10 Ideas for your temporarily closed hotel
If you’re a hotel owner or a general manager who’s currently impacted by a government’s regulation and had to shut down your property for a month or so, you can either go on a long vacation till the re-opening date or you can use the time to invest in the next phase.
Looking at the bright side, there are many activities, ideas and plans that might have been parked aside for sometime when it was either quite difficult to apply with a fully occupied hotel, or you just simply didn’t have the time to do it. There’s no better time to start re-looking at those plans without worrying about losing a definite income for closing down part(s) of your hotel.
Here are 10 ideas where you can invest to better prepare for a fresh re-opening:
Refresh, upgrade and clean.
In normal operation, it’s very difficult to close down some areas of your hotel without being impacted financially. Think about your kitchen, lobby, guest rooms, spa…etc. when was the last time you’ve ordered a deep clean, not the routine daily cleaning?
Invest in soft upgrades to your guest rooms that would make it look different upon re-opening. It can be a new bedside gadget, linen, TVs, room artworks or even furniture.
Review your old strategies & policies to identify those rusty procedures that need an overhaul. It can be your Sales and Marketing strategies, HR and Travel policies…etc.
Re-write every department’s SOP to make it more efficient, lean and productive; those SOPs are often as old as the hotel can be. Eliminate duplications, consolidate tasks & enhance cross-departmental workflow.
Review your suppliers contracts and see where you can improve quality or save money by changing/shuffling suppliers. You may consider shifting to a local supplier too in an effort to give back to your community (food, wine, artists…etc.).
Invest in your team members
Perhaps that’s the most valuable asset you currently have and also the one impacted the most. Sign them up for a credible online course or organise life coaching sessions. Focus on their wellbeing during this time and you will definitely see how much they would give back to your hotel once opened. Always think about their longterm loyalty.
Analyze your cost centres and see where you can save/cut down.
Take all the time you need to put together the perfect recovery plan for short and long term. (read our previous blog on recovery planning for some tips).
You may want to revamp your F&B concepts, offerings and menus so when it is time to re-open you have something new to offer.
Upgrade/enhance your website, social media pages and your hotel imagery.
Partner up with local businesses or activity/experience providers to come back to the market with a new experiential offer.
The list can go on and on, but we hope this will get you started somewhere.
Whether you need an expert advise or just a second opinion, feel free to drop us a line or schedule a call for a mindset-changing discussion.
Good luck!
LUXNATION Hospitality Consulting GmbH i.Gr.
Seefeld in Tirol, 6100, Austria
+43 676 4022 455