Working in hospitality comes with its own set of challenges and issues.
Plus, there are many unique problems to working in a hotel, hostel, motel, etc., which you can’t really find anywhere else. However, as different as this particular industry can be, other businesses can still extract valuable lessons from it.
This article will cover some of the most important hotel-related points that entrepreneurs can use when running their own businesses.
Keep in mind, that the list can apply to quite literally any enterprise, from retail to construction. Furthermore, this article will only contain the most basic lessons.
7 Business Lessons From The Hotel Industry
Once you’ve learned these seven lessons, we highly encourage all of our readers to explore the hotel industry more and try to apply as many good business tactics from it as possible.
Lesson #1: Hire the Right People
It sounds simple enough, but it’s anything but — if you want your business to succeed, hire the people who are best suited for it. And indeed, it not only sounds simple but downright redundant. Of course, you’re going to hire the best professionals to do the job, right?
Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. You can hire a professional who has the right academic background or employment history, but ask yourself this:
- Are they genuinely passionate about what they do?
- Do they plan on honestly giving their 100% simply because they love doing their job?
WETCO Approach
To learn more about how to adequately assess an applicant’s suitability for a role, we look back to 2014. Customer service expert Micah Solomon wrote an article about his own approach to hiring the best people for the hotel industry, and he called it the WETCO approach, an acronym that stands for the following:
- Warmth (simple, old-fashioned kindness towards customers)
- Empathy(sensing what the other person feels, both positive and negative)
- Teamwork (self-explanatory)
- Conscientiousness(ability to follow through with an order or a promise to customers)
- Optimism (ability to shake off bad experiences and bounce back fresh)
Each of these points works wonders in the industry, but you can easily apply it anywhere else. You might consider WETCO as an extension to soft skills like leadership, adaptability, and communication.
Lesson #2: Safety First
An establishment simply cannot run if it isn’t safe. Proper hotel security procedures are a must, even with spots that rank 2 stars and below. After all, you want your guests to feel safe. They are spending the night in your hotel, so if they lose their valuables or get hurt in the process, your enterprise will suffer in more ways than one.
Some of the best-rated hotels ever invest millions of dollars in state-of-the-art security systems. Furthermore, they make sure that each and every guest feels comfortable and secure in their rooms. And while many other companies don’t have that big of a safety risk, it’s still a good idea to keep your eye on things.
Lesson #3: Think Both Globally and Locally
You might have heard of the term Glocalization. Yes, it does indeed sound a little too corporate and artificial, but it’s an essential part of hundreds of thousands of businesses out there.
Example
For example, if you operate a hotel, you should give it a cosmopolitan atmosphere with your room selection, culinary options, and event facilities. Your Canadian visitor will not feel at ease in the same way that a visitor from Cambodia or Cameroon could.
So, to attract more outside visitors, globalize your brand by adopting current trends.
Never, under any circumstances, forget about your local consumers or traditions.
Daily, your business will be sustained by a tiny, local economy. So, even if your selections increase worldwide, keep that local flavor in mind.
Lesson #4: Communication is Key
Can you imagine how running a hotel with poor communication flow between staff and also with management?
Proper communication can make or break a business. In fact, an entrepreneur can grow and expand their brand tenfold simply by having above-average communication skills.
Business owners should make sure to maintain the following communication is forth fold, i.e. there is adequate information flowing across various channels:
- management and employees
- management and consumers
- employees and employees
- employees and consumers
Lesson #5: Pay Attention
Two hotels may share a massage parlor and a spa. Real flowers and potted plants, on the other hand, will attract more visitors than fake flowers. It’s a little point, yet it has a significant impact on your performance.
Entrepreneurs that pay attention to the details realize that putting in a little additional work pays dividends. It doesn’t always have to be anything tangible.
A modest gesture like remembering the customer’s name (or nickname) demonstrates your commitment to delivering excellent service. And, as we’ll see in the following section, it’s the small things that consumers remember the most.
Lesson #6:User Reviews
Never be hesitant to read online and print consumer evaluations. A poor review may be painful, but it will give useful information for improving your service.
Furthermore, you may react positively to the unfavorable review and thank the individual for pointing out what needs to be changed. This strategy is quite powerful since it demonstrates to the angry consumer that you are prepared to listen to their suggestions and adapt. Hoteliers do it all the time, and some of the greatest have very few bad ratings.
Lesson #7: Be creative.
A normal hotel will include services such as meals, housing, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, room service, etc.
Hotel owners prefer to present their consumers with unique, new services to keep ahead of the competition. As a result, hotels began to include spas, gyms, restaurants, and other amenities. Furthermore, several of these enterprises have agreements with other businesses in the city.
If a concert or a movie is scheduled, guests will be notified in advance, and the hotel will arrange transportation.
Other firms will not have the same levels of innovation. If you set your mind to it, you may provide something unique and innovative that no other institution can match.
Last Thoughts
Most people believe that the hotel sector has remained unchanged throughout the years. Nothing could be farther from the truth, though.
The hotel sector, like any other industry, is continually evolving. And the more it succeeds, the more other companies will be able to learn from it and strengthen their position in the global economy.
