In the rapidly evolving hospitality sector between 2025 and 2030, hotel owners face a whirlwind of technological advancements, shifting consumer preferences, and operational hurdles. Embracing these changes is no longer optional but is essential for staying competitive and ensuring sustainable growth. This blog post delves into the key challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, offering strategies and insights for navigating this transformative period, with a spotlight on how innovative solutions can pave the way to success.

The Changing Landscape of Hospitality

The hospitality industry is undergoing a seismic shift driven by technological disruptions, emerging accommodation models, and evolving guest expectations. Hotel owners must adapt to these changes to remain relevant and competitive. Innovation and strategic planning are now more critical than ever to thrive in this dynamic environment. The insights and strategies in this article are designed to help navigate these challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Key Challenges and Disruptions

These challenges encompass new technologies (AI, automation), alternative lodging options (Airbnb, micro-hotels), workforce management issues, and the rising importance of sustainability. Addressing these disruptions requires a multifaceted approach that includes investing in technology, refining operational strategies, and enhancing guest experiences. Those who don’t adjust risk falling behind in a market characterized by heightened expectations and fierce competition.

The imperative of continuous adaptation in the face of evolving consumer behavior.

Adapting swiftly to changing consumer preferences is paramount for hotel owners aiming to thrive in the evolving hospitality landscape. Consumer behavior is dynamic, influenced by technological advancements, economic conditions, and evolving lifestyle trends. Hotel owners must develop strategies to anticipate and respond to these shifts effectively.

Leveraging Data Analytics for Behavioral Insights

Data analytics is an indispensable tool for understanding consumer behavior. By analyzing various data points, hotels can gain insights into guest preferences, booking patterns, and spending habits. This information enables hotels to tailor services, personalize experiences, and optimize pricing strategies to meet customer needs effectively.

Sources of Data

• Online Booking Data: Analyzing booking patterns, lead times, and demographic information.
• Guest Feedback: Monitoring reviews, surveys, and social media comments.
• Website Analytics: Tracking user behavior on hotel websites, including page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
• CRM Systems: Utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to collect and analyze customer interactions.

Enhancing Personalization Through Technology

Personalization is a key differentiator in today’s competitive hospitality market. Technology enables hotels to deliver customized experiences that resonate with individual guests. AI-powered recommendation engines can suggest personalized offers, while chatbots provide instant customer support. The more a hotel can cater to individual preferences, the higher the likelihood of repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.

Examples of Personalization

• Customized Room Preferences: Offering preferred room types, amenities, and views.
• Tailored Dining Recommendations: Suggesting restaurants and dishes based on dietary restrictions and preferences.
• Personalized Activity Recommendations: Proposing local attractions and activities aligned with guest interests.
• Loyalty Programs: Rewarding repeat guests with exclusive perks and discounts.

Embracing Flexibility in Service Offerings

Flexibility is crucial in meeting the diverse needs of today’s travelers. Hotels should be prepared to adapt their service offerings to accommodate changing demands. This includes offering flexible booking policies, customizable packages, and a range of accommodation options.

Strategies for Enhancing Flexibility

• Flexible Booking Policies: Allowing guests to modify or cancel reservations without penalty.
• Customizable Packages: Offering packages that can be tailored to individual preferences and budgets.
• Diverse Accommodation Options: Providing a range of room types and configurations to suit different needs.
• On-Demand Services: Offering services that can be accessed and customized based on guest requirements.

Technological Disruption in Hospitality

Technology is no longer a mere support function but a core driver of innovation and efficiency in the hospitality industry. From AI-driven guest experiences to smart property management solutions, technology is reshaping every aspect of hotel operations. Embracing these advancements can help hotel owners streamline processes, reduce costs, and elevate the guest experience to new heights.

Read more: Vision 2030: Future-proofing Hospitality Businesses

AI and Automation Trends

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are revolutionizing the guest experience by adding touchpoints that personalize and streamline service like never before. According to “Hospitality Technology,” AI-driven guest services will define the next generation of service optimization that ensures efficiency and satisfaction.

AI-Driven Guest Experiences

AI-powered chatbots offer instant customer service, while personalized recommendations enhance guest satisfaction. Automated check-in systems reduce wait times, providing a seamless arrival experience. Such technologies not only improve guest satisfaction but also free up staff to focus on more complex tasks.

Automated Check-In and Personalization

Automated check-in kiosks and mobile check-in options are becoming increasingly popular, reducing lines and providing a convenient way for guests to start their stay. AI-driven personalization tailors recommendations for dining, activities, and amenities, enhancing the overall guest experience. According to “Skift,” over 60% of guests prefer hotels to leverage data to personalize their stay.

Predictive Maintenance and Operational Efficiency

AI also plays a crucial role in predictive maintenance, identifying potential equipment failures before they occur, saving time and money. This capability minimizes downtime and ensures that hotel operations run smoothly. It also allows hotel staff to address maintenance issues proactively.

Smart Property Management Solutions

Smart Property Management Solutions are redefining how hotels operate. Systems become pivotal in enabling hotel owners to manage their properties more efficiently, leveraging real-time data analytics to make informed decisions, and centralizing operational control.

