Once a hotel brand or portfolio scales across multiple properties, its operations become more complex. It’s natural and it’s necessary. What’s unnecessary, however, is that the work for hoteliers exponentially increases.
Although the management of hotel groups provides bonus challenges like centralized operations, brand consistency and heightened security, it also brings opportunities for bigger customer reach, economies of scale and more revenue. So how can you tap into the benefits of being a group without putting extra strain on your staff? Here are ten places to start.
1. Go cloud-native
Challenge: On-premises solutions are impractical, unsecure and inflexible. Server rooms with endless cables need regular maintenance, and any software updates (which are not very common) need to be installed manually. A power cut, an internet outage or a malicious break-in would effectively shut down any hotel operations.
Even software which began on-premises but migrated to the cloud isn’t good enough for hotel groups. That’s because these solutions just repeat the same outdated processes but host them in the cloud instead. It won’t streamline operations or help to boost revenue.
Solution: Cloud-native hotel technology is not bound by the same unhelpful methodology. The software is faster, more intuitive and has a higher level of security. It’s also much easier to manage multiple properties, as you can log in and see data across your entire portfolio.
You can also find solutions with embedded payments and POS (point-of-sale) products included, meaning a connected core ecosystem. This kind of powerful, agile setup is only possible in the cloud.
2. Centralize operations
Challenge: Running one hotel is complex enough. Ensuring consistent rates, secure user management and consistent reporting is almost impossible if your properties are running on different PMSs or even the same PMS that isn’t cloud native. Manually changing multiple room rates across multiple hotels is not an effective use of staff time.
Solution: Look for technology that allows you to manage changes across a portfolio as easily as making changes to one property. Bulk rate management will save hours for your team, streamlining tasks and reducing the risk of human error. Centralized user management is also vital for hotel groups, as it allows you to track and control permissions across a continually changing staff roster. That’s enhanced speed and security in one double swoop.
3. Automate day-to-day tasks
Challenge: Unnecessary tasks take too much time away from hoteliers, impacting operational efficiency and the guest experience. Does your front desk team enjoy typing in personal data while the guest waits in front of them? Does your management team like manually compiling reports every day? Do your guests enjoy pulling out their cards just to buy a bottle of water? Didn’t think so.
Solution: Automation is real, and it makes a huge difference for hotel groups that embrace it. Front desk teams can spend more time on meaningful guest engagement rather than staring at screens, while in the back office, automation frees up space for more strategic thinking. Maximizing efficiency this way can also keep costs down. The upshot of all this is happier staff, delighted guests and more opportunity to optimize revenue through upsells.
4. Maximize occupancy and revenue
Challenge: Being successful in one or two locations isn’t enough. Hotel groups need to maximize occupancy and revenue across every property to ensure the business remains healthy.
Solution: Automated rate management across hotel groups should be non-negotiable. Smart algorithms leverage live and historic data to set optimal prices while attracting the maximum number of guests. And don’t stop at maximizing room revenue; find technology that lets you monetize every space across your portfolio, from parking spots to co-working spaces. This will not only boost guest volume and room rates, but daily guest spend and guest lifetime value, two of the key metrics for modern hospitality.
5. Focus on the guest experience
Challenge: With so many guests staying across a hotel chain, there are bound to be a wide range of personal preferences when it comes to the ideal guest experience. It’s not easy to keep every guest happy while maintaining operational efficiency.
Solution: Choice is a powerful thing. Embrace technology that lets guests choose the journey that suits them. Offer online check-in, check-out and self-serve options so that more tech-oriented guests can skip the front desk, and guests who prefer the personal touch have shorter waits and more time with staff. Personalize wherever you can and remember that the guest journey doesn’t end when their stay does – there’s nothing more valuable than a repeat customer.
6. Leverage integrations
Challenge: Different properties have different needs, even within the same hotel group. Almost every hotel requires specialist solutions of some kind, and integrating with these tools should be easy and cost-free.
