After the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine, hotels found themselves in a situation for which they were not ready, and in which there could not be worked out algorithms. Further, the need for coordinated work of the team and the presence of an empowered leader played a role. For him, the most important thing is the ability to take responsibility and give a sense of control over the situation to both the guests and the team. It was mainly thanks to this approach that hotel facilities were able to survive.

Process optimization

The owners of the hotel business had to work hard to optimize costs in order to keep the hotel keep working. This period required a rethinking of actions. In the current period, the following main ways of saving can be distinguished:

  1. Multifunctional staff. It is necessary to attract a minimum number of employees who can perform many functions. This is especially true for professions with similar functional responsibilities: a waiter and a restaurant administrator, a hotel manager and a reservation or sales department.

  1. Revision of supplies. To reduce costs, you need to transfer the restaurant to local products. You also need to question all the numbers of suppliers with whom you have been working for a long time, update the offers of other companies, do not make decisions on the purchase of something if you do not have at least three offers from different companies. Be attentive to the technical tasks of the supplier, provide him with your requirements for the quality of the necessary goods or services, and do everything to get the best price.
  2. Thoughtful settlement. It is necessary to optimize the settlement of guests by floor, this can significantly save on utility costs.
  3. Resources optimization. One of the options for controlling consumption is the issuance of drinking water only upon arrival, then the installation of water coolers on the floors and in the lobby. In addition, you can offer an assortment of mini-bar around the clock at the reception. This will optimize inventory and time spent on maintenance.
  4. Plan and predict. Planning is a must. Of course, this is not a budget for a year, but for a quarter, two months, or at least a month, it is worth doing.
  5. Pay attention to every number. It is necessary to check each figure in terms of its relevance, as well as how you can reduce costs, monetize additional services. At present, all metrics and occupancy cost correlation are important.
  6. Dynamic pricing. You should actively use dynamic pricing, which allows you to experiment with prices, go from the lowest to the highest price, depending on the load.
  7. Consumption of fuel and electricity. If the hotel runs on a generator, it is imperative to keep a record of these costs on a daily basis, and not only in terms of recording, but also to analyze them depending on the occupancy. It is necessary to transfer processes that require large amounts of electricity to a time when there is electricity.

In the photo: apart-hotel WOL.121 (Odessa)

Changing the approach to the service

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the structure of the hotel service has changed. “Now more than ever, we need to pay attention to service defects. Currently, not a WOW service, but a sorry service comes to the fore. And if earlier service standards were more important, and the main task was to prevent certain failures in work, now it is difficult to predict such situations, therefore it is the work standards in such cases that are very important and tell the guest a lot about the service,” said Yulia Kosenko, expert service, hotel consultant. According to her, it is necessary to review each business process, identify possible problems that may be caused, including by external factors, and model behavioral options if they occur.

“Now the most important rule in the work of hotels is taking care of the guest. People have become vulnerable and anxious, so they need to provide the effect of security and tranquility in hotels,” commented Elena Shulika, a hotel expert. When making certain decisions about the operation of the hotel, it is worth putting people's feelings as a priority. “When we don’t do what is convenient for us, but think about whether it will be convenient for the guests, then there is both occupancy and good reviews. This mainly concerns the details - the mode of operation of various services, the format of settlement and eviction, the operation of the room service, etc. Including from the current one - it is worth informing guests about the operating mode of the generator and what services are available at the same time, ”shared Yulia Kosenko.

In the photo: apart-hotel WOL.121 (Odessa)

According to Elena Shulika, now we can distinguish such factors that make a guest's stay in a hotel more comfortable:

In the photo: apart-hotel WOL.121 (Odessa)

Marketing Tools

The full-scale war also changed the approach to hotel marketing. Now, much of what worked before does not work as we would like. “The first thing that should be changed during the war is the mechanics of sales. Now there is no way to wait until the guests themselves find the object and book a room, you need to use every opportunity to invite them to your place. If we talk about resort hotels, then potential guests behave more restrained. If earlier they were looking for places to stay on their own, now they are more likely to mention a vacation when they see a corresponding offer from a hotel,” said Yulia Kosenko.

Since the number of search queries has decreased, contextual advertising now works worse. Therefore, all activity should be aimed at reminding a person of himself. According to the expert, working with the existing database of hotel guests is especially effective now. You should remind them of yourself, create closed sales, and return them to the hotel.

Operational management of the Ribas Hotels Group hotel. More details follow the link.

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