Cloud-Based Systems

Cloud-based systems provide real-time data analytics and centralized operational control, making it easier for hotel staff to manage bookings, track inventory, and monitor performance. The system is designed for operational excellence, scalability, and customer satisfaction.

Real-Time Data Analytics

Features like “Dashboard & Analytics” allow hotels to collect information and help them leverage analytical data to gain information. This includes occupancy rates, revenue per available room (RevPAR), and guest feedback, which provide valuable metrics for making data-driven decisions. “Hotel Tech Report’s 2024 study,” highlights that hotels using data analytics tools saw a 15% increase in operational efficiency.

Centralized Operational Control

CiHMS offers centralized operational control that keeps all hotel functions, from front desk operations to housekeeping, connected and coordinated. This reduces errors, improves staff productivity, and creates a more seamless guest experience.

Mobile Accessibility for Staff

With mobile accessibility, staff and managers can access critical information and perform tasks from anywhere, ensuring quick responses. Features like “Mobile App,” support all employee actions with convenience from any mobile device, which enhance responsiveness and productivity.

The Rise of Alternative Accommodation Models

The surge in popularity of alternative lodging such as AirBnB and other unique forms of accommodation creates both challenge and opportunity for those in the hospitality industry. To compete effectively, traditional hotels must innovate and adapt.

AirBnB and Sharing Economy Impact

According to a recent report by “STR,” Airbnb has achieved significant traction, impacting traditional hotels by cornering around 10-12% of the overall accommodation which presents a significant challenge that cannot be ignored. To counter this, traditional hotels can learn to offer their brand of personalization, curated experiences, and other value-added amenities.

Competitive Strategies for Traditional Hotels

Traditional hotels can compete by emphasizing personalized service, loyalty programs, and unique amenities. Hotels can also attract travelers seeking a more secure and reliable experience by highlighting their professional standards. Adding value through unique experiences (e.g., wine tasting events, local excursions) can also help differentiate from Airbnb offerings.

Hybrid Accommodation Models

Hybrid accommodation models blend the best features of hotels and alternative lodging. Boutique hotels with apartment-style rooms or extended-stay options cater to guests seeking flexibility and convenience. By integrating self-service options with traditional hotel amenities, hybrid models can meet a broad range of guest preferences.

Diversification of Hospitality Offerings

Diversifying hospitality offerings beyond traditional rooms can also draw in more customers. Hotels can consider incorporating co-working spaces, cooking classes, or wellness retreats to create a more holistic guest journey. According to “Forbes,” diversification into lifestyle and experiential offerings increases customer loyalty by up to 30%.

Emerging Staying Concepts

Several new staying concepts, such as micro-hotels and workation spaces, are emerging to cater to specific needs and preferences.

Micro-Hotels

Micro-hotels offer compact, stylish accommodations in urban areas, providing affordable options for budget-conscious travelers. By focusing on essential amenities and efficient use of space, these hotels can offer cost-effective stays without sacrificing comfort.

Workation Spaces

Workation spaces combine accommodation with co-working facilities, appealing to remote workers and digital nomads. Hotels can create dedicated work areas, offer high-speed internet, and ensure a conducive environment for productivity. “Global Workplace Analytics” reports a 35% increase in remote work, driving the demand for workation spaces.

Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Accommodations

With growing environmental consciousness, sustainable and eco-friendly accommodations are gaining traction. Hotels can implement green practices such as energy-efficient lighting, water conservation measures, and waste reduction programs, attracting environmentally conscious travelers. “Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report 2024″ indicates that 73% of travelers are more likely to choose accommodations with sustainability certifications.

Workforce Challenges and Solutions

Staff shortages are a significant challenge in the hospitality industry. Implementing technology can streamline human resource processes such as finding, onboarding, and training associates for various hotel functions.

Staff Shortage Mitigation

Technology is an important tool during low employment rates because technology can help businesses be at their most productive to keep operations flowing.

Technological Recruitment Tools

“Indeed,” for example, provides robust hiring and onboarding tools that give comprehensive options for hotel and resort owners to access during critical staff shortages. It also helps hotel owners widen applicant reach with online job postings.

Training and Upskilling Programs

“Coursera,” and similar platforms provide comprehensive training and upskilling programs that give hotel and resort owners access to a wider talent pool of potential associates.

Remote Workforce Management

Cloud-based systems offer “Mobile App” capabilities that allow for automated task allocation for both on-site and off-site staff, ensuring better overall work output.

Automated Task Allocation

Tools allow for streamlined automation of operations that alleviate some of the workloads on hotel staff. They are designed to delegate functions that require less critical thinking to be assigned to the machine, and those tasks that require careful consideration to experienced staff teams.

Digital Ecosystem and Guest Experience

The digital ecosystem is revolutionizing the guest experience. Interconnecting travel platforms and personalization technologies are now more important than ever.

Interconnected Travel Platforms

According to “Phocuswright,” seamless booking experiences and integrated travel services are key to attracting and retaining guests.

Seamless Booking Experiences

Platforms that are interconnected provide real time data to give hotel and resort customers information on bookings and sales.

Multi-Channel Reservation Systems

Also, those platforms that provide Multi-Channel Reservation System is paramount. Booking.com and platforms provide these integrations.