Solution: Access to an integration marketplace is vital for any complex hospitality business. It affords the ability to create custom tech stacks per property, providing real operational agility. Meanwhile, no connection fees and rolling contracts mean you can test new solutions without long-term financial commitment.
7. Promote sustainability
Challenge: More and more travelers care about the environmental impact of their travel. An increasing number of guests actively search for eco-friendly hotels, and it’s important for groups to showcase their sustainability credentials.
Solution: The good news is that going green often goes hand-in-hand with boosting efficiency. Digitalizing hotel processes like registration cards and billing eliminates unnecessary paper waste – across a chain of hotels, whole forests could soon be saved. Eco-friendly integration partners can also make a big impact, for instance, utility cost savings like temperature control and electricity.
For some bonus reading, check out this sustainability guide: The Green Hotel of the Future.
8. Champion security and reliability
Challenge: Cyber-attacks in hospitality are increasingly common, and even the biggest global chains have shown themselves to be susceptible. In 2023, 31% of hospitality organizations experienced security breaches, averaging $3.4 million per attack due to lost business, reputational damage, legal costs and more.
Solution: Choose your technology partners very carefully. Ask about security credentials and system uptime. Bolster security by using a PMS provider with regulatory and compliance certifications like ISO27001, SOC 2 Type 2 and PCI-DSS, robust data privacy policies, and cloud-based technology with data centers managed by reputable providers. It’s also crucial to use a PMS that includes 2FA, SSO and SCIM user provisioning and deprovisioning.
9. Prioritize usability
Challenge: Staffing continues to pose difficulties for hospitality, and given the scale of hotel groups, there will be natural employee churn. Finding and training new staff can be difficult and time-consuming.
Solution: Choose technology that’s modern and intuitive. This will widen your hiring pool, giving you access to people who don’t need experience using hotel software, but whose talents lie more in true hospitality, i.e. people skills. It’s also important to have comprehensive training tools, accessible at any time, with role-based learning, video tutorials, live sessions and more.
You should also be given a range of onboarding options so that you can onboard new properties with minimum fuss. The very best solutions have special programs for group deployment, including shell set-ups and self-empowerment staff training programs.
10. Invest in future-thinking solutions
Challenge: Scalability and trust are two of the most important factors when choosing a technology partner like a property management system. Your hotel group is likely to grow, so you need to be confident that you choose someone who will grow with you.
Solution: Behaviors, trends and technology can change very quickly. Only cloud-native technology can match that pace. This applies to onboarding new properties, as we just covered, but also when it comes to deploying new features and products. The other important word here is partner. Choose solutions that will be a genuine partner in your success, not just another customer-vendor relationship. Things like beta testing, feedback portals and proactive customer success teams are all proof points for this.
Essential software for hotel groups
Technology is the thread running through these examples. Without it, it’s impossible to run a successful hotel group. But with so much hotel software to choose from, where do you start? These are the four essential software decisions facing hospitality chains.
1. Property management system (PMS)
Almost every hotel group relies on a PMS to manage its operations. It’s the only way to effectively manage reservations, billing, check-ins, check-outs and more across a complex, multi-property business. It’s also the glue that connects to all other software, from accounting to CRMs.
2. Revenue management system (RMS)
Hotel groups typically operate with a central reservations team, whose role is to maximize occupancy while also getting the best price for each room or space. In the past, this role required meticulous, time-consuming management, adjusting each rate at each hotel manually. Today, a smart RMS can analyze demand and market activity in an instant, reducing overbookings and boosting RevPAR / RevPAG.
3. Point-of-sale (POS)
An integrated POS solution is essential for any hospitality group. Bars and restaurants play an important role in generating revenue and in the guest experience, so guests should be able to seamlessly order and make payments, whether the charge is settled at their table or automatically added to their guest profile. It will also transform your kitchen inventory management and ease pressure on staff.
4. Space management system
Most PMSs provide space management but only in the form of rooms. Hotel groups, however, offer many bookable space types and require a true space management solution to maximize revenue and efficiency. Spaces like parking spots, co-working desks and meeting rooms should all be easily managed within the same platform as rooms, minimizing operational bloat.
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