Hotel productivity can transform a surviving property into a thriving one. To stay competitive and run a profitable business, you should maximize your spaces and services while streamlining operations and enhancing guest experiences.
We're sure you want to make your hotel more cost-efficient, have more satisfied guests, generate more revenue, and keep outstanding team members. So, let's explore hotel productivity in more detail – how to measure it and strategies to boost it.
Table of contents
What is hotel productivity and how to measure it?
Hotel productivity refers to properly using resources like staff, facilities and time to maximize revenue and control costs. It requires the front desk, housekeeping, F&B, maintenance and administration to work together like a well-oiled machine. The more your hotel can achieve this, the more likely it is to deliver exceptional guest experiences and achieve operational excellence.
Productivity in the hospitality industry is measured by the ratio of outputs to inputs. Outputs could be customer volume, average daily spend, rate of repeat business, or results like customer satisfaction. A hotel can be more productive by keeping inputs constant while increasing outputs, increasing both inputs and outputs or decreasing inputs while raising outputs.
For example, you can measure total revenue per hour worked to understand output. You can also check the hours per room occupied by dividing the hours worked by your employees by the number of rooms sold to see how many hours of work are necessary to service one room.
Why hotel productivity matters
Hotel productivity is crucial for many reasons. It makes operations more cost-effective, enhances guest satisfaction and helps you gain a competitive edge while generating more revenue.
Guest satisfaction
The better your hotel runs, the smoother the guest experience, leading to positive reviews and loyal guests. The fastest way to happy guests? Encourage them to use hotel check-in automation and enact service requests quickly, as meeting guest needs without delay leads to greater guest satisfaction.
Cost efficiency
A productive hotel is better at using resources like labor, energy and supplies. It lets you do more with less, something every ambitious hotelier strives for. Greater cost savings are another significant benefit.
A competitive edge
Offering better services and smoother operations helps you stay ahead of the competitors. Better value and service is what leads to improved loyalty.
Boosted revenue
Productive staff can more easily upsell products and services such as room upgrades, dining and other add-ons. They're also capable of dealing with higher volumes of work during peak season without getting overwhelmed.
How to boost hotel productivity?
Next, we'll explore ways to boost hotel productivity through technology, staff training, KPI monitoring, employee engagement and preventative maintenance. Discover ways to streamline your processes and ensure all operations run smoothly.
Use technology
A flexible PMS can automate check-in, check-out, housekeeping management and maintenance requests. You can even answer simple guest questions through virtual assistants, taking the pressure off the front desk. Letting staff focus on more productive tasks has a direct impact on revenue.
Train staff
Comprehensive staff training is vital to productivity – it empowers them to handle tasks more effectively and reduce errors. Giving your team members the right tools to do their jobs leads to greater job satisfaction and better performance.
Monitor KPIs
Keep a close eye on your KPIs: occupancy rates, RevPAR, ADR and guest satisfaction. They help you find areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions that ultimately lead to more productivity. With a clear goal in sight, you can continually monitor results and adjust accordingly.
Encourage communication and employee engagement
Employee engagement is a big part of productivity. Teams that communicate well and stay engaged in their roles are more efficient. Technology helps you facilitate communication across departments – the front desk can instantly know when a room is ready for check-in or notify the maintenance team there's an issue.
Employee engagement includes rewards and recognition of a job well done. Empower your staff to give kudos to each other or publicly praise them when they do well. It will make the team feel more invested in their jobs and deliver better results.
Practice preventative maintenance
Preventing a problem is often easier than fixing it. Just like regular checks keep your car in good shape, preventative maintenance does the same for your property. Have your maintenance team check rooms and installations regularly and plan for scheduled maintenance during the low season. That way, you can remain operational throughout the year without forced room closures.
Optimize processes
Why does streamlining check-in and check-out, housekeeping and other operational tasks make such a difference? Because it shows where your team is under-performing, helping you improve by saving time and resources. You can also track operational inefficiencies and involve the whole team in developing ideas for improvement.
Automating tasks through technology greatly improves productivity. Your staff has more time to focus on revenue-generating tasks and guest satisfaction rather than waste energy on tedious manual tasks. Optimizing processes with the help of technology will do wonders for your hotel’s bottom line.
Conclusion
Hotel productivity requires a comprehensive approach. Your goal is to improve various aspects of hotel management – operations, housekeeping, maintenance and service requests. By focusing on ongoing improvement, you can deliver exceptional revenue-driving experiences that lead to cost savings and guest loyalty.
Author
Eva Lacalle
Eva has over a decade of international experience in marketing, communication, events and digital marketing. When she's not at work, she's probably surfing, dancing, or exploring the world.
IDC Study: The Business Value of Mews Hospitality Cloud
Download now
Hospitality hot takes straight to your inbox
Sign up to our monthly newsletter for industry insights, product news, partner updates and more.