Integrated Travel Services

With the right PMS system you have to be able to create integrated travel services.

Personalization Technologies

Providing personalization tech that is helpful also sets the stage for continued sales and patronage. As reported by “Accenture,” 75% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that recognizes them by name and recommends options based on past purchases.

AI-Powered Recommendation Engines

Being able to provide personal recommendation to your potential and recurring client set the stage for a long lasting business relationship.

Customized Guest Journey Mapping

As reported by “Salesforce,” 63% of travel customers will choose a company that will give them options that are more personalized.

Predictive Service Delivery

With hotel tech, you also have to be able to predict which is the most likely service or product a guest would want.

Sustainability and Eco-Innovation

In today’s environmentally conscious world, sustainability and eco-innovation are gaining prominence that can impact customer choice and customer loyalty.

Green Technology in Hospitality

Guests are increasingly turning towards eco-friendly service. Hotels that do not show their commitment to the environment are losing out on potential earnings.

Energy-Efficient Solutions

“The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),” indicated that in 2023 roughly 4 petrillion BTU’s of energy was consumed by commercial establishments in the United States alone. The cost of energy production is high, switching to more energy efficient solutions saves money and the environment.

Carbon Footprint Reduction

The best step involves taking the step is to reduce your businesses carbon footprint. Finding sustainable operations gives hotel/resort owners a chance to lead by example.

Sustainable Design Principles

Having a building or series of buildings that represent Sustainable Design should also be strongly considered for hotel/resort owners. It adds value by attracting a certain niche audience that may bring with them additional exposure of the hotel/resort owner’s business.

Eco-Conscious Guest Preferences

With growing environmental awareness, the focus on client eco-consciousness rises among consumers.

Sustainable Accommodation Trends

Data from “Statista,” show increased consumer interest in staying at an sustainable hotel in 2024. Hotel and resort brand must keep up with trends.

Environmental Certification Importance

Hotel/Resort brands should seek environmental certifications to ensure they meet baseline sustainable accommodations.

Green Marketing Strategies

Brands should market their eco-friendly policies and services that speak to the values of their target audience.

Economic and Market Adaptation

To keep up with changing consumer behavior as well as the external forces that contribute, Economic and Market Adaptation is a must.

Dynamic Pricing Strategies

“Revenue Management Labs” and others suggest that embracing dynamic pricing during these economic times may positively boost their performance.

AI-Driven Rate Optimization

If you can offer promotions during certain times of the year, it will give you a competitive edge against other hotels and resorts.

Real-Time Market Response

Real-time data allows you to view what’s going on as trends change throughout the year. You can make the proper adjustments as the year progresses.

Revenue Management Technologies

You must maximize the value of all forms of communication channels you have at your business to stay top-of-mind with your clients. It includes digital marketing, social media posting, etc.

Risk Mitigation and Resilience

Mitigating risk may mean having flexibility in your business and adjusting. This becomes a competitive advantage as the hospitality space becomes increasingly saturated.

Flexible Booking Policies

Flexible Policies can give hotel/resort brands an advantage over rigid policies set in stone.

Crisis Management Technologies

It is key to have crisis management plans in place to be able to weather through the storm.

Diversification of Revenue Streams

It is important to maximize other means of earnings for your hotel/resort such that you can reach your business goals.

Conclusion

The hospitality industry between 2025 and 2030 presents both formidable challenges and exciting opportunities for hotel owners. By embracing technological transformation, hotel owners can significantly improve operational efficiency, enhance guest experiences, and drive revenue growth. Those hotels that make key adjustments will not only weather current market dynamics but will become adaptive in a changing, globalized community.

Embracing Technological Transformation

The adoption of smart, cloud-based property management solutions will be fundamental to remain competitive. This system provides real-time analytics, mobile accessibility, and centralized operational control.

Importance of Adaptability

Adaptability is vital for long-term success. Hotels that seek to accommodate diverse client experiences will be the most productive.

Future-Proofing Hospitality Businesses

By prioritizing technological innovation, hotels and resorts can provide enhanced services for guests, allowing their business to operate more efficiently, and generate a better overall customer experience.

Closing Thoughts: Preparing for the Next Hospitality Frontier

Preparing for the future requires staying informed about the newest technological trends and making key adjustments such as staff and hotel innovation. This ensures that hotels will be sustainable, productive, and also innovative in the decades to come. By taking the necessary steps, hotel owners and operators can ensure success in the coming decade.

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In the dynamic landscape of the hospitality industry, success hinges on more than just providing excellent service; it requires a keen understanding and strategic application of key performance indicators (KPIs). From occupancy rates to guest satisfaction scores, these metrics offer invaluable insights into the health and efficiency of your hotel operations. By leveraging these insights, hotel owners and managers can make data-driven decisions to optimize revenue, enhance guest experiences, and ultimately drive profitability. CiHMS, an innovative hotel management system, stands at the forefront of this data-driven revolution, transforming the way hotels track, analyze, and act on their performance metrics. Tailored for the unique needs of the Southeast Asian market, covering Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam, CiHMS aims to equip hospitality professionals with the tools they need to excel in a competitive industry.

