Heads in beds? No problem. Boots on the ground? That’s another story. Let’s talk about your hotel’s staffing concerns and how an automated RMS can help.
Having recently returned from the HITEC convention and HSMAI’s Revenue Optimization Conference in Dallas, I am excited to report the hospitality industry is alive and hopping. Yes, we have some significant obstacles to overcome, but I am optimistic about the future of hotel business. Top of mind right now for many hoteliers I spoke with is the current shortage we face, and I’m not talking about demand—I’m talking about staffing.
The sad fact is a lot of hotels have had to find ways to cut corners and do more with less. So what can your hotel do without? You may have the demand but lack the personnel to service all your rooms or manage your ancillary revenue outlets. If you open up all your inventory, you run the risk of a lot of unhappy guests at check-in time. If you go from being a full-service to a limited-service operation, you could harm your brand reputation.
Of course, a full hotel isn’t necessarily a profitable hotel. That’s why inventory control and revenue management have never been more critical than right now, and with an unobtainable ample supply of skilled labor, automated technology is ready to rise to the occasion.
Keep Your Head Above Water
Even for hotels with a talented revenue manager still forecasting away and pumping out optimal rates, there’s only so much she or he can handle—especially when they’re being pulled every which way across a cluster and putting out fires left and right. And what happens when your hotel’s revenue hero moves on to their next opportunity?
Throughout my career specializing in hotel tech, I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go from hotels, but a sound investment in the right tools has proven to be the most consistently reliable solution a hotel needs to ride out any storm, be it economic downturn, pandemic lockdown, staffing turnover—or all three at once!
I joined IDeaS last fall. The pandemic was raging, and uncertainty levels were high, but what I saw in IDeaS was a leading technology provider that truly understood the industry it served and knew how to offer real help in the midst of an unforeseen crisis. IDeaS recognized early on that hotel teams were stretched thin and adapted its algorithms to improve the automated intelligence needed to respond faster and smarter to factors like shifting demand, inventory limitations, competitor pricing, and more.
“There’s no one human that can physically do what this product can do—there’s so much that goes into the algorithm.”
That’s a quote I love from an IDeaS’ client success story. It speaks exactly to why I believe so much in the power of IDeaS’ revenue science solutions. There’s just too much data to analyze all the time and too many decisions to be made every minute of every day—decisions about how to strategically set rates when half your rooms are out of order, how to evaluate group business inquiries against transient demand, or how much F&B and housekeeping staff you’ll need on hand over the next month.
IDeaS’ suite of automated, decision-making solutions will be your ever-ready, time-saving, machine-learning assistant (at least until R2 units become widely available in this galaxy). And on top of that, IDeaS boasts the most impressive offering of industry experts, technical support, and learning resources I’ve seen, so our clients never have to feel left to their own devices. Our IDeaS for Success program even sets each client up with their own dedicated advisor who will be there to guide you and collaborate with you on a regular basis, every step of the way.
The industry marches onward, but people come and go, and the ups and downs—unfortunately—are here to stay. Even in the best of times, this is a competitive, complex business to get right, and there’s no room for guesswork and gut-feelings anymore. So consider this the job applicant you’ve been waiting for and put some data behind your decision-making and an advanced RMS behind your front desk.
