentive for your name being mentioned in a review) were cut at the start of the pandemic, never to return, but they did have sufficient funds to bring on several new managers (even though they hadn’t brought back all of the hourly staff they previously had laid off, or the cut amenities for guests).

Working in a busy downtown Portsmouth NH location you’ll think housekeepers were full staffed, however there was with me included 4 housekeepers with the 2 laziest most extemley unprofessional housekeeping “supervisors” these supervisors bad mouth each other andwould rather sit in the housekeeping office pumping Breast milk while the other just rather texting on their phones &talking to one another  Vs cleaning the rooms considering it’s understaffed, they demanded the housekeepers  to stay from 8am until almost midnight cleaning rooms since it’s a hotel with 3 floor with 42 rooms on each floor , completely have most non speaking employees as slaves, as they work 7 days straight no days off with working 50+ hours!  Because the supervisiors tell them “they have to” 
Not to mention considering the EXTREME workload, the housekeepers are really NOT cleaning the rooms according to standards, the only time they focus on cleaning as it should be cleaned, is when someone from a high office is making a visit, this place is a Disaster 

Surely if you want to be a slave for an unappreciative company, with the WORST management, THIS IS THE PLACE!

I truly enjoyed working for Island Hospitality, especially because the company's core values, mission, and job culture are great examples of what a hospitality management company's should be. The biggest difficulty I had was that, as a new GM- not only to the management company, but to the property and brand, I was not nearly supported enough by the middle management team at Island. During my brief employment with Island Hospitality, the management company grew nearly three times it's orginial size, therefore majority of the issues were due to poor and untimely communications between properties and the corporate office. Policies and procedures were being changed daily, and it was difficult to obtain any clarity from middle management, which left GMs basically fending for themselves. I truly think Island Hospitality will be a wonderful management company in the Hospitality industry, as soon as the company's owners/ VPs work out all the growing pains.

•	Established standards and processes for the housekeeping department as well as planned work timetables to make sure satisfactory service was given.
•	Prepared for and passed the twice annual Hilton Quality Assurance Evaluation with a rating of Outstanding.
•	Managed contract cleaning services as well as in house employees.
•	Managed relationship with ECOLAB, cleaning Solution Company and developed familiarity with chemicals and MSDS sheets to in order to remain OSHA compliant.
•	Managed and reduced payroll hours and room clean times while adjusting scheduling based on forecasting analysis.
•	Managed and ordered guest and housekeeping supplies and material for high volume hotel. 
•	Improved storage and inventory, thereby reducing the company’s Cost per Room for amenities, linen, Kitchen appliances, etc.  
•	Increased staff retention and improved company morale by developing incentives to meet and exceed expectations.
•	Coordinated safety committee meetings and trainings which included implementing standards of conduct for emergency situations.

A typical day at work consists of lots of FAST pace executive team interaction. Powerpoint presentations on a whim, exeuctive travel arrangements on whim, traveling with the executive team, putting together budgets and marketing plans for 80 hotel properties. Communicating with the property management teams on a daily basis. Lots of laughter and a very casual but professional atmosphere. Working directly with the SVP of the company makes for lots of behind the scenes sales and Marketing experience. co-workers are friendly, dress is casual, shorts and polo shirts for guys. hardest part of the job is cooperating with the executive team after "business hours" nights and weekends availability via email is a MUST. the management company MIRCO manages their hotel properties which makes for a very tight ship. everything that happens is run through the corporate office for approval or rejection. lots of opportunity to express creativity and give your ideas to better the company and to bring new light to the old routine.

Typical work week is Monday-Friday 8am-7pm. Monday and Friday is usually longer due to the mass amounts of reporting that is required on these days to corporate office. This company is a young company with a lot of outdated tools. Many times you are doing the same process 2 to 3 times just in a different format to satisfy the ownership. The hardest part of the job is the lack of communication with executive leadership to on-site managers. General Managers are very disposable and you are lucky if you you make it past the 1st year. 
Sometimes you wonder if they even care about the guests because the corporate leaders are focused on the reporting and the deadlines. The most enjoyable part of the job is the ability to change a culture at one hotel and help/learn about the guests. Sales is a HUGE focus with Island and it makes a manager stronger in their role.

As with any job, it entirely depends on the management that you are specifically under. The typical day at work for me simply started earlier than I had hoped and ends later than desired and included multiple weekends that were spent "on call" or in the office. I have learned a lot about office culture, and the pros and cons to office "politics". The best part of the job is the team environment and the personal involvement into the employee's lives. With the launch of IH Cares, the executives showed that they wanted to assist the employees in the personal lives as well as their professional lives.  Mondays they have "Monday Huddle" In the corporate office in an attempt to cure the Monday blues and make announcements to the team. As with anywhere however, the office has politics. There is opportunity for growth here and is a great environment to learn.

I absolutely love the culture that Island has established. Everyone is so friendly and very welcoming to new employees. We like to have fun in the office and often find reasons to celebrate! There are a lot of perks which include discounted hotel rooms, movie tickets, theme park tickets, and more. Once you have worked with the company for 90 days you also have the opportunity to work hybrid. The corporate office is also in beautiful downtown West Palm Beach which is just a nice bonus.

Although West Palm Beach is beautiful, traffic can be bad driving into and out of downtown. Also, you currently don't have any vacation time until after working with the company for an entire year, however leadership is usually pretty lax if you need to take unpaid time off.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Front desk agent 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour
Night auditor 1 salary reported	$11.00 per hour
Front office manager 6 salaries reported	$22.25 per hour
Chef 6 salaries reported	$15.17 per hour
Housekeeper 2 salaries reported	$15.65 per hour

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