Insights From a Luxury Hotelier Part I: Boosting Your Hotel’s Recovery Post Pandemic

A few weeks ago, I published the article "Beyond COVID-19: How we can proactively push forward as hoteliers," and I'm grateful my peers warmly received it.

Since then, I've been contemplating different ways I can continue to share practical suggestions that we've tested in the last couple of months. This post and the next one are intended to meet that end.

Here at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the reopening which took place a few weeks ago on July 3rd, 2020, was nothing short of glorious for me and my team. I'm sure many of you reading this know what I mean. However, it doesn't eliminate the fact that getting back to business is still riddled with ongoing challenges as travel restrictions and safety measures continue to be effective. 

In other words, even though we've reopened, it's a new business environment with new rules to abide by. Today's focus is going to be my insights on what I've learned and the improvements I've made and continue to make in our company's infrastructure to ensure cost control and revenue flow.

In the next post, I will shift focus and shine a spotlight on guest experience and the different approaches we're taking. Let me know below if any of what I share proves useful to you and feel free to share the strategy you're taking at your hotel.

Working in the luxury space across different properties and continents, I am aware luxury hospitality may not approach infrastructure in the same way other hotel properties do. So this isn't intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it is intended to stir up some creative thinking of your own.

Insight #1: How well do you understand your cost structure, and are you clear on your primary revenue streams?

I don't mean generally. This has to be a very detailed and clear understanding. I've gained a lot of clarity around my own cost structure and where my revenue is coming from in the last few months. 

I decided to get very critical and dig deeper into certain areas we might have been glossing over until now. In so doing, I've been able to adjust my cost control, for example, part stock, min/max number of staff assigned to execute tasks, etc.

I've also tightened up and clarified things such as my ad spend and how much I invest, as well as the return I get on said investment.

Insight #2: In times like these, you must perform the delicate balance of keeping the future vision intact while still being agile to deal with present moment developments.

By this, I mean that you need to be both visionary and practical as a leader. Your people need a reminder of the legacy your company stands for, and they also need the assurance of knowing you're proactive as things change day-by-day. 

I monitor closely incoming reservations (perhaps more closely than I ever have), and I'm empowering and engaging with my team hour by hour so we can make the best decisions to move us forward.

Now isn't the time to become aloof or distant. Demonstrating that you are proactive and seeking to bring back control is very important for your team and the entire staff.

Insight #3: Focus on taking action that fuels revenue.

Many areas of the hotel property may not be bringing in lots of revenue given current safety restrictions. Some of them might even be completely closed. So how do you start compensating for this? Focus on taking action where it can be rewarded. 

Get creative with this and use underutilized space, such as F&B outlets, to drive incremental revenue. In my case, we've taken it a step further and developed a system that also lets us track how advertising through social media impacts revenue in our Spa and F&B facilities.

Insight #4: Are you still trying to make the old system work? It might be time to change that.

There are going to be various departments that require some form of restriction. This might differ from property to property, and it's upon you to diligently look at your internal structure and figure out what's obsolete in our current business world. 

Once you do, strategically map out a new roadmap that will enable your people to work more efficiently. I've experienced this firsthand and had to restructure certain departments as well. 

By restructuring departments and improving system integration, we've created a more cohesive and functional team that continues to perform and deliver at the same high-level standards our brand stands for.

These are some of the key shifts we've made as we begin the journey to recovery in our industry. There are other significant changes we made to ensure our guest experience continues to be as remarkable as ever. I'll be sharing those insights on the next post.

See you there.

Franck.