In 2019 travelers spent over $200 billion on lodging alone. With stats like that, you might think that running a hotel is like living life on easy street.
If only.
In reality, working in hotel management tips and the hospitality industry is hard work, and far too many rooms go unoccupied far too often. The question is, how does a small business owner minimize those vacancies and maximize occupancies?
Great question! Stay right there and keep reading for our smart management guide to reducing your vacancies at your hospitality business.
Get Hands On
Do you really know what it takes to run your hotel? Sure you might know what it takes to manage it, but have you ever worked the front desk or cleaned the rooms?
Even if you have, when was the last time you did it?
An essential aspect of smart management is having a comprehensive understanding of every minor aspect of your business. That means knowing what it takes to keep the rooms tidy, to get everybody checked in swiftly, and in general what it takes to perform all the minor chores that eventually build up into ‘running a hotel’.
What’s more, having this kind of deep understanding of your business puts you in good stead to identify those little inefficiencies that accumulate into big structural issues before they have a chance to do real harm.
Dole Out Rewards
Much like yourself, your employees are only human, and humans tend to need a little incentive to keep working at 100%. When you’re following our last tip and manning the front desk (or anything else), keep a careful eye on the kind of behavior that ought to be encouraged and, well, encourage it!
That could mean anything from bonuses to holidays, even to simple verbal appreciation (that last one only tends to go so far, though). The key thing is identifying and reinforcing the kind of attitudes that make for an excellent hotel experience for your clients.
Don’t Neglect Marketing
We might live in a hyper-advanced technological society, but certain aspects of human nature have been the same since the dawn of time. For example, our responsiveness to marketing.
A key part of guaranteeing bookings in the hospitality industry (indeed, a key part of selling anything) is making sure your potential customers are aware of you.
That means billboards, internet ads, and a robust SEO campaign (view here for more on that). When people in your area Google ‘best hotel near me’, you want to be at the top of that results page, right?
Hotel Management Shouldn’t Be Harder Than It Has To Be
So there you have it, a quick but handy guide to the various intricacies of hotel management tips. Whether you’re running a coast-spanning chain or a tiny B&B, there’s tips here that can help a hospitality business of any size keep their vacancies to an absolute minimum.
Liked this article? Check out our site for more like it!
