The Tough Challenges In The Hotel Industry And How To Handle Them – Part I
The Tough Challenges In The Hotel Industry And How To Handle Them – Part I
Hotel industry is fraught with challenges. They are part of the business. As the tourism and hospitality industries evolve, so will the challenges. Consumer behavior has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades. As a result, new challenges have come up which are causing lot of frustration to clueless hotel owners.
New technologies have given rise new consumer behaviors and expectations. Hotels have to read the changing market conditions and adapt accordingly otherwise they may become extinct like the dinosaurs.
Always remember that consumer satisfaction is the primary concern. The criteria for satisfaction may change dramatically as the market evolves. These days customers expect and demand lot more than they used to previously. Hotels which do not deliver and fulfil the new demands of the modern customer may soon be left far behind in the race.
In this article let us discuss a few common challenges that the hospitality industry is facing and propose a few solution steps for each challenge.
1. Technology Challenges:
Let us begin with common challenges related to technology. Adopting the latest technology is no longer optional for hotels, it has become inevitable and unavoidable. The hotels which embraced modern technology earlier than others have an advantage over the late comers who have been putting it off all this while, thinking they can continue the same way they have been operating for years and decades.
Consider the example of electronic check-ins, which is a recent technology. A lot of hotel owners faced great difficulty in making over the transformation. Many of them were unwilling to make the change, considering it to be an unnecessary additional burden and expense.
All hotel owners are slowly realizing that they just cannot escape the clutches of technology and they have to adopt it whether they like it or not. However avoid rushing in blindly to implement the latest cutting-edge technology solutions because that can complicate things for you.
Adopting technology and making over the shift should be a carefully planned process. You may not need to adopt and implement every latest technology that comes in the market. That can actually be harmful rather than useful. So think and plan carefully. If needed, get some professional advice as to what technological solution may be best suited to your needs.
What technology or software application you adopt depends on the size of your hotel, the objectives you wish to achieve and many other factors. When investing in technology it is important to do some market research so that you can be aware of the prices. That is why it is best to consult a professional in this matter who may advice the best possible strategy.
There are some crucial technology tools that can benefit the hotel most. These are – hotel management software, chatbots, PMS, booking engine etc. The hotel management software can automate most of your hotel front desk and other operations, saving you tons of time. It will enable you to provide faster service to customers which can increase their satisfaction levels.
2. Operational Challenges:
Operational challenges spring up due to lack of proper planning or lack of adequate management tools. Many hotels lose a lot of customers due to inefficient operations management. There are many operational challenges which have to be handled properly – reservations, front office tasks, housekeeping, attending to customer complaints etc.
Imagine how would the guest feel when he walks in tired into ta hotel and it takes more than 15 to 20 minutes to complete the check-in process. Would it not frustrate the guest and make him consider going to another hotel the next time? Such small things can have great impact on the hotel’s business.
Contrast this to how pleasant and happy the guest would feel when the check-in formalities can be completed within mere seconds of walking in. Similarly the speed and quality of other services have to be maintained in order to provide great experience to the guest.
Investing in proper management tools as well as proper staff training can eliminate a lot of operational problems and help the hotel function in a smooth manner. A hotel PMS system can automate, synchronize and ease communication between various departments, thus minimizing communication gap and ensuring smoother functioning.
3. Staff Challenges:
Staff issues are always a major challenge for hoteliers. It is tough to find the right people, train them thoroughly and retain them for long periods of time.
Here again a hotel management system can come in very handy. Hotel software automates a lot of tasks which can reduce dependency on people. So a lot of time, efforts and money can be saved which would have otherwise gone in the search for suitable staff, training and retaining them.
4. Guest Expectations:
The demands of customers are rising in each sector of business while the tolerance for poor service is shrinking by the day. Guests not only want better service they want it quickly. Speed is of essence along with quality.
Today hotels have to provide many extra amenities than they used to do in earlier times. Free wifi, air conditioning, swift check-in and check-out, cashless transaction facility, etc are just some of the extra things which guests expect at each hotel they stay at.
Hotels have to adapt to the changing environment by upgrading their levels of service. To do this they have to train their staff better. Integrating the use of technology can also improve the quality of service and drastically speed it up.
5. Online Reputation:
Internet savvy visitors will usually first check out online reviews of a hotel before booking a room. So it has become a huge challenge for hotels to maintain their online reputation and make sure it is not tainted by negative comments and ratings.
If a hotel does not have any reviews or if it has lot of negative reviews, people will be hesitant to book a room there. So the hotels should make sure they get some nice, positive reviews from their satisfied customers. Besides trying to get positive reviews, the hotels also have to monitor the negative reviews and try to address them.
If some guest has left a negative review online they may contact the person and try to find what the problem was and try to pacify the guest. This may lead to the guest withdrawing the negative review he posted. If the hotels are negligent in this regard, it can cause serious damage to their online reputation within short period of time.