Hotel Chain Management: An Easy Guide for Property Owners

John: You own three hotels? You must be earning a lot in revenue.

Henry: Not really, John. It was all sunshine and rainbows initially. But right now, I am selling one of my properties. It’s getting too hard to manage.

John: Oh, I am so sorry. But what exactly is the issue, if I may ask?

Henry: A lot of things went wrong, to be honest. Operating multiple properties without a robust plan did take a toll on the business.

John: I understand. After all the industry is so competitive. It’s evident for any accommodation business to face such stumbling blocks.  

Henry: That’s why I am currently working with various experts to keep my other two hotels performing at a great level.

John: That’s really great, Henry. 

I am sure many of you would agree that it takes something beyond generic strategies to successfully run hotel chains. It all looks fancy from the outside when you see a hotelier who runs multiple properties. But what goes behind the scenes is never visible to the outside.

To help you, at least a bit, I am listing a few crucial pointers in this article.

Hotel Chain Management Is Difficult

There is a massive difference between managing a single independent property and managing multiple hotels.

I am not saying managing a single hotel is easier. However, the efforts required to efficiently run multiple hotels are more than that because there are various aspects involved.

Let me give you an example.

Maihang, a famous hotel in Assam, India has three different properties across the state. Considering the services and the location of each property, the hotel’s revenue is great. But the challenge with multi-properties like Maihang is that it comes under one brand and that’s the reason hotel managers always ensure that the brand name is never negatively affected.

Because a small issue in any of the properties can quickly compound and go on to impact the brand image as a whole. As a result, the hotel may witness a negative influence in bookings across all its properties.

This is just one of the many stumbling blocks of managing multiple hotels, there are various other aspects such as organizing bookings, accessing information in real-time, management complexities, etc.

And this brings me to the next point…

How Can a Hotelier Manage Multiple Properties Effectively?

To manage multiple properties at the same time, there has to be a strategy in place. Now, this strategy includes a set of fail-safe actions. Let’s look at each of them.  

1. Establish a culture of open communication

When a hotel has multiple properties, the workload increases for employees. And the load is much more when the properties are in close proximity because employees might have to juggle between the properties.

In such scenarios, it is common for someone to feel anxious, frustrated, and burned out. But this can be coped with if the hotel offers open communication, a platform where employees can speak on matters.

Be it a single independent hotel, a chain of properties, or any other business for that matter, open communication is all about building a culture of trust and confidence. And that further leads to a more engaged, trusting, and productive team of employees which is important for hotel business to succeed.

I agree that head honchos cannot be available all the time.

But is it difficult to form a hierarchy that can encourage open communication?

I am sure it is not.

2. Divide management responsibilities properly

Speaking of hierarchy, division of management responsibilities isn’t always done right in most hotels.

In most hotels, it can be seen that the staff responsibilities are divided keeping every detail in mind. However, the same and multi-property hotels overlook the imperativeness of dividing management responsibilities.

When you are operating more than one property, you must have multiple managerial roles for each department. When there’s an efficient leader for a team, it tends to perform much better and achieve more.

Taking such an approach allows you to build a culture sans silos of “my task,” or “your task”. Rather enable your teams to work together to improve your multi-property hotel business.

Word to the wise: Assign managerial positions to credible ones. Otherwise, you might end up having leaders who can never pull the trigger on making decisions.

In addition, you can outsource housekeeping staff for your hotel management. This takes the burden off your shoulders and also ensures proper management.

3. Provide top-level training to your staff

When it comes to hotel chain management, the staff wears multiple hats. And for that, they need training on all the aspects of the hotel.

But what should be the training regime?

Let me explain with an example of Hotel Maihang again.

Maihang has a very different staff training module. Whenever a person joins the hotel across any of its properties, s/he is sent to the hotel’s dedicated training center where the candidate spends a certain number of days learning the nitty-gritty of the hotel. And once the training is completed, s/he is deployed at the designated property.

