6 Ways Hotels Can Minimize Costs During The Pandemic

What are the ways hotels can minimize costs during the pandemic?

1. Close down unused rooms
2. Explore opportunities for energy efficiency
3. Modify your staff’s roles and shifts
4. Automate processes
5. Improve asset visibility
6. Enhance hotel security

Because of the pandemic, the hotel industry has taken a huge hit in their sales. Bookings have dwindled while costs are still the same as usual. But despite that, companies are still surviving and finding ways to profit during this difficult situation. With the decrease in cases, there would be better opportunities to increase revenue. That being said, it is vital to look for ways hotels can minimize costs during the pandemic. Read on!

Close Down Unused Rooms

Since most buildings are not operating at full capacity, other areas of your hotel would be empty most of the time. Even if you wanted to increase your sales, government protocols dictate the travel restrictions in your area. Instead, you can keep your utility bills down by temporarily closing down unpopulated rooms.

Determine the high-traffic areas in your hotel and prioritize floors that have the most popular room types. This way, you can keep most guests in one area, which reduces electricity and water consumption in lobbies, common powder rooms, and more.

Explore Opportunities For Energy Efficiency

To further keep your utility bills down, you can also opt for a Smart Energy Savings System. With this technology, you can see in real-time which rooms are occupied or free. This way, you can turn off appliance use when there are no guests. Some variants even offer an access card that automatically cuts off electricity every time a person goes out.

Aside from saving on your monthly bills, this system will also improve your employee processes, making it easy to assign them to other tasks. The software automatically knows if a room has been made up for a new guest, if a minibar has been opened, and more.

Modify Your Staff’s Roles And Shifts

Another one of the costs that will eat away at your monthly budget is labor expenses. You don’t want to assign numerous workers on off-peak hours but you also can’t be short-staffed. By adjusting your worker’s role requirements, you can lessen their load and assign them to other tasks. For example, your housekeeping department should be expected to spend more time on luxury suites than regular rooms.

To maintain efficiency with the minimum number of staff, you should also consider cross-training them. With the additional skill gained, they can pitch in multiple roles on a single shift or offer help during rush hours.

Automate Processes

Aside from improving your human resource management, shifting to automated processes will also lessen your costs in the long run. Imagine the need to purchase papers, pens, folders, and organizers for your paper-based processes. If you have manual keys, you also have to replace them regularly to prevent theft and break-ins.

To lessen your overhead costs, you can invest in a Human Resource Management System to keep track of employee time-ins, leaves, and breaks. A Hotel Lock system is also more durable and future-proof because you only need to update the software once in a while. To screen guests, instead of photocopying IDs you can also opt for a Visitor Management System to keep all files digitally.

Improve Asset Visibility

To maintain high-quality standards, most hotels replace their linen before their end of life. They are also washed after every guest checks out or whether they request additional towels and bedding changes. But because of troublemakers or poor management, numerous items get lost or stolen. This is a normal occurrence that increases expenses for hotel owners.

To prevent this problem, you can install an Asset Tracking Solution. Because RFID tags will be attached to your linen, you can see where each item is located by accessing the software. This means that you can make 3rd-party laundry services accountable for lost items. Because the wash cycles are indicated in the data, it also helps you make better decisions when to replace your linen.

Enhance Hotel Security

It may not be obvious how security reduces costs, because you will need to spend on software and hardware to implement this in your hotel. By deterring criminals and improving your hotel’s impression on guests, you will reap huge savings. In the long run, this will decrease your expenses on forced doors, stolen items, and unsatisfied customers.

To do this, you need an Integrated Security Management Solution. Because it combines features such as a door access system, intrusion alarm monitoring, lift access control, and more, you don’t have to purchase multiple software to keep your hotel safe.

Key Takeaway

Once you have implemented all of these tips, you can make a better plan for the future. Whether you have to change your business strategy or adapt to new technology, make sure that all of these decisions will make your company future-proof. By finding ways how hotels can minimize costs during the pandemic, you can benefit from the savings once everything returns to normal.