How to manage your hotel in a time of crisis — The complete survival guide!

In times of crisis, such as pandemics, wars, financial meltdowns, climate crises, and refugee crises, hoteliers face unique challenges. It is crucial for hotel owners and managers to be prepared and adapt their strategies to effectively navigate these challenging situations. In this article, we will discuss steps that can be taken to manage your hotel during times of crisis.

Note : This article is a special page aiming at being the most comprehensive guide to helping hoteliers navigate a crisis and its recovery. It was started in 2020 to face the covid-19 pandemic and it is still used by hoteliers all over the world. It will be updated regularly.

Have the Right Protocols in Place

During any crisis, it's essential to stay updated with government guidelines and adjust your operations accordingly. Develop a comprehensive plan to address the crisis and communicate critical information to guests and staff.

Implement Safety Protocols

In situations like a pandemic or war, the safety of guests and staff is paramount. Implement measures like social distancing, protective gear, and displaying health and safety guidelines to minimize the risk of infection or harm.

Guests and Staff Health & Safety

Ensure that your property has adequate measures in place to protect guests and staff during interactions. Keep a stock of masks, gloves, sanitizers, and special cleaning equipment. Conduct regular checks, such as temperature screenings, and communicate the safety measures being taken to guests and staff.

Review Your Financials

During a crisis, your financial plans may require adjustments to account for changing circumstances. Assess the impact, develop contingency plans, and optimize expenses wherever possible. Focus on accurate revenue forecasting to make informed decisions about spending, hiring, and operations.

Assess the Impact

Understanding the impact of the crisis on your business is vital for creating a recovery strategy. Set realistic expectations and KPIs based on the situation and any assistance available from the government.

It’s possible that you’re already trying to come up with new financial plans. Don’t forget to check on how your local government is trying to help.

Have a contingency Plan Ready

Develop a contingency plan that considers the potential long-term effects of the crisis on your business. This plan should include measures to reduce costs, optimize operations, and maintain business continuity. Drastic actions might be needed to ensure business continuity. You could consider a few steps for an effective contingency plan.

The most important step is to come up with a (as accurate as possible) revenue forecast for the coming months. What’s the estimated downfall? -20%? -40%? -60%? Or is it a upswing? It will allow you to set realistic expectations.

Depending on estimates, you’ll be able to:

• Review and reduce non-essential spending
• Freeze hiring new positions and schedule or reschedule vacations accordingly
• Reduce labor cost and operating hours

Alternatively in case of upswing; you should plan for bigger budgets wherever additional expenses might occur, and offering overtime opportunities to your employees.

Optimize Expenses Wherever Possible

Negotiate new contracts and payment plans with suppliers and service providers to ensure that you're getting the best possible terms during the crisis. Consider adopting automation to streamline operations and reduce labor costs. Technology, Marketing and Operational costs can often be cut smartly, without affecting day to day operations.

Implement Practical Revenue Management

During a crisis, make rational decisions to maintain business continuity. Analyze data and review room rates to ensure that they remain competitive. Avoid going too low with room rates to prevent damaging your brand reputation. Offer value-added packages that include additional services or amenities.

While the option to crib about the past is always open, consider this to be an opportunity to adapt and succeed. There’s tremendous power in innovation, technology, and determination. Try to focus on new methods and take a holistic approach to Revenue Management.

Don’t Go Too Low with Room Rates

Going ahead, you’ll need to constantly review your rates and most probably lower them. You will need to be reactive, flexible and level headed: there will be swings in prices because some competitors will panic and you need to be ready for that.

While it’s the right time to offer discounts and promotions, you shouldn’t go too low: think about your hotel positioning and make sure you don’t damage your brand.

Demand will not be related to prices: people will be travelling only when they must and they will choose their hotels based on other factors than rooms being at the lowest prices.

Try to offer value-added packages, which obscure your rates with add-ons and extras: include a ‘Free Breakfast’, or offer a ‘pay for 2 nights stay for 3’ package.

Improve Your Pricing Management

For the next few months, you’ll have to monitor and optimize performance on a regular basis, more frequently than ever. In order to survive, you need to create the right promotions at the right time, and distribute them via appropriate channels.

Compared to the ‘normal’ days, this is a good time to start using a Revenue Management System. It will help you manage pricing automatically, and should automate several aspects of  Revenue Management. If you aren’t already using a Revenue Management System,  here’s our list of the top 10 tools.

Update Your Online Distribution

Adjust your distribution strategy to focus on guest-friendly policies and direct booking channels. Update cancellation policies to be more flexible and encourage modifications rather than full cancellations. Review OTA listings and prioritize direct bookings to reduce reliance on third-party platforms.

Update Cancellations Policies

Flexible policies are the new ‘normal’. In unprecedented situation,  you can’t blame the guests for wanting transparent and flexible cancellation and modification policies. In order to maintain ‘Cash Flow’, you can create 2 different products:

• Advance Purchase - Pay now, 10-20% discount, with a fully flexible modification policy
• Book now / pay later, and cancel up to 1 day before arrival

Finally, make sure you encourage a change of dates rather than full cancellation of the stay.

Review Your OTA listings

It’s important to maximize your distribution channels. You need to keep a full inventory without any restrictions on all OTA channels. It’s necessary to check different channels and ensure they’re perfectly set up with guest-friendly policies. Your OTA rates should maintain parity with the official website!

