Success in hospitality is inevitably linked to cost-profit optimization. And hospitality technology is the response to this need.
Some hoteliers fear that the frequency with which new hospitality technology hits the market can impact the quality of the guest experience they provide and often dismiss many of the innovations employed by others. But this more conservative approach to innovation rarely pays off for the hotelier.
The industry is moving at a pace which is unprecedented in its history, so keeping track of data analytics, distribution, room rate strategies and on top of all that guest demand can be a hassle that would require exponential manpower to maintain up to standard without the help of integrated hospitality solutions.
1. Labor Cost
Your staff is one of your hotel’s greatest resources and simultaneously its greatest expense. Reducing the cost of labour for your establishment is usually seen as an act which comes at a great personal cost, employees dismissed and job positions closed. But rethinking labour through the prism of efficiency allows hoteliers to create an optimal solution that encourages staff improvement and reduces hotel labour costs.
You don’t need more staff to provide great service, you just need the right staff with the right tools in order to provide an excellent one. Hospitality’s place in the service sector has meant that it accommodates employees with little to no formal training, but nowadays most people have a degree of higher education and simply resign themselves to taking lower-paying jobs in the service industry until a position in their own finally becomes available.
As such many of your employees are transitionary, with no actual aspirations on building a career in hospitality. But there are also those who see the industry as a means to better themselves and to build a career path they can be proud of. Those are the employees you are looking to retain and help grow.
Being able to aptly navigate the daily operations of your hotel through your hotel’s property management system, your staff will be able to cut down on work hours spent on tasks such as revenue optimization or distribution, while also managing to aid guests and maintain the quality of their stay.
A PMS will cut down on redundancies and allow your staff to accurately perform their duties while also managing the business end of your hotel’s daily operations.
2. Automation
We are of course speaking of automating many of your staff’s daily tasks for the sake of cutting down operational costs. The return of investment in hotel property management systems is going to depend on how broadly you wish to implement these solutions.
Direct Booking Engine
As you know the best way to increase revenue on your room listings is for guests to book directly through your own hotel’s booking engine. And while most will first learn of your establishment through an OTA many of them will redirect to your website where if they are happy with the presentation they will be given a chance to book directly through you. If you are missing this option or if your hotel’s booking engine is outdated and not mobile-friendly it can cost you the booking altogether.
Channel Manager
With the sea of online travel agencies and hospitality marketplaces that is saturating the industry it is a challenge to keep track of your room rates and inventory across all channels. A channel manager can help your staff by automating inventory updates, last-minute cancellations, and automatically relisting rooms once they become available.
Self-Service Hospitality Tools
Probably your staff’s top pick, as it cuts down on many of the more menial aspects of hospitality such as guest registration and check-in. Hotel Kiosks, for instance, can cut down lines formed in the lobby of a busy day, by half, which means that you would never have to worry about overstaffing schedules in case of a last-minute rush. The hotel kiosk practically pays for itself, as it allows you to cut down labour cost on the additional staff that would not be scheduled on most days.
As you can see one of the above will serve you well, but all together can cut back on your expenses and improve ROI.
3. Sustainability
One of the biggest cost-reducing technological investments you can make is the switch to sustainable utilities. Energy-saving upgrades are the solution to reducing the cost to your establishment and the environment as a whole.
There are various approaches to sustainability and you need to understand exactly which parts of your establishments are producing the most waste in order to target your improvements there.
You can examine studies such as the Green Building Return of Investment for Hoteliers which focuses on creating a breakdown of the overall cost of a sustainable improvement made across various countries and the time it took to pay back the investment, next to how much the establishment saved in expenditure per month.
There is a consistent pattern which favours low-flow water and energy-saving technology as most guests tend to be rather wasteful during their stay. BY changing the water pressure in the shower heads they take less time showering and cut down on water waste significantly while using sensors and energy-saving light bulbs means that the lights are only on if there is someone in the room.
Going green can only help your brand moving forward and not just as a cost-saving method. Guests are conscious of the state of our environment and that makes them critical in their purchases, sustainable practices are more frequently making an appearance when it comes to guest demand. It’s best to board the ship rather than swim after it once it’s sailed.
Hospitality technology is constantly evolving with one purpose behind it, to reduce cost and increase profit for the user. Regardless of the set of solutions that you choose to implement, you will do right by your staff and your guests, by improving the quality of service and providing a competitive price for it.