By Andrew Rubinacci
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.
Almost every person in your hotel should be aware of how sales truly impact your property. Whether at reception, working in payroll, or drawing up employee onboarding SOPs, they need to know that every day is a sales day. Selling can be a human trait, and great things start to happen when your hotel company is tuned into the commerce side of your business. It makes me think of a famous quote that has been attributed to many people, but is true nevertheless, “Nothing happens until somebody sells something.”
A commercial culture is one where commercialism or sales opportunities are switched on (activated) in your organization. Minds are tuned into the realities of driving new business growth, not because ‘we have to’ but because we want to. It is not about being salespeople; everyone, including non-sales staff, plays their part. If your staff fully understood the impact of a cheerful greeting with a guest versus a quick hello, they may try to be more hospitable. If a front desk person knows that an upsell to suite helps the entire hotel, they may be more likely to try harder to sell upgrades. It just makes sense. 67% of PwC company culture survey respondents emphasized that culture holds greater importance than strategy or operations.
A commercial culture should be instinctual, something that is not only deeply embedded into the fabric of the company but also entwined in the DNA of every single employee. We all have built-in mechanisms to serve, please, and warm our hearts by helping others. That’s a customer service culture. The commercial twist is that we should also be proud of selling to our guests who want or need it.
How does working in a culture of commerce start in your operations? It begins with data. For everyone in your hotel to embrace a commercial culture, you need to educate them on how every aspect of the industry can impact revenues. It can be as simple as delivering a truly exceptional greeting or interaction with a first-time guest. It can be an upsell to a larger room for a client’s event or offering a guest an after-meal aperitif. All these actions help drive revenue.
All of the steps taken above to help drive revenue are measurable. Measurement and the constant re-jigging of the business is a way to ensure that you are getting optimal results from all of your hard work. When it comes to what types of measurement need to be made on a daily basis that can affect your profitability, here is a quick list of the must-have KPIs:
- Occupancy (OCC)
- Gross Operating Profit (GOP)
- Cost Per Occupied Room (CPOR)
- Average Daily Rate (ADR)
- Average Room Rate (ARR)
- Average Length of Stay (ALOS)
- Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)
- Total Revenue Per Available Room (TrevPAR)
- Market Penetration Index (MPI)
If you’re looking for a good article that focuses on these critical metrics, you can view one of our business partner’s blogs (Mews) about KPIs. Here is the link: Mews KPI Blog
Before you can change your culture, you need to start from within, which means you begin with an individual’s awareness and belief in their natural capability. Your staff need to believe in themselves, what they stand for, and their core purpose with the guest when it comes to your own unique service culture.
Your hotel’s management needs to not only show employees how they contribute to the bigger picture but also emphasize their crucial role in building the commercial culture and success of the organization. Every employee, from the front desk to the kitchen, plays a significant part in driving revenue and guest satisfaction. Most people want to feel that they are part of something bigger than just their job, and by empowering them with this knowledge, you can foster a sense of pride and ownership in their work.
Today’s hospitality industry is more competitive than ever, so hoteliers need to embrace innovative platforms designed entirely with AI as the platform’s backbone. The key to success is the introduction of AI-centric revenue platforms that enhance a hotel’s operations at almost every level. At the core, data drives decision-making, and invariably, hoteliers win when this data is acted upon. By relying on data, you can make informed decisions that lead to increased revenue and guest satisfaction, instilling a sense of confidence in your team.
Forward-thinking hotels consider the guest and data at the heart of their thinking, decisions, ideas, marketing, and much, much more. They may sell the best hotel rooms and amenities, but then so do their competitors. They may have the most in-room amenities, but they may not sell as well as they could due to the lack of a commercial culture. They may want to help your hotel by selling, but they need to be empowered to do so.
When a commercial culture is established at your hotel, great things happen. Guests become central to everything you do, and their experience is elevated to a new level. Everyone is switched on to become more aware of the importance of driving ‘the extras,’ the small ideas that can make a massive difference to the bottom line. Departments align as they realize that ‘we are all in this together.’ Up-sells and cross-sells become the norm rather than the exception. There is a higher guest retention rate, and you boost your team’s ability to drive sustainable long-term profitability and growth. It is truly a win-win, inspiring everyone to strive for excellence.