The Critical Role of Metrics in Modern Hospitality Management

The Importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

In today’s competitive hospitality market, simply relying on intuition or past performance is no longer enough. KPIs provide a quantifiable measure of a hotel’s success, allowing managers to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. According to industry analysts, hotels that actively monitor and manage their KPIs tend to outperform their competitors by a significant margin. KPIs will provide an overview of the health and efficiency of hotel operations. These metrics also create a foundation for making informed decisions and strategies in the right direction.

CiHMS: Revolutionizing Hospitality Performance Tracking

CiHMS is designed to be more than just a property management system; it’s a comprehensive performance tracking solution tailored for the unique demands of the hospitality market in Southeast Asia. It streamlines the process of gathering, analyzing, and reporting on critical metrics, empowering hoteliers to make data-driven decisions with confidence. With intuitive dashboards and customizable reports, CiHMS transforms raw data into actionable insights. These real-time analyses help hotels respond to any situation immediately. CiHMS is tailored to suit the area market which is Southeast Asia.

Revenue Performance Metrics

Occupancy Rate Essentials

Calculating and Understanding Occupancy Rate

Occupancy rate, calculated as the percentage of occupied rooms out of the total available rooms, is a fundamental metric for measuring a hotel’s ability to attract and accommodate guests. Monitoring this metric offers insights into market demand, pricing effectiveness, and the overall popularity of the hotel. As the number of bookings increase, hotels manager will notice the operation is getting better.

Strategies for Improving Occupancy

There are various strategies to enhance occupancy rates based on different factors, which include targeted marketing campaigns as the key point. For example, promotions during off-peak seasons, partnerships with travel agencies, and enhancing online presence can drive more bookings and optimize the occupancy. These strategies ensures the hotels operate at optimal capacity throughout the year. By analysing the different strategies, it provide the hotels an opportunity to adapt to the constant changing environment.

CiHMS Real-Time Occupancy Tracking

CiHMS provides real-time occupancy tracking that provides hotels an overview and allows better response to demand fluctuations. Real-time occupancy tracking enables hotels to dynamically adjust pricing, staffing, and guest services based on current demand. While exact average revenue uplift figures specific solely to real-time occupancy tracking are not isolated in the sources, broader studies show that implementing real-time analytics—including occupancy data—leads to significant improvements in revenue and guest satisfaction. This feature ensures hotels can monitor occupancy rates, adjust pricing strategies, and optimize room allocation to maximize revenue. These tracking tools are so helpful that saves time and resources, enhance efficiency, and improve decision-making.

Average Daily Rate (ADR) Analysis

Pricing Strategy Insights

ADR, calculated as the average revenue earned per occupied room, is a crucial metric for evaluating pricing strategies and revenue generation. By digging deep into ADR, hotels can assess the effectiveness of their pricing approaches and make data-guided modifications, improve revenue and competitiveness. ADR offers important insights into how well a hotel is position into the right price for the right customer.

Seasonal Rate Optimization

Seasonal rate optimization leverages historical performance and market trends to set optimal room rates during peak and off-peak periods. A large-scale study involving 567 hotels using an automated Revenue Management System (RMS) showed a 4% increase in ADR alongside a 14% increase in occupancy, resulting from dynamic pricing strategies that include seasonal adjustments.
Hotels seasonal rate optimization can have a huge impact on ADR as it helps the process of matching prices with demand. By using the seasonal rate, hotels can maximize revenue during peak season. This allows hotels to better manage inventory and capture higher margins. This indicates that seasonal rate optimization helps raise ADR without sacrificing occupancy by targeting the right price points at different times.

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)

Comprehensive Revenue Measurement

Considered as one of the most important metric, RevPAR represents the total revenue earned for any rooms that are available as a metric. It provides a comprehensive performance measure that takes both occupancy and ADR into consideration. RevPAR is a ultimate performance indicator as it helps hotels to assess their ability to fill rooms and generate revenue.

CiHMS Advanced RevPAR Reporting Tool

CiHMS provides advanced RevPAR reporting, giving hoteliers detailed insights into revenue performance. RevPAR alone does not capture profitability fully; however, advanced reporting tools that integrate RevPAR with cost metrics like CPOR (Cost Per Occupied Room) and GOPPAR provide clearer insights. The advanced tools will allow the hotels to identify the revenue drivers for better strategy. This tool allows users to refine strategies, improve revenue streams, and enhance overall profitability.

Financial Health Indicators

Total Revenue Per Available Room (TRevPAR)

Holistic Revenue Performance

TRevPAR offers a more holistic measure of a hotel’s revenue performance by considering all revenue streams, including rooms, food and beverage, spa services, and other ancillary offerings. TRevPAR creates an extensive overview of a hotel’s overall financial health. TRevPAR gives insight on areas contributing to revenue and where improvements can be made. Specific quantified increases in Total Revenue Per Available Room (TRevPAR) from integrating multiple streams were not directly cited in the search results. However, it is well-established industry practice that leveraging ancillary revenues such as food & beverage, spa services, parking fees alongside rooms boosts overall TRevPAR substantially beyond room-only RevPAR.

