It’s no secret that hotel margins are notoriously tight.
High overheads and a competitive marketplace ensure that the battle for profit is hard fought.
The traditional methods for hoteliers focus on occupancy levels while serving a healthy amount of food and drink.
This might be the cornerstone of a successful hotel, but there are other ways to help the cash flow.
With covid providing more of a squeeze it’s vital to take advantage of these supplementary profit streams whenever possible.
1) Make the most of event space
Many larger hotels are jam packed full of conference and hosting facilities which can serve a range of functions. Just like a bedroom, these spaces are perishable and an unused one is money you will never get back.
It’s absolutely key that these get as much use as possible to ensure maximum profits. While much of a hotel’s marketing resources get spent getting heads on pillows, b2b offers it’s own rewards.
Offering special packages to host events and targeting local businesses who might be interested is a good way to start. You might also consider putting up conference facilities as bookable meeting space.
If you want to get creative you could even host your own events. These could be anything from talks and performances to comedy shows. As well as giving you the opportunity to practise your burgeoning stand-up routine it will help set you aside from competitors in the area.
2) Open yourself to the public
If you find your hotels facilities aren’t hitting capacity, invite the neighbours. Offering a limited amount of gym passes or car parking spaces are two great examples of this.
The difficulty lies in balancing what you’re offering the public against occupancy. The last thing you want is for your over-eagerness to fill the parking resulting in paying customers being unable to lodge with you.
When done right however it will put a bit of money in your pocket while helping to create a bit of a buzz during your down season.
3) Be efficient with your energy
A hotel by its very nature uses a lot of energy. While this in many is the nature of the beast, it’s important to mitigate usage where possible.
The most obvious and simplest way to reign in your consumption is to make sure your appliances are up to date. There will of course be an upfront cost. But, handled correctly it should reduce your energy consumption and save you money in the long term.
You will also need to look to your guests in your battle against wasted power. It’s important to gently encourage them to be mindful and to help out by turning off lights and other devices when possible.
It’s wise to frame this as an environmental issue (which it most certainly is) to elicit the best response.
Taking these steps will not just help with the cash flow but ensure you are helping make your hotel as sustainable as possible.
4) Run activities
When people stay at a hotel, they usually have a good idea of how they want to spend their time.
They may want to see the local wildlife. Check out the cultural hotspots or just hang out at the bar and drink.
As an expert on the surroundings, your in a unique position to guide your guests experience outside of the premises.
This could mean partnering with local tour operators or entrusting your staff to chaperone your guests around the local area.
5) Lost property
Believe it or not, ensuring you have a slick process for lost property can not only save money, but provide an additional revenue stream.
Sounds far-fetched? Let us explain.
Hidden costs
When your staff find a missing item, they need to take time to log it and add it into whatever process you use. This takes time.
Now when the unlucky guest calls up an equally unfortunate member of your team has to deal with it.
This involves taking details of the item and having to match it against either a physical ledger or spreadsheet. More time wasted.
Your team now has less bandwidth for the important stuff. This drain constitutes a hidden cost that many would overlook. However, NotLost’s proprietary data lost property shows lost and found enquires cost UK hotels £35 per room per year.
A better way
When using NotLost’s software the hours your team waste dealing with such enquires is drastically reduced.
Hyatt Regency London cut the time spent logging found items by 80% with enquires taking an average of 1 minute to handle.
What this means is that your team isn’t having their time taken up by labour intensive tasks.
It’s another painful task gone. Now there’s more space in the diary to provide a top notch experience for your valued guests.
“Great system to use, very efficient
and easy – the item can be
allocated within a minute.“
Executive Housekeeper, Hyatt Regency London
Additional revenue
When a customer is reunited with their misplaced possession by our matching tool they choose from a range of return options. These allow the customer to pay a small fee to have it sent back to them.
Now you’re actually able to make a little profit from each successfully returned item which, for businesses handling numerous enquiries can add up to a healthy amount over time.