Many owners have learned over the years that operating hotels successfully is far more complicated than they may have originally thought.  This can sometimes be a painful and costly lesson, as such dynamics as market performance, dependence on demand generators, and cutthroat competition can all lead to challenges in achieving pre-opening or pre-acquisition pro formas.  For owners and prospective owners, it is crucial that there is a deep understanding not only of what has been promised in terms of performance, but the reality of such promises.  Before getting too far down the road of acquisition or new construction, owners and investors need to be able to “peel back the onion” to get far deeper into the detail of what is being projected for their asset, what is the reality of such projections, and who is best equipped to deliver those projections.

The messages and the principles that define our brands are more convoluted than ever.  New hotel brands appear on an almost daily basis, and the ability for the customer (and even ourselves !) to distinguish between brands becomes increasingly challenging as well.  As an industry, we cannot lose site of the fact that customers do not necessarily accept ‘new’ as ‘better’ and if the definition of that which is ‘new’ isn’t clear, that customer will likely revert to that which they already know.

In today’s ultra-competitive hotel universe, the art and the science of revenue management plays an enormously important role.  We analyze data, we debate strategies, we execute tactics, all in the interest of maximizing our revenue performance on a daily basis.  However, less prominent in strategic revenue management conversations is the effect of these pricing decisions on our customer mix.

Recently, there has been much attention paid to the concept of ‘inclusion.’    Do you understand this concept well enough to be able to say that your business is truly ‘inclusive?’  It seems simple enough; given an opportunity to include people, whether they be guests, colleagues, or associates, we should endeavor to be proactive and to follow the approach that a fundamental of hospitality is that we should always strive to work harder and dig deeper to understand and appreciate those around us.

Do you know how to identify specific markets, segments, and/or accounts that are currently doing business in your competitive set?  Think before you answer; if you know of business that is in your set, that’s a good start, but knowing that it’s there does not, of itself, represent a plan to steal that business. 

It seems fundamental enough; do we understand who our competition is, and do we understand why?  Despite the apparent simplicity of these questions, it should surprise no one to know that there are numerous interpretations of competition, and this manifests itself in many ways in how we do business.

As industry leaders, we focus on how we did vs. various metrics, such as same time last year, budget, forecast etc.  When we dig deeper into those comparisons, one of the places that we land is in the realm of our Sales Departments, where we look closely (or should !) at the performance of our individual Sales team members.  How did each do this month?  Did they achieve their goals?  Did they miss?  Do they (do we) understand the reasons why?

As we get down to the final days of 2016, many have already compiled their resolutions for the coming year.  Whether you’ve already done so, or (like us) haven’t quite gotten there yet, we’d like to add some thoughts to the list of possible “must do’s” for the coming year.