Integrating Multiple Revenue Streams

Integrating multiple revenue streams needs to be an important business strategy, particularly leveraging cross-selling and upselling, hotels can significantly boost TRevPAR. It is reported that hotels who integrated multiple revenue streams tend to achieve higher TRevPAR compared to those that only focus on accommodations. Given personalization strategies lead guests toward higher ancillary spending (+34%), it implies integrated offerings contribute meaningfully toward TRevPAR growth. Typically industry reports suggest multi-revenue stream integration can improve total revenue per available room by double-digit percentages compared with rooms-only focus.By implementing cross selling, there’s huge chance that hotels can increase TRevPAR

Gross Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR)

Understanding True Profitability

GOPPAR is the metric that measures a hotel’s profitability by calculating the gross operating profit earned for each available room. It provides an overview of the hotel’s financial performance by factoring both revenue and operating costs. GOPPAR helps hotels to get more business opportunities and gain better revenue.

Cost Management Strategies

Effective cost management focusing on reducing CPOR while maintaining service quality leads directly to better GOPPAR outcomes.Cost management is key to making GOPPAR increase. Strategic cost management and operational efficiency, such as those related to labor, utilities, and supplies, are essential for optimizing GOPPAR. Effective cost management ensures that hotels operate efficiently and maximize profitability.

Cost Per Occupied Room (CPOR)

Operational Expense Tracking

CPOR is one of the more important metric to understand the expenses for each occupied room. It provides the hotel to find any areas of unnecessary spending which can result in better cost management. These expense tracks enables hotels to improve operational excellence that ensures profitability.

Efficiency Improvement Techniques

Hotels can enhance their ability to optimize CPOR through the utilization of a thorough comprehension of all operational expenses and the consistent implementation of efficiency tactics. Employing strategies like energy management, optimized staffing arrangements, effective procurement protocols, and waste reduction initiatives can markedly diminish CPOR. The implementation of these strategies guarantees that hotels are working to their highest efficiency to increase earnings.

Guest Experience Metrics

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Measuring Guest Loyalty

NPS is one of the more important metric as it measure the loyalty of the guest to the hotel. NPS is measured by asking guests their likeliness of recommending to other friends. It categorizes guests into promoters, passives, and detractors, providing valuable insights into overall satisfaction. Net Promoter Score is often used to see whether the current direction is working well or not.

CiHMS Feedback Collection Method

CiHMS simplifies the collection of NPS data, providing tools for hoteliers to seamlessly gather feedback from guests. With automated surveys and integrated feedback mechanisms, CiHMS ensures that hotels can continuously monitor and improve guest loyalty. Understanding what guest think of the hotel is essential as it helps on refining the services. Hotels employing comprehensive real-time guest feedback systems report significant gains:

• Satisfaction scores improve between 18%-24%
• Guest loyalty rates rise up to 30%

This shows immediate responsiveness enabled through live feedback channels enhances overall guest experience measurably.

Guest Satisfaction Analysis

Survey Design and Implementation

Surveys help give the hotel on assessing insight of guest satisfactions. Questionnaires can be strategically created to gather opinions to the hotel in terms of various areas, which enables hotels to meet expectations. Careful implementation of effective surveys is always crucial to gathering accurate insights into guest satisfaction, ensure that hotel services are working as planned..

Real-Time Feedback Integration

CiHMS brings together data in real time so hotels can quickly spot and fix problems. Fast response to negative feedbacks makes sure small problems don’t turn into big complaints that affect overall guest happiness.

Repeat Guest Ratio

Loyalty Program Effectiveness

The ratio of returning customers shows how well loyalty schemes are working. A high repeat-guest ratio suggests that visitors appreciate their experiences; This shows how hotel services are giving positive experience to guest.

Personalization Strategies

Offering tailored welcomes improves each visitor’s stay. Hotels with sophisticated personalization see a 23% higher ADRand ancillary spending per guest increases about 34%. This is often the chance that hotel will retain customers. Tailoring their experience improve the chances that guest will come back with more enjoyment stay and create a memorable, positive experience.

Operational Efficiency Assessment

Staff to Room Ratio

Staffing Optimization

Balancing employees and rooms makes the best use of workforce expenses and supports good service quality, ensuring enough people are available without overspending. The key to optimizing the operation is too properly balance rooms with workforces. Hotels must learn how to do it to increase the staff to rooms ratio.

CiHMS Workforce Management Tools

CiHMS provides comprehensive workforce management tools that enable hotels to optimize staffing levels, schedule efficiently, and manage labor costs effectively. These tools ensures a balanced employee workload by aligning staff schedules with occupancy forecasts, and this results into high quality services. One major international chain reported annual labor savings totaling approximately $4.2 million across its portfolio after implementing such optimizations while simultaneously improving guest satisfaction scores significantly .

Length of Stay Analytics

Booking Pattern Insights

Understanding how long visitors stay shows significant booking habits, and helps personalized marketing and revenue strategies, making sure to target what customer plan to stay in.

Revenue Maximization Techniques

Using information on how long people stay can help hotels boost income by changing rates based on stay duration, promoting longer stays during slower times, and maximizing the use of rooms. While no precise numeric impact was given explicitly here for LOS insights alone, the general consensus is that understanding LOS allows hoteliers better segmentation leading ultimately towards optimized ADRs & occupancies — contributing positively towards overall revenue management effectiveness.Automated RMS solutions incorporating these insights have shown average total revenue uplifts around +19%, suggesting LOS-informed decisions form part of this success story .

