Prepare for Competition: How to Survive When New Hotels Come to Town
When it comes to refreshing or revamping your space, there are a few thing to consider. Start an update with the area that customers care about the most: the rooms. Keep these elements as neutral as possible so they don’t seem out of style in the next few years. Replacing old appliances can also help an old room feel new, whether it’s a microwave, a coffee maker or an air conditioner. Even something as simple as rearranging the location of the bed can free up unexpected space and make an old room look like a fresh addition.
New hotels often have more to offer than just rooms. Check what amenities your hotel currently offers and see what extra touches you can provide. Wi-Fi, for example, is something that many hotels offer to lure in guests. Most travelers expect free Wi-Fi somewhere in the building. Offering it to guests for free in their rooms might be the difference between a booking and a lost sale. Pools, while a more intense addition, can grab both tourists looking to splash away with kids and business travelers looking for a place on-site to relax. Before you open a pool, be sure to adhere to pool safety standards.
How to Reduce Housekeeping and Laundry Expenses
One of the major costs of running a hotel is with laundry. Labor costs should be calculated by taking the employees required to service a guest room and dividing that by the number of guest rooms serviced in a specific time period. Don’t forget to factor in things besides wages, like insurance and other benefits. Cleanliness is an important part of what makes guests decide to return to a room.
Occupied rooms increase laundry costs because a guest will dirty sheets, use towels and eat into your room rate depending on their occupancy length. Since these costs are more about supplies than labor, small changes to things like laundry soap or big changes like installing new washing machines can be easily controlled.
