Using Effective Asset Management to Recover 73% Drop in Revenues from the Hotel Industry

In the UK, the hotel industry revenues have plummeted by 73% and the businesses are still trying to recover from the pandemic.

The hospitality sector is one of the most dependable industries on customer satisfaction. Hotels heavily rely on their reputation to encourage new and returning guests to spend their money and increase revenue. Impressed guests can be a fantastic and free way to market their business through guest reviews, social media posts and recommendations.

However, it can be difficult to put most of the staff effort into the guest experience when managing a hotel, especially if these hotels are spread across multiple sites. Operations must run smoothly and efficiently so there aren’t any last-minute issues that come up such as maintenance problems or lost valuable items or equipment. Issues like these can quickly overwhelm staff and not only take their attention away from guest experience, but these problems can directly affect customers as well.

Improving guest experience by improving visibility of assets

The two key guest experiences that drive a hotel’s popularity are rooms and corporate events.

Rooms require efficient cleaning and managing of room assets on a daily basis whereas with corporate events, the layout of the event, seating arrangement and audio/video presentation often becomes important.

Both type of guest experiences require complete visibility of hotel’s assets. Quite often the bottleneck is visibility and status of assets which creates communication issues.

Hotel managers can use asset management software to monitor and track assets. This means that the visibility of assets is improved and staff can see the number of items available such as glassware or bedding. By having this information to hand, any maintenance issues can be flagged ahead of time and managers can plan service on vital equipment as and when it is needed.

Using KPIs to improve maintenance strategies

Hotel managers can make use of key performance indicators (KPIs) to manage the many assets that come into play in a hotel. Hotel staff can easily monitor physical assets and asset data as well as resolve any maintenance problems.

If there is a maintenance issue in a hotel, an asset management system can help support engineers to report what work they have done and how long it took them to do it. Managers and engineers can stay connected and communicate about what maintenance needs to be done that day such as fixing the lighting in a hotel room or replacing a toilet seat.

Many engineers often work on different maintenance requests, possibly across multiple sites. Using this software to stay connected is critical in efficient operations and providing guests with a comfortable stay.

Regarding housekeeping, many fixed assets need to be tracked and maintained such as carts and vacuums. Maintenance managers can keep on top of what is available and what needs repairing before it can directly affect guests.

For instance, if a piece of equipment needs to be fixed such as a washing machine you can schedule maintenance during quieter periods so when it is needed, there aren’t any unexpected errors that impact operations.

Preventing shrinkage by tracking valuable items

Hotel managers can reduce the number of valuable items that are stolen such as wooden coat hangers and art by placing asset tags on items. Valuable assets can be monitored and easily recovered if stolen or misplaced.

In a survey by OpenKey, hotels waste roughly $1000 per month on lost and discarded RFID keycards.

By using asset tags, hotels can save on financial losses. It can also be easier to claim insurance on lost equipment or claim compensation from anyone responsible for their disappearance. Hotel owners can also gain insight into identifying inconsistencies in the usage of assets, which means that managers can develop new strategies in their operations to overcome any problem areas.

This can also help manage gift shops in a hotel. A shop or spa is a great way to increase revenue and adds to the overall customer experience. Asset management software organises and tracks inventory levels along with purchase orders. This means that staff can easily keep track of stock levels and reorder items when necessary. Keeping on top of an inventory is crucial to any business.

Maintaining an organised hotel with reduced errors in operations

When taking a detailed approach to how assets are managed, a hotel is organised and errors are massively reduced. This creates a better work environment for employees as well as a calm and maintained atmosphere for guests.

If a business is disorganized and staff are overwhelmed, customers will notice. In the hotel industry, guests want to pay for a comforting and undisturbed stay.

The use of asset management software plays a pivotal role here. It allows hotel managers to run operations as smoothly as possible, knowing that assets are maintained and operating at optimal performance. Any concerns for lost or stolen physcial items are also reduced, with the ability to track keys, remotes, bedding, and more.

Instead, managers can put even more effort into their customer service, ensuringguests have a pleasant experience.

Hotels will build a reputation for themselves for being a great place to stay, and not only will this bring in more revenue, it will also guarantee happy customers.

Prasanna Kulkarni
Product Architect