Grant Hearn spent more than a decade at Forte, running the London operations before becoming UK chief operating officer for Marriott in 1995. From 1996 to 2000 he ran Travel Inn at Whitbread. Then he spent three years as UK managing director at Hilton. In 2003, Hearn, 51, became chief executive of Travelodge, which now operates 380 hotels.

When did you first become a boss and how did it feel?

I was appointed as a trainee manager at the Castle hotel, Windsor, in 1980. Being a manager came with trappings: a very large bunch of keys and a pager. The keys wore a hole in my jacket within a week. After about two weeks I understood why some of my colleagues kept their pagers in the fridge — it wore the batteries down. And I was always cautious about being taken advantage of.

What have you learnt about leadership?

Back in those days the stereotype was that you had to be a bastard to be successful. I have found over the years that you have to be capable of taking tough decisions. Being a bastard for the sake of it doesn’t really work.

I have always tried to build a sense of trust with staff, which means being open and honest, and at times direct. I never ask someone to do something that I am not prepared to do myself.

It’s important to show people a vision of what we are trying to achieve and what their role is. We try to get across that we’re not just running a hotel business, we’re revolutionising the industry.

Have you been inspired by any one person or theory in the way you manage?

I was inspired by my father [Dennis, a deputy chief executive at Forte], Lord Forte and Franco Pecorelli, who ran the Forte village in Sardinia. Pecorelli spent his 18 to 20-hour day riding round on his bicycle, talking to his staff. He’d tell me: “With 5,000 customers I can’t see every customer every day. But I can get round to most of my staff and make sure they understand how I want my customers to be treated.”

What’s the worst part of managing — and the best?

People let you down. I learnt that at a fairly early age when someone I liked was stealing from the company.

The best? The feeling of achievement you get as a leader of a team. We took over this business six years ago and it was down in the dumps and we now have a business that is double the size in terms of hotels, staff and profits.

What do you look for in hiring senior staff?

A cultural fit. I insist on referencing very deeply. People may have qualifications, but will they do the job the way you want the job done? Will they fit in with the team?

Your best career advice?

Find something you like doing. If you are ambitious, it’s important to weigh up the sacrifices you have to make to be successful. It’s a lot easier if you enjoy the work.

Is there one question you want answered in job interviews?

I want to know that somebody has made an effort to understand the business and has visited one of our properties. I was interviewing for a senior role recently. I said to this chap: have you visited a Travelodge?

He said: No, I haven’t had time. I almost threw him out of the office there and then. I also ask what is the biggest mistake they have made and what did they learn from it.

Managers or MBAs?

Managers — but at the senior level they need to have the intellectual capability.

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