A decade of work in hotel management will teach you many things. You’ll learn that the industry is huge (it employs roughly 330 million people), highly competitive (there are at least 187,000 hotels in the world), and more complex than ever (look at the impact the pandemic had).
All of that puts pressure on hoteliers to keep their customers satisfied and operations running smoothly. The current and future hotel general managers should watch the future and be prepared to face the challenges.
To help hotel industry professionals, today we will discuss how to improve your hotel operations management.
What is Hotel Operations Management?
Before we move on, we need to establish what we mean when we say “hotel operations management” in the first place. Hotel operations refer to the entire process of how hotels run daily.
For a full-service hotel or a resort to be successful, things like housekeeping, grounds maintenance, customer service, and inventory control must all be managed properly. Hotel administration must communicate with various departments to ensure the hotel runs smoothly and efficiently.
Hotel operations management is all about understanding how these components work together and ensuring they operate at their peak performance.
Why is Hotel Operations Management Important?
Being a hospitality industry professional certainly isn’t easy. Management is complex, with many moving and interlocking pieces. Hotel managers must have many great skills, including revenue management, customer service, and marketing.
The labor-intensive hotel industry isn’t forgiving. Last year, for instance, hotels were closing at a much higher rate in 2022 than they did in the last pre-pandemic year. One wrong move can easily cost a hotel its business.
You need every resource and tool to ensure you’re making the right decisions and running the business as efficiently as possible. That’s where hotel operations management comes in.
Understanding how all of a hotel’s components work together and having the knowledge to ensure they are operating at their peak performance can give you an edge over your competition.
10 Tips for Improving Hotel Operations Management
We hope to give prospective hotel managers insight into how to improve their hotel’s operations management. But this article isn’t just for the uninitiated.
Whether you’re an experienced hotel general manager or a new hospitality industry professional specializing in hotel management, these tips can help you manage your operations more efficiently.
1. Invest in Your Team
Hospitality management starts with the people who make up your team. A good hotel general manager will ensure every team member has the proper tools to do their job. Housekeeping needs proper supplies, the front desk always needs paper, and the property security team requires clear instructions.
Ensure your hospitality business team has a user-friendly hotel operations platform such as HelloShift. As an all-in-one tool, HelloShift makes hotel administration much easier, helps teams communicate, and keeps guests up-to-date on all the latest hotel amenities. Investing in a powerful platform like HelloShift ensures that your team is well-equipped and has the best tools to succeed.
2. Empower the Hotel Staff
Running a full-service hotel comes with many challenges. And hotel management won’t always be there to answer every question. Everyone needs to know their role, how to use hotel technology, and handle basically any challenge that comes their way.
And we’re not just talking about equipping your staff members with up-to-date tools. We’re also talking about nurturing an atmosphere of transparency and honesty. Just consider this – 99.1% of people want only to be a part of an organization that nourishes honest communication.
Your staff collaboration needs to be simple, honest, and straightforward. When they learn to work as a unit, they’ll be able to handle any challenge thrown their way, without constantly looking for managers.
3. Streamline Communication
Let’s stay on the topic of software for one more minute. While many businesses opt for using multiple systems to communicate, it’s important to have one unified platform that everyone uses. That will eliminate the need for any back-and-forth between different hotel business software solutions.
With the full HelloShift suite, you can unify housekeeping, operations management , guest messaging, and of course, preventive maintenance. No more time-consuming conversations between departments – everything is connected in one easy-to-manage platform.
4. Use Hotel Operations Software
Whether you’re running a large, small, or even midsize full-service hotel, HelloShift will help you streamline the administrative process. From check-in to guest service requests to preventive maintenance and more, all operations can be managed through one simple platform.
The hotel industry is rested on the idea of perfecting the customer experience. Some 70% of hospitality business professionals say that their establishment is looking to digitize as much hotel information as possible and improve guest services. With HelloShift, you can deliver on every promise you make while also giving yourself an operational advantage.
5. Ask for Constant Feedback
Your team is a valuable source of information. No one knows your guests better than they do. A food management professional, for example, can provide insights on food and beverage preferences, while a housekeeping manager can quickly tell you what areas the guests feel need improvement.
Room attendants and property security can also be a great source of insights into what guests liked and didn’t like. Utilize their feedback to adjust your guest service and enhance the overall experience. You can easily capture that data with HelloShift, so it’s always available for review and analysis.
6. Read Comments and Online Reviews
Do you know that 70% of your visitors value your reviews more than hotel marketing or brand reputation? Customers in the American hotel industry trust online reviews as much as friend recommendations. A good percentage of your guests will leave a review on Google, Tripadvisor, or your hotel page.
While it’s important to oversee your online reputation, hotel owners, managers, and employees can learn a lot about the guest experience by reading reviews. Talk to the front office about the reviews. Have a few in-depth discussions, highlight experiences that could be improved, and identify areas of strength.
7. Cross-Train the Team
All future hotel general managers need to be aware of one thing – running a hotel is a constantly evolving, 24/7 operation. Everyone needs to work together and meet guests’ expectations, from food service and healthcare management to engineering and housekeeping.
By cross-training your staff, you can ensure that each department understands what the others do and how they contribute to guest satisfaction. Also, supply your staff members with proper education and training materials. Having a well-trained staff is the key to successful hotel management.
8. Preventive Maintenance
You don’t want to wait for problems to occur before addressing them. Establish policies and procedures for regular maintenance of all areas in the hotel. That includes cleaning and checking smoke detectors, air conditioning units, and plumbing systems.
A good revenue management system will allow you to put several rooms in your establishment for updates. This is a great way to make sure that your rooms are in top condition and up to date with the latest trends.
9. Always Look for Growth Opportunities
The main reason for using a hospitality management program is to ensure hotel guests are happy and satisfied. Nearly 25% of all hoteliers use it for that very reason. Use the data from the system to find growth opportunities.
You can use it to determine which amenities are most popular and which customers need more. For instance, if your hotel is focused on family-friendly services, the system will show you if it’s time to add a pool, playground, or other fun activities.
10. Make Guest Communication Easier
Your guests are always on the go. Whether they’re traveling for business or leisure, they’re always busy. If they want to voice any concerns or even leave positive feedback, they probably won’t wait in line to do it. Who has time for something like that?
That’s why you should make follow up after check-in and send messages while the guest is still on the premises to check up on them. Your guests are likelier to tell you about their experiences when you’re easy to reach.
Leveraging the Benefits of Hotel Automation
Hotel management isn’t something one should take likely. The front office, guest services, and food and beverage department all need to be managed to ensure that operations are running smoothly.
As we said before, in the labor-intensive hotel industry, software technology can be a major asset. Automation also helps hotels reduce costs and improve their services.
We hope we gave prospective hotel managers insight into the power of hospitality management and automation. With this knowledge and HelloShift, you can make sure that your guests have a smooth, comfortable, and memorable stay.
Guest Messaging & Website Chat to understand the guest needs. Contactless Checkin to empower guests with self-service. Staff Collaboration and Housekeeping Management to deliver phenomenal hotel service delivery.
Digitize your hotel with Staff Collaboration, Guest Messaging, Contactless Checkin, WebChat, and Housekeeping in one app.
