Running a business is hard work! From looking after your employees and customers to ensuring the finances are ok and that your business is being well promoted to reach its target audience. Running a hotel really takes the cake, though. You’ve got to do all the above and more. You need to ensure that every room is clean after use, you need to make sure your patrons are well fed and that the food is up to scratch. You need to deal with complaints on a daily basis, and of course, you have to improve every single day.
The perfect hotel? Well, it is a goal you can achieve.
The location is key. Your hotel may have every amenity that anyone could ever want, but every single guest in your hotel is a unique individual. Take this for instance, from Tyler Brûlé on the Financial Times and see if you get the joke about well-run hotels:
“As the GM blinks at me expectantly, searching for that little tip that will get me to part with the rival property across town, I finally say it. “You could move the hotel.” At first, this generates a laugh, then a wide-eyed look of confusion. Then more laughing and then an uncomfortable adjustment of the arms. “What’s wrong with our current location? It’s perfectly located for easy airport access and good shopping and dining is right out the front door,” explains the GM. I continue to nod and probably scrunch my lips and squint with concern. “I absolutely agree,” I start. “The main problem is that there’s nowhere to run in the mornings. Your location is great, but you lack a decent park nearby or any leafy boulevards for a brisk 5km.”
It’s very tongue in cheek, but you have to agree! While many may love an air conditioned gym, others will love a natural location to run around in. The key is simply aiming well at your target audience, but not being scared to offer everything you can afford to offer. If you can afford to change location, do so!
Having all the help you can get will also help you run your hotel efficiently. From staff to software you should explore every single avenue of help and advice. Chefs, hotel managers, and guests can offer you snippets for you to take on board. Cloud based hotel software can make your working day a lot easier, as well as the tasks of your staff. Your perfect hotel is in sight if you can listen to others.
If you can offer a good location, if you can offer the world to the most eccentric guests, if you aren’t scared to take on the advice of others – no matter their hospitality experience -you’ll be able to run the perfect hotel. There’s not really a true secret, you see – it just depends on how far you are willing to go to meet the needs of each and every guest.
