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Suggestions for Maximizing Revenue

General Hostel Operations

Rucksack Brian started this discussion 7 years 9 months ago

At the 2017 Hospitality Law Conference, there was a panel discussion called “Maximizing revenues: Innovative ways to generate more $$$”

This article summarizes some of the conclusions: What hoteliers can do to maximize their revenue

Here are some of the suggestions from that article.

Marketing

Handle social media in-house to get a more emotional connection with the content, and outsource general online marketing to firms with specializations
Keep track of projects and campaigns with spreadsheets or checklists that show which tasks are completed, still in progress, or urgently need attention
Determine what you think is your property’s position in relation to competitors and track everyone’s rates and occupancy, then adjust prices to ensure everyone is aligned properly
Focus on efforts that consistently produce results, but set 10-20% aside to experiment and learn
Set specific objectives

Online Travel Agencies

Ask your Market Managers to help you
Use OTAs to reach guests that you can’t reach on your own
Open and close channels as needed in order to get the highest possible ADR and occupancy at the lowest cost

Employees Matter

Invest in your staff to get the right people on the team to generate revenue
Give measurable goals, and ensure that ALL staff members understand the goals of occupancy and average rate – reward your team when goals are accomplished
Turnover hurts profitability, so show your team you care about them and they are important – eat with them, and celebrate an Employee of the Month or Manager of the Quarter
Give all employees the tools they need and the Standard Operating Procedures to know how to do their jobs
Supervise your teams and interact with them, and write them up as a consequence if they have problems performing
Any time someone quits or gets fired ask yourself: Were they oriented properly? Made to feel comfortable? Adequately trained? Provided with the necessary tools? Receive personally tailored leadership?
Post good reviews and comments somewhere public where the team can see them and feel appreciated
Publicly recognize individual employees so they know the positive effect they have on guests
Give individual constructive criticism in private

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Lymansrh

7 years

I like the suggestions with in regards to handling social media in house. Also the focus of the marketing ratios are helpful as well.

Investing in the right people in certainly a task I intend to fully address and ensure. the staff are who create the whole enviroments.

Thank you for taking the time to go and write up notes for everyone!

Sarah

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Rucksack Brian

7 years

Hi Sarah,

I wish I could say that I took the notes, but I didn't attend the conference myself. Bryan Wroten from Hotel News Now attended the conference and provided the notes in the linked article. I just summarized the key points of his summary to make it easier to digest. Glad it was helpful though!

After re-reading this summary it does remind me how critical it is to bring great people onto the team and then continually invest in them to keep them happy and working hard. As a hostel owner/manager it’s easy to get your team in place and then let them do their thing while you focus on your own tasks and projects to develop the business. In theory, once they are properly trained, the team should all be competent and able to perform at their peak without your supervision. But most people don’t really work that way. Most people will still need your attention and continued support. They need to know that they are working as part of a team, not just working for you so you can go off and live the good life from their labors. They need to know that what they do matters to you as well as to the guests. They need to feel appreciated. The sad truth is that the busier everyone gets (especially you!) the more they need that support and the harder it is to make it a priority to give it to them.

It's all easy to say and to understand in theory, but quite a bit harder than some might expect to put into practice and do on a consistent basis.

Ultimately, a happy team will outperform an unhappy team in the long run, and that is always good for revenue.

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