The Coronavirus Pandemic affected the global travel and tourism industry the hardest. In fact, everyone from flight companies to hotels ended up going through the worst phase in history. Multiple establishments shut down and a massive number of employees were laid off to cut costs. However, that is a thing of the past now.
With the pandemic entering the endemic stage, global travel is picking up pace once again. Travelers that had been forced to stay inside their homes are now making a beeline for airports and listing sites as they look to explore the world more than ever. This means that the hotels and resorts are once again back in business!
What should not be ignored is the fact that the economic difficulties that hotels faced are completely over. They are still trying to make up for the losses and looking for cost-effective means of cutting down expenditure. They are trying to do this without hurting the customer experience. In this article, we are going to explore how it is possible to cut costs.
List of 5 Ways to Save Costs When Running a Hotel in the Post-Pandemic Era
1. Using Technology to Schedule Employees Working Hours-
For a hotel, 50% of all its fixed costs result in the form of salaries and wages. Having too few employees means that customers in the hotel will be treated poorly in terms of customer service. Having too many would result in the staff being underutilized.
This is where using technology and scheduling software can become a credible way to ensure that an optimum number of staff are present in the hotel. Tech will factor in the occupancy rates in the hotel and make assessments of the requirements accordingly.
2. Getting a New Vendor for the Hotel Furniture
It is true that the infrastructure and furniture of hotels require a major overhaul once they have started operations back again. However, going with an expensive interior designer might not be a financially prudent decision given the current state of your balance sheets.
The management team in such establishments needs to be conscious of the best vendors and platforms from where they can buy hotel furniture for sale. Exploring multiple options and then assessing the costs and the quality will help you reduce this expenditure drastically.
3. Controlling Food and Supplies Wastage inside the Hotel-
When everything was fine, the hotel management did not worry about food wastage. However. At this time when everything needs to be cost-effective, controlling wastage should become a top priority. This is where the staff needs to be trained properly to cut this.
Small steps to reduce the use of hotel supplies like shampoos, shower caps, and other elements can result in the management saving a ton of money over a period. However, you need to ensure that the customer experience and satisfaction levels do not end up suffering as a result of this.
4. Exploring Alternative Energy Solutions in the Hotel
Power bills are going up and you cannot control that. What you can do is explore more affordable energy alternatives like solar power in your hotel. Installing solar panels in the hotel would be an effective way to cut down on utility bills. Your lights and HVAC can run on this.
Additionally, this shift to solar energy can be used to popularize the hotel’s commitment to green energy sources. This is something that is sure to strike a chord with a target audience of travelers that are conscious of issues like Climate Change and Global Warming.
5. Remove all Unnecessary Software that you do not need-
While technology can help you in reducing costs, it can also add up. In other words, whenever you are using software, you are paying annual subscription fees that run into thousands of dollars. The thing is, if you do not need it, you should look to cut it altogether.
Make a detailed list of all tech and software that the hotel is currently paying for. Once you have the list, arrange it according to priority. Check the usage and evaluate whether you can do without it. You will finally find a few that you can manage without. This will help you.
The Bottom Line
Most hotels and their management believe that exploring more options for revenue generation can help them make up the costs. While that is true, if you are not cutting costs and saving money from present processes, you will end up with unprofitability. In this article, we have discussed five credible ways how hotels can cut down to save costs while not compromising on the customer experience. If you feel we have missed out on any point, please let us know in the comments section below.
