Name: Richard Grove

Job: General manager at The Chester Grosvenor

Where were you born: Manchester

Where do you live now: Frodsham

Education: Ellesmere Park High School, Salford University, Lancashire University

Family life: Married to Emma, father of four (Joshua, 21, India, 16, Sam, six, Lottie, four)

Richard with his wife Emma and children Sam and Lottie

My day usually begins at around 5:15am, when I’ll get up and take our black Labrador, Ebony, out for a quick walk.

By 5:45am Sam and Lottie are usually wide awake and bursting with energy (they wake between 5.30 and 6.00am every day) so I’ll spend some time with them before getting ready for work.

I usually arrive at work just before 7.00am – the first job of the day is to catch up with the Nights Team to discuss the previous night and see if there’s anything they need to hand over, before making my way around the hotel to speak with the teams on the early shift.

My morning walk includes a spot check of areas throughout both front and back of house, keeping an eye out for anything from a light bulb which needs replacing to a scuff on the skirting board which needs be tended to by our resident painter.

By 7.45am I’m ready to review the business pick up from the prior day and the pace for the coming months (we tend to forecast for the next 120 days) before reviewing the rates/business strategy for this period with my revenue manager, Kathryn.

The hotel ‘comes alive’ at around 8.15am, when the team is at full capacity and guests make their way to breakfast.

The Chester Grosvenor

I’ll take another walk around the public areas and have a catch up with guests, discussing their experience and noting down any feedback/observations before sharing with the team at the morning briefing.

This takes place each morning at 9.30am in the hotel manager’s office, with a representative from each department.

We review guest feedback, arrivals for the day along with any special requests and room allocations, conferences in the event suites and any appointments that the sales team may have.

Our learning and development manager, Jennifer, will give an overview of any new starters or existing colleagues whom may be on training courses that day, and we’ll run through the emergency response team for each shift.

The rest of my morning is usually taken up with meetings, perhaps discussing aspects of guest services with my guest relations manager, Danielle, or an appointment with a potential/existing client.

I tend to have an early lunch (at around 11.45am) when the staff restaurant is at its quietist.

Rose, our canteen assistant, looks after more than 70 team members most days and always makes me my favourite sandwich, cheese and ham salad on wholemeal – she makes a great sandwich!

Richard's eldest children India and Josh

The afternoon is usually made up of meetings based around sales/strategy or our people – such as The Pulse – which is our staff consultative meeting, where I get to meet with a representative from each department and we discuss any issues which affect them and their ability to deliver memorable service – we try to find ways to make this better for them and in turn improve the experience for our guests.

I tend to use the time between 4.00pm and 6.00pm to work on projects/reports to support our business strategy and at around 6.15pm I’ll walk the departments again and chat to those on the late shift.

I usually leave for home about 6.45pm/7.00pm and my wife and I have dinner at around 8.00pm.

What do you wear to do your job? Suit and tie

What is the favourite part of your job? I’m a listener, so I enjoy talking to our guests and our teams. Our people have great ideas on what makes a stay truly memorable, they are speaking with our guests and are best positioned to help us improve.

What is the least favourite part of your job? When we get something wrong for our guests. It happens, however, it’s how we deal with this and how we learn from this that is critical.

What would be your dream job if you weren’t doing what you do now? This was my dream job – there is nothing I would rather do.

How do you relax when you are not working? Spending time with the family, children are a great leveller and keep me young (ish!). I also love listening to music of all genres.

Richard with his wife Emma and children Sam and Lottie

What is your favourite film? Joint favourites – 12 Angry Men and The Shawshank Redemption

What is your favourite song? Drops of Jupiter – Train

If a film was made of your life, who would you like to play you? Tom Hanks, he can play any role.

Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet? Being general manager of The Chester Grosvenor!

If you would like to take part in our 'A Day in the Life' feature, please email leah.jones@trinitymirror.com