Another year has just whizzed by and now only 4 months left before we greet 2017. This is the perfect time for hoteliers to reassess their targets of 2016 and plan for the coming year.
So what should hotels be doing before the year ends?
Start Planning now
Hotels should not wait till the last 2 months to make their next year business plans. With the holiday season just around the corner, after October hotels would be completely swept up with their holiday marketing campaigns and New Year plans. Use the time now to set the goals and targets for 2017, say the adoption of modern cloud technology or improving efficiency.
Get the various departments to create a realistic marketing budget
A hotels success depends on the synchronization of the numerous departments that it has. You have Housekeeping, Reservations, Front Desk, Sales and Marketing, F&B and so on. Each department needs to come up with their budgets and revenue targets depending on the year gone by as well as the potential of what the year to come can bring. Once the budgets are ready, the hotel as a whole has a clearer indication on where their biggest revenue can be achieved from and thus makes their marketing plans based on that.
Identify the Hotel’s Main Clientele
Guests frequent hotels depending on the type and location of the hotel. Hotel owners and management should identify the category to which majority of their Guests belong to; leisure, business, airline personnel, long stay guests etc. This shall help hotels streamline their marketing campaigns and target the right crowd. There is no point for a hotel to create spa and leisure packages if the majority of their guests are business travellers who shall be in and out of the hotel.
Plan for the hotel’s technological advancements
As mentioned in our previous blog, the hotel should ensure that their next year’s budget has provisions for technological spending. In the long run, this investment can truly help increase the hotels financial returns.
Appraise the hotels staff
Despite having all the right features and amenities, a hotel is part of the service industry and the right people can either make or break the property. Hotels should look at re-evaluating all their staff. The sales and marketing teams should be gauged on whether they have met their targets and are performing well, the F&B team should be assessed on the revenue of the F&B outlets, the comments on the quality of food and service provided, the housekeeping on the feedback received with the cleanliness of the room etc. Depending on what the evaluation shows, hotels should make a conscious decision on what needs to be done with the poor performers.
So what are you waiting for? As you have already seen, the time just seems to fly by. Gather all the various stake holders at the hotel and have an objective appraisal on what the next steps need to be. You may already be doing a great job, so how can you take your hotel to the next level?
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