How to keep a hotel from running into the ground

Show me a hotel manager who works nine to five and I’ll show you a badly run hotel (in most cases, anyway). A hotel relies on its manager more than anyone else. The owner may have vision and direction, but it’s up to to the manager to implement these ideas. Here are some things you should avoid if you don’t want your hotel getting repossessed any time soon.

Don’t be an absent manager

As previously mentioned, managers are the most important member in regards to running the hotel. They make all the decisions on a day-to-day basis. They’re also going to be responsible for when things go wrong and quick choices have to be made. They also need to be around to answer any questions customers may have that the staff can’t answer.

In terms of events and functions, it is up to the manager to make some kind of decision on any events that will be going ahead. It’s all well and good to have an events manager, but they need to be fully aware of what events are suitable for the hotel based on the owner’s expectation. If the owner is going for a refined and classical feel, having rock bands playing in the venue isn’t going to work.

Decisions also have to be made about a number of other things, be it the restaurant menu, deliveries, decoration and everything else. If the manager is not around, someone else must make the choices. This can lead to disorganisation and poor communication. If the go-to person for everyone is not around, they’ll start doing things themselves and eventually it’ll go wrong.

Don’t fail to delegate

Although the final decisions come from you, you cannot be at the hotel 24/7. You need to ensure that every section of the hotel has someone who knows exactly what they’re doing and has the specialist skills you need to ensure a smooth running. Things like a food and drinks manager are essential. They have the experience to know exactly the right amount of things that need to be ordered to ensure everything goes well.

Trying to run everything yourself is not going to work. Make sure you hire trustworthy people to head up your departments. On top of that make sure they know exactly what you want them to do. They should be operating within your framework. They might have the specialist knowledge, but you’re the one putting all the pieces together.

Don’t forget to pay your employees

Sometimes the hotel might be going through a rough patch financially. You’re going to have to cut some corners somewhere, but you should do everything you can to avoid not paying your staff. It’s not hard to work out that they are integral to the successful running of your business. Without them you are screwed. If you were to announce to them they were not going to get paid things will turn sour quickly. Even not paying a few members of staff can cause big problems.

Most people will not just quit if they don’t get paid straight away. Some will stay for a certain amount of time before they call it quits. Unfortunately, over time their morale will obviously be low and they won’t be doing the best job they can. Also, if someone does quit you have to rush the recruitment process to fill the gap. Then the new employee is confronted with a workforce who have little motivation. This will rub off on them.

Don’t cease to update your online profiles

As you’ll probably know, a lot of people find the hotels they use through sites like LateRooms and Expedia. This means that the first thing they see about you is your profile on another site. This might be the last thing they see as well if they book through a third party site. If you haven’t updated your listings since you first opened, it’s probably a good idea to go and do it now.

If people book based on details on another site, they are going to expect that when they arrive. If you can’t meet their expectations you are very likely to get a bad review, which can have very negative consequences. It isn’t difficult to keep on top of these things, but it is very beneficial. Always check, always update.

Joshua Danton Boyd is a copywriter for the online accountancy firm Crunch Accounting.

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