Now, most of the staff have transferable jobs. This means the hotel can transfer them from one property to another and also to a different role.

And that’s the reason Maihang emphasizes staff training. The hotel believes that staff should be able to step into a role whenever required. Also, it helps them get their hands on aspects out of their domain and excel in their career.

What’s more interesting about Maihang’s training module is that it has invested in e-training as well. Every staff has access to a tablet on the property where they can learn from the hotel’s dedicated e-training app.

4. Invest enough time and effort to create an employee roster

Do you have a roster for your hotel staff? Nope?

You might want to get one ASAP.

While there are various benefits of having a hotel staff roster, I want to focus on the employee’s part.

For a hotel staff to work efficiently and happily, it is important to offer him/her enough time to rest and relax without having to worry about work.

A concisely created employee roster allows a hotel to keep operating at a consistent pace during all the hours of the day without staff shortage and ensures that the employees off work get enough time to rejuvenate.

For example, hotels with more than one property in the same vicinity sometimes require staff from the other property to assist them. But what if everyone is occupied? Well, this is where a roster comes in. With the help of a roster, you can also keep hotel staff on standby. Meaning, the staff might get called if required.

5. Place self-service kiosks at all your properties

Talking about staff shortage, sometimes, it requires a different approach.

Maybe you don’t want to bother any employee, even if they are on standby. I know it’s unlikely, but let’s consider, whatsoever.

No? Okay, let’s go with another scenario.

How about automating the check-in process at your hotel?

Guests walk into your property and check themselves in, without needing any human staff.

Sounds intriguing, right?

Well, this is possible and a lot of properties are already doing it with the help of self-service kiosks.  From choosing a language, making payment, scanning IDs to getting a room card, many self-service kiosks help guests with everything within minutes and without any hassle.

See, hotel chain management isn’t easy but it isn’t that difficult. There are always solutions available.

6. Work with experienced revenue management experts

At the end of the day, hotel revenue matters the most.

But is it that easy to achieve?

Do multi-property hotels have an advantage over individual hotels?  

Not true. Rather, hotel brands with multiple properties witness more stumbling blocks than individual ones while creating a revenue strategy. After all, there are so many aspects to consider.

And even if you manage to create one, the chances of discrepancies are way higher.

When you’re running a hotel business with more than one property, the best decision is to work with qualified revenue management professionals.

If required, set up an entire revenue management department that works for all of your properties.

From customer segmentation, demand forecasting, inventory management, to applying dynamic pricing, the hotel revenue management department will work on everything, without leaving a stone unturned.

Want to learn in-depth about it? Check out this revenue management archive.

7. Deploy a cloud-based multi-property management system

Yes, we are talking technology again. And why not? After all, it not only saves you money but also helps you double it.

So, here’s the deal with a cloud-based hotel chain management system.

Imagine you own two hotels and you use two different systems to manage them. Further, you also require a lot of time to sync data from both systems.

Isn’t this a tedious task?

But what if you could manage both of your hotels with just one system and one single dashboard?

A cloud-based multi-property management software lets you manage multiple properties from a single dashboard. Whether you want to handle your hotel group’s reservations, housekeeping, marketing, guest engagement, or inventory distribution, everything can be done without any hassles.

What if I have 10 properties? Will the system still work the same way?

Doesn’t matter how many hotels you have, take control of each operation of every property of your hotel chain.

Not to mention, being a cloud-based system it even eliminates labor and maintenance costs, and the need for a rack of computers wired up somewhere in a corner.

8. Use a mobile property management system

Now, how about topping up the technological aspect with the help of a mobile PMS app.

You heard it right.

A mobile PMS lets you manage your hotel on the go, from anywhere and anytime.

Be it about checking the booking flow, assigning tasks, handling inventory, settling folios, or checking reports, the app lets you take care of your hotel’s operations conveniently from a smartphone.

It makes hotel management (including hotel chain management) extremely easy.

If you haven’t given it a try, it is high time to do so.

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