As Always: Think Direct

OTAs weren’t really your best assets before the crisis, they won’t be either going forward. Make sure to do everything in your power to reduce reliance on OTAs: make sure your Direct Channels provide guests with the best offer.

Whether it’s the offers you create or the facilities you provide, proper communication is the key to building guest loyalty. Give your guests compelling and clear reasons to book directly on your own official website.

Here’s our full guide:  10 ways to increase direct bookings and pay less commissions.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!

During uncertain times, it's crucial to increase your marketing efforts to focus on brand awareness and attract more guests. Ensure your communication is transparent, truthful, and timely. Create a new marketing action plan that includes updating your website and online presence, building a communication strategy with new posts, engaging social media campaigns, and informative videos.

With affordable CPC and targeted marketing, you can reach people already planning their next vacation or business trip.

Just remember that you need to be:

• Transparent : to build and reinforce credibility,
• Truthful : to gain public trust,
• Timely : to be authentic and accurate.

Make a New Marketing Action Plan

It’s likely you will need a completely new ‘Marketing Action Plan’ with new strategies. We’ve got you covered! Here’s where to start:  How to create a Hotel Marketing Plan

Once you’ve set up a ‘Marketing Action Plan’, you need proper implementation to make sure everything is communicated clearly to potential guests.

Build a Communication Strategy

Keep your website up-to-date by refreshing your FAQ page, revising website copy for relevance, and using banners and pop-ups to communicate key information. Update your Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, and other online platforms, along with business hours and relevant information.

• Create new posts on your website :Think valuable and entertaining editorial content.
• Start a new ‘Social Media Campaign’ :Think fresh, informative and compelling content that will resonate with your guests. Here's a few concrete tips and examples of  what to post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• Create and share videos :Why not show how you’re handling the crisis? Here's  how to create a video campaign on social media.

Update Your Website & Online Presence

Keep your website up-to-date by refreshing your FAQ page, revising website copy for relevance, and using banners and pop-ups to communicate key information. Update your Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, and other online platforms, along with business hours and relevant information.

Focus on PPC Advertising

Invest in Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram campaigns to reach your target audience effectively. A well-managed Google Ads campaign can be a cost-effective solution to maximize ROI.

You can find some more information about  running a Google Ads Campaign in our Learning Center.

Engage with Potential Guests and Partners, old and New

Build rapport with your existing clients by offering them advance purchase discounts and communicating your health and safety practices clearly.

Touch base with partners and vendors to maintain relationships and explore new opportunities for collaboration.

As the market changes, it's essential to adapt your business strategy to cater to different customer segments. Focus on the right customers, reach out to regular guests with offers, and maintain relationships with your partners.

Touch Base with Your Partners

Use the time on your hands to nurture partnerships. After all, we’re in this together! Reach out to partners and vendors via emails, calls or visits.

You should offer the possibility of new contracts to your favourite travel agencies and local businesses.  When business picks-up, you should be the first one they call.

Develop Domestic, Sustainable Trade

In order to develop the domestic market, you could consider reviewing your website Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing to geo-target local guests.

A few pages of new content on your website coupled with targeted ads can bring in a lot of interest.

Provide Assistance to Your Community

Offer affordable rates or complimentary rooms to workers and volunteers who need a place to stay. This goodwill gesture can help your hotel recover faster once things return to normal.

Reinventing Your Hotel Business

In the face of new challenges, be prepared to reinvent your hotel business by exploring new revenue streams, such as offering discounts to professionals workers, providing long haul stays, or opening your kitchen to online delivery services.

Focus on automation to make processes more efficient and consider implementing contactless check-in options and communication systems.

There’s a million ways to keep your business going and it’s going to be key to your recovery! 

If rooms are empty, you might need to look for completely new revenue streams.

• Offer discounts to professionals workers or/and volunteers,
• Switch to long haul stays or medium-term guests
• Open your kitchen to online delivery services
• Contact the local chamber of commerce and see how they can help
• Contact local charities and see if they need help, etc.

Embrace Automation and New Technologies

Upgrade your technology stack by investing in a new Property Management System (PMS), and make sure your processes are as efficient as possible. Consider fully digital check-in options, instant communication chat systems, and Revenue Management Systems to help you price rooms based on real-time data.

Make sure your processes are as efficient as possible: from getting a new guest through your website to the check-in process and the post stay email, there should be as little steps as possible.

Consider  fully digital check-in options with pre-arrival web check-in or by  getting a kiosk at the reception. The guest journey should be smooth, convenient, and pleasant. This will greatly reduce day-to-day friction and you will be able to allocate staff to more important tasks.

You could look at implementing an instant communication chat system to  enable your staff & guests to easily communicate with the same efficiency of an in person conversation.

You should also look at Revenue Management Systems to  help you price rooms based on real time data without relying on last year’s numbers. It’s a good way to save costs and increase sales at the same time!

Algorithms are here to help you handle day-to-day adjustments, and allow you to focus on the big picture strategy and manage by exception. Here are HotelMinder  Best Revenue Management Systems (RMS).

Stay Calm and Remaining Flexible

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It's essential to be adaptable and dependable in the face of changing circumstances. For thousands of years, human will has overcome obstacles. If there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s the fact that we will overcome this, sooner or later.

By following our guidelines, you can better prepare your hotel for the post-pandemic world and ensure a smoother recovery. Be proactive, adaptable, and open to reinvention to stay ahead in the ever-changing hospitality industry.

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