Hotmail
Resolved for 2007: Better hotels!
Take better care of employees
Please pay your workers more. Happy employees make for happy guests. And who do you think is happier, the employee making $6.50 an hour, or the one making $9.50? I’ve heard people say that hotel employees perform “menial” jobs, and this makes me furious. These jobs are hard! Hotel employees work long hours, under tough physical conditions, at stressful tasks. They deserve decent pay.
Also, why not use some of your record profits to invest in your employees’ morale and career development? You can provide some great training programs, tuition reimbursement, day-care assistance, free meals at work and more. Doing so will increase employee loyalty and so reduce turnover, thereby providing better service to your customers, therefore gaining you more customers, thereby increasing revenue and shareholder value — and isn’t that what it’s all about to most big hotel companies these days?
Pay attention to what guests want
Get to know your customers so that you can give them what they want. If you’re a roadside motel, chances are your customers want a clean and safe place to rest for a few hours; they don’t want to pay for gourmet coffee delivered to their rooms in the morning. If you cater to business travelers, you probably shouldn’t invest in a fancy swimming pool; you’ll do better investing in a good Internet connection and technology that allows for a speedy and efficient check-in and check-out process.
A large part of knowing what your customers want is giving them a way to contact you, and then paying attention to what they have to say. Provide guests with multiple ways to answer satisfaction surveys, and provide an incentive for doing so. Use complaint letters as a way to identify problem areas. It’s all about figuring out what your property should really be about, and then doing all you can to be tops in your niche.
I kept the list short. After all, isn’t it better to concentrate on a few meaningful goals than on lots of unimportant ones? I truly believe that changes in these areas will bring about immediate benefits for guests, employees and hotel companies alike. But what do you think? What are some resolutions and improvements that you’d like to see hotels implement this year?
Send me an e-mail with your comments, and maybe you’ll find them in an upcoming column.
Happy New Year!
Amy Bradley-Hole has worked in the hotel industry for many years in many different positions and at all types of properties -- from small luxury boutique hotels to large resorts, both in the United States and abroad. E-mail her or read more of her articles on Tripso.com!
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM TIPS |
 Tips Section Front |
| Add Tips headlines to your news reader: |
Resource guide