Want to Increase Hotel Profitability? Start by Looking Where No One Wants to Look
Everyone loves to talk about RevPAR, labor cuts, and flashy upselling tools. But here's the hard truth: Real profitability isn’t hiding in trendy dashboards, it's buried beneath operational inefficiencies, neglected workflows, and overlooked details.
Want meaningful change? Roll up your sleeves and tackle the unglamorous work that genuinely moves the needle:
Fix the Friction
Start walking your property as if you're a guest, then as a housekeeper, and finally as an engineer. You’ll quickly uncover inefficiencies quietly draining your profits.
At one property, we found housekeepers spent 25 extra minutes daily fetching linens from a different floor. Simply relocating linen storage saved 10 labor hours per week, that's 520 hours annually.
Engineers at another hotel shifted to digital maintenance logs, reducing paperwork time by 40%, allowing them to complete repairs quicker, improving guest satisfaction.
Retrain the Front Line as Revenue Drivers
Your front desk team isn't just administrative, they're frontline salespeople.
At a property I managed, quick training sessions (less than 30 seconds each!) increased room upgrade revenue by 18% within two months. No scripts, just awareness, confidence, and practice.
Audit Your Packages and Pricing Strategies
Outdated romance or "stay and save" packages may no longer align with guest needs.
When we updated packages to align with actual guest preferences, like offering quiet rooms and premium coffee for weekday business travelers, we boosted ancillary revenue by 15%.
Make your packages relevant, clearly valuable, and easy to book.
Review of Your Service Promises
Are you delivering services guests don’t actually value?
One hotel I consulted ditched their costly fresh flower displays in favor of improving Wi-Fi speed and lobby freshness, directly increasing positive reviews by 22% and reducing overall guest complaints.
Listen closely to your guests. Prioritize your investments around their real priorities.
Give Your Department Heads P&L Ownership
Only the GM and controller understanding your numbers is a huge, missed opportunity.
At one resort, training our housekeeping supervisor on the impact of towel loss reduced laundry expenses by nearly $12,000 a year. Similarly, teaching our F&B lead about accurate pours improved beverage profitability by over 7%.
When your team understands their financial impact, they naturally become more conscientious and efficient.
The Bottom Line
True profitability isn’t flashy or quick. It requires clear priorities, operational discipline, and empowering your team with real knowledge.
Ready to uncover hidden profits at your hotel? Let's start the conversation today and tackle your specific operational challenges head-on.
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