This Is Why The Hospitality Sector Is Suffering

The hospitality industry has faced its own set of unique challenges over the last 2 years but has it opened a pandora’s box of issues that won’t simply fizzle away once the pandemic situation settles? Let’s take a closer look…

Business Expenses On The Rise?

There are fixed and variable costs for every hospitality business. Stock levels, casual staff coverage, and IT services can fluctuate throughout the seasons and depend on individual circumstances. Rent, bills, and salaries are non-variable expenses.

But what if you could have a more structured expense system for your fluctuating costs? Things like internet bills, IT support and telephone bills don’t have to suddenly skyrocket when you least expect it.

Businesses like Astaris provide ProactiveIT Support Packages to keep your IT bills to a minimum. Everything from kit installation,VoIP telephone systems, ongoing support, and maintenance all wrapped up into one bundle with a set monthly cost, no more surprises!

Keeping Chairs Full

Occupancy is a big deal for the hospitality industry. Most hospitality businesses require a minimum of 40% occupancy to break even, but breaking even isn’t the goal, the goal is profit. So it poses the question what can your business do to ensure you are fully booked all year round?

It all comes down to promotion. We live in a society where everything is at our fingertips, and there is a sea of competitors getting in front of the eyes of your customers, so if you can’t beat them, join them!Â

Getting on board with social media trends and taking full advantage of the digital channels accessible to you is a good place to start. Get on all relevant social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook are a must) take some pretty pictures and get posting. Showcase all the best bits of your business, do you serve great food? Post it. Fun and colourful cocktails? Post it. Is your venue aesthetically pleasing and insta story-worthy? Post it.

Millennials have officially overtaken the baby boomers and social media is one of the best ways to get in front of them and get your booking system full.

Talking of booking systems, online booking systems and popular apps like Open Table is a great idea too as it makes booking tables much easier for your customer (just make sure your systems arePCI compliant!)

Getting To Grips With Technology

Knowing what tech is actually going to revolutionise an industry and what is just a cash grab can be really difficult to judge.

Some technologies are very new but don’t appear to be a short-term solution to modern-day issues. Digital check-in, providing good guestWiFi (check out the benefits of this for you here), and contactless payments may be a few of the things that won’t go away post-pandemic, so it’s important to keep in the loop and up to date.

As we discussed earlier, a reliable and proactiveIT support package is definitely a good investment.

Other advanced digital technologies may be ‘nice to have’ if it’s within your budget. But may not be essential for the day-to-day running of your business. If you do have the budget and want to invest in some innovative technology, check out thisarticlefor all the latest technologies in the hospitality industry.

Getting The Staff, And Keeping Them

The hospitality industry has suffered increasingly since the pandemic, with on average â…“ of staff quitting their job in hospitality after just 6 months.

Getting and keeping the good ones is in everyone’s best interest so here are a few tips:

• Be selective about who you hire, it may be easier in the short term to just hire anyone but finding the right people for your business who are likely to be more loyal, is a better long-term approach overall.
• Create a positive working environment for your staff, this can be difficult in a fast-paced hospitality business, but keeping your staff happy is a great way to improve staff retention.
• Incentivise, hospitality staff can quickly become unmotivated. With unsocial hours, commonly low pay it’s important to create incentives to keep your staff motivated and overall positive attitudes within the team.
• Provide appropriate training, throwing anyone in at the deep end is a recipe for disaster. Creating a buddy system or a set-in-stone training program will ensure your getting the best out of your staff, and they feel confident in their role.
• When you find good staff, pay them to keep them!

Start incorporating these methods into your hospitality and start making the most of trading again!