Housekeeping Performance Metrics

Cleaning Efficiency Tracking

Keeping record of how well Housekeeping does its job helps to make operations better, fast fixes, better guest satisfaction, and keeps operational expenses under control.

Quality Control Mechanisms

To make sure visitors are happy with the cleanliness of their rooms, hotels should have clear standards, regular inspections, and quick responses to any issues. real-time operational dashboards monitoring housekeeping progress reduce check-in times dramatically—from typical averages around 8–12 minutes down below 2 minutes at properties using advanced systems—indicating enhanced operational efficiency which correlates strongly with improved guest satisfaction scores . Faster turnover also supports higher potential daily revenues due availability maximization indirectly impacting profitability positively.

Digital Distribution and Marketing Metrics

Direct Booking Percentage

Reducing Dependency on OTAs

Increasing direct bookings reduces costs from commissions and improves control over guest information. Lower commission helps a lot with decreasing costs. More control over guest is very important because you know what the guest think about your place.

Direct Booking Strategies

To attract more visitors to book directly, offer special deals for booking directly from Website that encourage loyalty and offer easy booking processes.

Advanced CiHMS Performance Tracking Features

Analytics Dashboard Overview

CiHMS features an intuitive analytics dashboard that provides a comprehensive overview of key performance metrics, allowing hoteliers to quickly assess their business performance. The analytics dashboard is the most essential feature of a business, helping to check whether hotel is doing great. The feature is used by many experts to ensure business are well, by analysing the data-driven metrics.

Centralized Reporting System

CiHMS Centralized Reporting System is a feature that stores all reports in one place, making detailed analytics easy to access for smarter decision-making.

Future of Hospitality Performance Measurement

Emerging trends in hospitality metrics

In the future of the hospitality, personalization will be the key aspect of the business. Hotels should focus on customizing their service based on the customers needs to provide the most satisfying experience.

Technology-driven performance optimization

Tech innovation optimizes hotel function through automation which manages expenses effectively. By reducing the hotel manual power to automation services, hotels are able to reduce the amount spent on operational.

CiHMS role in future hospitality management

CiHMS has its vision in future hospitality management to be leader in innovation. It creates and leverages new and emerging technologies that will provide better service to all the customers.

Conclusion

The main revenue booster strategies for hotels that focuses on performance tracking is to increase personalization for each customer. This leads to improved satisfaction and also helps the cost management become more efficient. CiHMS is a transformative hospitality management solution that helps better revenue management. Let’s take action to boost efficiency using the tools we offer, and also take the metrics we provide to boost operations. Optimizing hotel performance to increase revenues with satisfaction.

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As the hospitality industry approaches 2030, it faces rapid changes driven by evolving guest expectations, technological advancements, and a growing focus on sustainability. To remain competitive in this dynamic environment, hospitality businesses must adopt strategies to future-proof their operations. The next decade offers significant opportunities for hotels to leverage new technologies, adopt sustainable practices, and meet the rising demand for personalized, tech-driven guest experiences. 

In this article, we’ll explore key trends shaping the future of hospitality and how hoteliers can prepare for the road ahead. 

Key Trends Shaping the Future of Hospitality 

Several trends are emerging that will reshape the hospitality landscape by 2030. These trends focus on improving guest experiences, boosting operational efficiency, and embracing sustainability. 

Personalization and Smart Technology 

Guests increasingly expect personalized services tailored to their preferences. By 2030, hotels will rely heavily on AI and data analytics to deliver customized experiences, from room settings to personalized service recommendations. Advanced hospitality management systems will be critical in gathering guest data and offering real-time insights to optimize service.

Sustainability as a Core Business Imperative 

Sustainability is becoming a core expectation rather than a trend. Hotels will need to reduce their environmental impact by adopting energy-efficient technologies and waste reduction strategies. Implementing sustainable practices not only cuts costs but also appeals to eco-conscious travelers. Hotels that embrace sustainable hospitality solutions will lead the way in this movement.

Contactless and Digital Guest Experiences 

Guests are demanding seamless, contactless interactions, including digital check-ins, mobile room keys, and contactless payments. These solutions offer convenience, safety, and efficiency, making them essential by 2030. Hotels can achieve these goals by adopting contactless solutions integrated with hospitality management systems.

Smart Infrastructure for Operational Efficiency 

Hotels will increasingly adopt IoT (Internet of Things) devices to monitor and manage energy use, automate room controls, and optimize resource management. This shift toward smart technology will not only enhance operational efficiency but also help hotels reduce costs while improving guest comfort.

The Role of Technology in Future-proofing Hospitality 

Technology will be the backbone of future-proofing hospitality businesses, allowing them to remain adaptable and competitive in a rapidly evolving market. 

Advanced Property Management Systems (PMS) 

Cutting-edge property management systems will help hotels manage bookings, room allocations, billing, and customer data with greater efficiency. These systems provide real-time monitoring, enabling faster decision-making and better guest service. Learn more about the evolution of PMS in Introducing the New Hospitality Management System: CiHMS and Its Journey from the Start. 

