Frederic Dominioni is the Chief Revenue Officer of Solonis, a leading provider of modern property management solutions.
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Despite inflation and whispers of a slowing economy, the demand for travel continues to carry into 2023. However, the hospitality industry continues to grapple with an ongoing labor crisis, leading to lagging service and a decline in guest satisfaction. And while we have a pretty clear picture of modern traveler expectations, it can be challenging for property owners, operators and staff to exceed them in today’s climate with a leaner workforce.
Luckily, there are a few strategies hotels can implement today—even in a highly-nuanced era of travel recovery—that allow them to do more with less, operate more efficiently and set the course for new, data-driven best practices. As a disclosure, my company Solonis one provider of property management solutions. Here’s where to start.
1. Strive for full visibility.
Businesses now operate in a world where they can measure and track almost every action of their operations. Measurement has led to tremendous progress in optimizing processes and procedures, but many businesses restrict these insights to a single service or department. These department silos limit the full potential of data and can present a skewed view of operations.
No department in hospitality works alone or insularly, everyone is connected, and every department influences the others. Your data shouldn’t be any different. Work on creating a connected ecosystem within your tech stack using platforms and API integrations to comprehensively view your business and how your various operations truly affect one another.
2. Lean on data and plan ahead.
Too often in the hospitality industry, we fall prey to addressing the immediate, especially in times like now, where labor is short, but demand is growing. Operating under a “just get through the day” model isn’t sustainable; you need to plan and stop problems before they get too big. Data can be a big help when used with business intelligence and predictive analytics tools.
Booking patterns can predict when business will be slow or fast, so companies should look for solutions that can provide such insight into opportune times for more extensive maintenance or facility upgrades. They can also influence your staffing schedules, enabling managers to assign as few or as many staff are needed.
Digitizing maintenance records and running them through predictive algorithms can help estimate and schedule preventative maintenance to keep facilities running smoothly. Consider optimizing inventory and ordering times by looking at what dishes or items are popular (or low sellers) and ensuring you have enough stock before a holiday rush. Or leverage the ability to track how long orders take so you can better inform your ordering schedule around potential supply shortages.
3. Balance in-person with self-serve.
Some guests find self-service detracts from the hotel experience, while others find face-to-face operations too slow. Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference, and you should utilize both to appeal to a broader range of guests. Not only does this approach provide guests with the experience they want, but it can also lessen the workload for human staff and give them more time to pay attention to other duties. Your business mustn’t force one form of service over the other; customers respond better to options than demands.
4. Invest in your people.
Labor shortages are hurting businesses everywhere, but they are taking a tough toll on existing team members. The extra hours and high demand can quickly wear down your remaining workforce if not managed carefully. While you can’t magically fill all your positions, you can take steps to make these lean times easier.
Consider investing in wellness and health initiatives for employees, using business analytics to make more intelligent schedules, automating administrative tasks to free up human hands and offering to cross-train departments that could use the extra help.
Cross-training workers is an excellent way to diversify your workforce and provide more staffing flexibility in a shortage. You can even position them as opportunities for workers to explore other career possibilities within your organization.
5. Always read the feedback.
We all know online reviews represent a disproportionate number of angry guests, but this doesn’t negate their experience. Every piece of feedback is valuable, whether it tells you what you’re getting right or wrong. And when reviewed collectively, you can often spot trends that may have gone unnoticed.
For example, a theme of slow service at the concierge could suggest a need for more staffing or restructuring of processes to improve response time. Complaints of moldy-smelling towels received in a short period might mean you need to inspect your laundry facilities. Guests are only on the property for a short while, making their perspective sharper and more observant than people who work there five days a week.
Despite inflation and economic downturn, the desire for travel remains high.
While our industry numbers are trending upward, pandemic-related and economic-driven challenges have put hospitality in a unique position. The bright side is properties are more capable today of catering to guests’ nuanced, personalized expectations and thriving in an era of travel recovery if they are willing to make the flexible changes necessary to balance their resources and keep customers comfortable.
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