Owning, managing, and operating a hotel can be tough and complicated at times. It is imperative that a keen eye is kept on all the variables involved. The hospitality industry is constantly changing and evolving, and a successful hotel must not only keep up with the changes, but actually transform your initiatives ahead of them.
Long-term sustainable success is possible, but only with constant evaluation of strategies and tactics. One of the biggest challenges is balancing a multitude of departments. Financing, marketing, sales, rooms, channel distribution and management – those are all departments that a hotel owner must understand, make decisions about, and produce results in. HMG Hospitality has been successfully assisting hotel owners for decades in every way imaginable, and the HMG management team has acquired a wealth of knowledge. A few members of the HMG Hospitality management team have provided bold initiatives into the best practices of owning and managing a hotel.
News Trends in Hotel Financing
Jack Giacomini
“Hotels are trending as attractive investments. Be forewarned, however, yesterdays lender is different than today’s lender. According to a recent article by TransActions Data Services, the days of 10-20 percent down are gone for now. Lenders are requiring 25-40 percent down, according to industry sentiment. Buyers acquiring distressed properties should prepare to contribute 30-35 percent equity, plus transaction and start up costs. Investors in this market must be experienced hotel management experts, or hire someone who will maximize revenue and profit, satisfying lender, franchisor and ROI expectations.”
Result-Driven Sales & Marketing
Donna Lewis
“Many hotels are missing a powerful opportunity for building and managing their property’s online reputation. Your hotel must maximize social media to draw attention to itself, and engage your audiences’ every day. Successful companies are using social media as a tool to differentiate themselves from their competition. Hotels cannot afford to ignore social media. To achieve the best results, hotels must utilize all social platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, Pinterest, are all offering opportunities to communicate a property’s message. Social media is about understanding what customers think and feel about your property and then using that information to improve the hotels reputation. It’s the customer that defines your hotels image. Investors in this market must be experienced hotel management experts, or hire someone who will maximize revenue and profit, satisfying lender, franchisor and ROI expectations.”
Getting the Maximum ROI on Your Brand
Joel Biggs
“After careful consideration, a hotel owner finally selects a brand, but how does an owner make sure that there will be maximum return on that investment? Hotel owners frequently insist that they don’t need a sales staff; the brand National Sales Team is taking care of it. Except, they’re busy promoting all of the various branded hotels to large corporations. Once a hotel is approved in that corporation’s preferred hotel program, it’s up to the individual hotel to ensure that it gets its share of revenue from that account. One of the keys to achieving maximum ROI on the hotel owner’s brand marketing investment is to make sure that the hotel’s sales staff is trained on the proper methods of pursuing those accounts in a manner that meets brand standards.”
Is Total Revenue Management something you should consider?
Yolanda Bender
“Total Revenue Management is revenue management that focuses on optimizing revenue from a single guest rather than the traditional rooms-revenue model. Traditionally, revenue management focused on rooms, but what about retail, golf, spa, third party bookings, groups, food and beverage; in other words the entire asset and the revenue that a single guest can generate? Analytics can produce a clear picture of the constant changes needed in all of those areas. Revenue management shouldn’t be conducted in a bubble. Instead, a team should evaluate each revenue stream, determining the most profitable segments and strategies. Some say that total revenue management represents the future in our industry. I say that in order to be ahead of the curve, those practices need to be implemented today.”
Good. Bad. Or Downright Ugly. Why all guest comments on reviewer sites should be addressed.
Rick Skinner
“TripAdvisor has become one of the most powerful travel sites that has a significant impact on hotels. How do hotels earn their position on TripAdvisor? It is amazing to see which hotels are ranked at the top. Many of these top ranked hotels are smaller independent brands located in major metropolitan areas. In reviewing these top ranked hotels, you will notice they are proactive in responding to all comments. While it is important to address all negative comments, it is equally important to acknowledge all positive comments as well. Guests rely on up-to-date information and they appreciate a hotel that is actively engaged.”
Should the Affordable Care Act be repealed?
Michele DeMayo
“The House, with its new Republican majority, is already working on an alternative to PPACA (Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, i.e. Obamacare). One of the plans being considered is the CARE Act (Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment).
Keeping up with ever-changing federal, and state, regulations can consume all of your time. That time is best spent running a profitable hotel. Options include hiring a full time human resources professional which can be very costly, or navigating the process yourself with the risk of incurring expensive fines if there is an error. In today’s evolving human resources landscape it is imperative to get it right… the first time.”
If you want your hotel to succeed, heed the advice of HMG Hospitality management, we’ve seen firsthand, over and over again, which initiatives, strategies, and tactics work, in a variety of hotels and regions. We know the challenges of the industry and have sophisticated, reliable solutions. If you have a hotel in need of management assistance, contact us today and put our expertise to work.