Chapter 42. How to become your own guest. A number of years back, I was approached by an acquaintance who was looking for some advice. He was a very smart businessman, an entrepreneur, who had a number of business ventures on the go, including being a business realtor. He was very analytical and focused on the bottom line. But he came across one business for sale and independent hotel and was intrigued.
He thought it had a lot of potential, so he bought it himself. He calculated the cost of running the business, the occupancy rate required to start making a profit and the marketing strategy. within no time business was coming to his door. A year later, he contacted me and asked to meet. He told me he was getting a fairly stream of business, but very little or no return business. I asked them, What are your guests telling you on their common cards or surveys?
He told me he did not have common cards available that he had. Never done a survey and then asked, Are your staff trained to ask for complaints? He told me that aspect was not covered in training. And then he admitted, there's very little training for any of his staff. I suggested I could check in, stay a night and then report back with what I found. His staff did not know me and thought I was just a walk in looking for a room.
The receptionist was friendly enough, but while checking me in was chatting with one of the housekeepers when I asked for a recommendation for a place to eat, she said, Well, there's a takeout place across the street. That was her only suggestion and ended the conversation there. The room was nice enough, nothing fancy, but seemed clean. After taking a little time to do an inspection. I found that the window had been nailed shut. There was hair in the bathroom glasses.
When I turned on the radio, I've found it was very loud and set to a country station, and the mattress had stains on it. My sleep was restless, not only because of the stains in the mattress, but it was uncomfortable. And the pills were flat. The Breakfast was passable, but nothing exciting. And that checkout was fast with very little conversation and no one asked about my stay. When we met later that day, the owner wanted to know everything, but the first thing I said to him was, what was the last time you stayed in your hotel, and he said, I've never stayed in my hotel.
I recommended that he do that before we had our chat. He took my advice, and a couple of days later, he walked up to the front desk, and told his receptionist that he would like to check in and be treated like a regular walking customer. Of course, it was a little harder for his employees to think of him as a regular guest. But he was able to get an idea of what his guests experience. He invited other acquaintances to check out his property and report back what they found. And over the next few months, he stayed in every room, taking the time to go through them and every corner of his property with a fine tooth comb.
Then he and his employees took the time to clean Create a fully functional operations manual and all his staff were trained. His return business increased dramatically, and his revenues increased by 47% in 12 months. This is an exercise that many hoteliers I've met over the years have told me they would like to do but cannot find the time. My response has always been the same. This is your business, your livelihood, you will have to know what's going on. Make the time.
Small to medium independent hotel resort in bed and breakfasts have so much to gain from this advice. If you're not taking the time are not thought of staying in your property as an option. It's a good idea to put it on your calendar much sooner than later. a different perspective can surely open your eyes. Included in this chapter are four different checklists for you to use when going through your property. Hotel site inspection checklist, guestroom checklist, quality of service assessment checklist exhibit checklist.
When you or your acquaintances are going through these checklists, make sure to be honest. And don't make excuses. If you take this exercise seriously, your property can't help but improve. For your copy of the checklists. You can find them on the resource page at Keystone hospitality development.com slash resources for you. That's resources number four.
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