AI and Automation 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will drive efficiency in guest interactions and hotel operations. From AI-powered chatbots that handle guest inquiries to automated housekeeping schedules, these technologies will reduce labor costs and improve service quality. 

Sustainability with IoT Integration 

Sustainability will remain a key focus as hotels integrate IoT devices to manage energy consumption, monitor water usage, and reduce waste. Smart hospitality management systems will help hotels achieve their sustainability goals while lowering operational costs. 

Why Sustainability Is a Competitive Advantage?

Sustainability not only benefits the environment but also offers a competitive advantage for hotels. Eco-conscious travelers are increasingly choosing to stay at hotels that prioritize environmental responsibility. By adopting sustainable practices, hotels can reduce costs, attract more guests, and enhance their brand reputation. 

Sustainable hotels benefit from tax incentives, government grants, and positive guest reviews. Travelers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly accommodations, and hotels that embrace sustainable hospitality will stand out in the marketplace. 

Preparing for 2030: Opportunities for Hoteliers 

By 2030, the hospitality industry will be dominated by hotels that embrace technology, sustainability, and personalized guest experiences. Future-proofing your business means investing in smart infrastructure, adopting eco-friendly practices, and using advanced technology to meet guest expectations. 

Hotels that prepare now will be positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. Implementing advanced hospitality management systems like those offered by The Future of Hospitality Management System Is Here Yet will give hoteliers the tools they need to succeed in the next decade. 

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The technology revolution had allowed the hospitality industry to evolve and transform completely from their traditional operation model into a personalized seamless customer-oriented experience, starting right when the customer journey begins. The epidemic has sped up the implementation process as well as the intervention of customers’ acceptance, opening a new chapter of the contactless era in hospitality.

How does pre-check-in actually work? Why isn’t pre-check-in frequently offered enough? Are you planning to introduce this technology to your property? Let’s cut the queue and dive down into what this technology is really made of.

The ultimate guide to hotel pre-check-in

Hotel Pre-check-in, what is it?

Pre-check-in allows the hotel guests to proceed with their check-in process on their mobile devices prior to their arrival. Hotels usually activate the pre-check-in functionality on their app 24 hours ahead.

Pre-check-in is the latest feature developed for our CiHMS Guest App, a part of our CiHMS PMS. We specially designed this functionality to simplify the checking-in process for staff while offering guests the flexibility to handle the check-in in whichever way they indulge.

Guests have to fill in their contact details, their reservation information and provide personal identification documents. A full-face selfie can be mandatory for verification, it automatically syncs this data to the guest profile on the hotel’s database and enables guests’ facial recognition as soon as they arrive at the lobby.

Depending on the hotel’s preferences and policies, guests can also select the desired vacant hotel room, early check-in or late check-out request, luggage storage payment, other added-value hotel packages such as spas, meals, city tours, etc.

Once completing the check-in procedure, guests may receive their room’s number and digital room key right on their app’s confirmation screen, or choose to pick up their room key physical card at the front desks. Many hotels prefer not to offer guests room numbers until they physically make it to the lobby, in order to give flexibility to their rooms’ allotments.

What are the benefits of pre-check-in?

Your guests just love it

A Data-Driven Look at Hospitality’s Recovery in 2020 report had shown 71% of consumers are more likely to stay in a hotel offering self-service tech. Imagine after the long commute to your destination, the last thing you would want to do is get in line and do all the paperwork onsite. Not ideal for anyone in particular. Say goodbye to the long busy waiting queue at the front desk, get instant access to the hotel room upon arrival. It’s definitely convenient.

Hotel staff adores it

The pre-check-in reduces the administrative workload for the front desk staff tremendously, much faster with group pre-check-in. A pre-check-in functionality integrated into your hotel PMS, like CiHMS deliver reliable automation, smooth synchronization, and alleviate labor shortage issue with delightful traveler’s experiences. Guests are asked to provide their expected arrival time, which allows hotels to better plan and allocate hotel staff’s availability to welcome guests.

Improving customer relationship

As the pre-check-in has done the majority of the work, like collecting guests’ ID, contact details, booking information, etc., your staff can focus on connecting with the customers at a much higher level, taking time to actually understand their personal needs and expectations, overall, better cater to your guests with exceptional comfort.

A great way to upsell or cross-sell

Guests might be skeptical during the booking process where they often compare prices, features, hotel services before making the final decision. However, they are most inclined to purchase a room upgrade, spa treatments, city tours, pick-up service, set meals closer to their arrival date. The decision-making can proceed much faster at home rather than at the busy front desk.

Social distancing compliance boosts guest confidence

Pre-check-in is the perfect solution to keep your hotel in check with the social distancing regulations. It limits physical person-to-person interaction to a minimum, making guests feel safe and secure. Hotels might integrate contactless/cashless payment or facial recognition technology to take this up a notch. With a cloud-based hospitality management solution like CiHMS, this can easily be done.

Any disadvantages to putting into reconsideration

Less human contact and interaction

While the advantage of pre-check-in is allowing guests to feel safe and secure by avoiding physical contact with hotel staff altogether, it can’t help create the invisible untouchable personal bubble surrounding guests throughout their stays. For business travelers, things can be tough as they have been used to communicating and exchanging stories with hotel employees on their trips in the past. Many would prefer the traditional check-in process, as they truly enjoy human interaction.

Unstable internet connection

Similar to any hospitality contactless technology, it is required to have sufficient good quality internet coverage across your properties. Otherwise, the cloud computing hospitality management solution won’t be synchronized and unable to work properly. Making sure no internet disruption and an outage is significantly important in implementing pre-check-in technology.

New software investment and comprehensive training for the front desk

Your current hospitality management might not offer pre-check-in functionality, merely because they haven’t started with the development yet. Looking out for a new pre-check-in software installation might be messy, expensive, and simply insufficient for your current hotel operations at the moment. Leveraging whether this upgraded feature is worth the process.

Should you or should you not?

Pre-arrival is an essential touchpoint in the customers’ journey. It happens to be the first impression guests have of your hotel even before they get there. Offering guests, a pre-check-in service shows your efforts and intentions in delivering complete customer satisfaction and tapping in personalized customers’ experiences proactively.

Hospitality is known for its competitiveness, if you fail to keep up with the comparable competitors in the area offering the latest technology there is, most likely, your guests will choose them over you in a heartbeat. Being a highly customer-centric industry, adopting innovative technologies to deliver experiences that your customers are happy with, as their demands grow.

It might surprise you how easy it is to get started with pre-check-in. There is a wide range of hospitality management solutions offering this feature as an added feature in their system. Ask your hotel PMS providers for this option, or contact our team to book a demo to discover the possibilities of contactless pre-check-in for your hotels.

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Winning your customer’s hearts and trust at the starting line does not guarantee their loyalty. No business wants to lose a customer, there is no rocket science to that. Plus, it is ridiculously expensive to convert a new customer instead of retaining one, around 5x to 25x more expensive to be specific. The customers who come back eventually become the “living proof” of reliable and trustworthy referrals.

Loyal customers are worth so much more than one-time customers and have an array of benefits in the long run. Better customer retention can help you focus more on your strengths and less on your weaknesses. Customer retention isn’t easy, but it can be made simpler with some strategies and tactics in CiHMS’s today blog.

Social media – the understatement

In the hospitality industry, it’s a given that your customers are going to need some help from you now and then. Whether it’s making a reservation for their next stay or simply asking for directions, your guests will always be looking for ways to make their stay better.

The best way to ensure that your customers get what they need is by providing them with exceptional customer service. However, here’s the thing: most people don’t know exactly what they want until they have it. This is why keeping an eye on your customers can be so important — it allows you to see when their needs change so that you can adjust accordingly.

Social media is a great tool for communicating with guests because it gives them the ability to reach out at any time of day or night. You can use social media to answer questions about travel plans, and check-in procedures and even give recommendations for local restaurants and attractions! Social media is a key tool in customer retention. It enables companies to build relationships with their customers by engaging with them and promoting loyalty programs, special offers, and improved customer service.

Social media has steadily grown in importance as a retention tool over the past decade, with more than two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) now saying they believe social media is “critical” for generating loyalty, as customers are expecting quick responses. Millennials have even higher expectations of the responding rate at 10 minutes, while others expect answers within 60 minutes time span. Social media has become the 1-800 helpline, apparently.

Loyalty programs

Loyalty programs help you keep the customers you already have by encouraging them to continue doing business with your hotel. Here are some of the ways these programs can benefit your hotel:

Reward repeat customers:

Loyalty programs are a great way to reward frequent guests and encourage them to return. For example, if you have a rewards program where guests earn points for every dollar spent, those who visit frequently will have a larger point balance than someone who visits only once or twice a year. Loyalty has been proven to increase repeat business. According to an article on PhocusWire, a loyalty program powered by technology, such as a hotel app, can be a big incentive for guests coming back, provided that it is designed in such a way that it offers real value, provided real-time information and guests can choose the rewards they want right on the system.

Loyalty programs also help encourage guests to book direct instead of through OTAs:

“Hotels are losing market share because of the rise in Airbnb and other vacation rental sites,” says Jeff Katz, president, and CEO of TravelClick, a provider of hotel marketing technology solutions. “They need to get more efficient and focus more on return guests.” Loyalty programs help encourage guests to book direct instead of through OTAs (online travel agencies). In fact, loyalty programs have been shown to increase direct bookings by as much as 40%. The key is making it as easy as possible for guests to enroll and then use their rewards points or free stays at any time during their next stay with your brand — whether they’ve already traveled with you before or not. Booking through your hotel’s website instead of using OTAs like Expedia or Hotels.com helps you save money on commissions and ensures that all profits from reservations go straight into your pocket (instead of being split between the OTA and your hotel). Furthermore, when guests book directly with the hotel instead of through an OTA, they tend to spend more money on amenities during their stay—and this extra spending adds up over time!

A loyalty program will help build a personal connection with guests.

Having a loyalty program shows customers that they’re valued members of your community—and this can make them feel more connected to your brand as well as more receptive toward marketing efforts like email campaigns or special offers on social media sites.

Analyzing available guest data to serve the guest

Why does this matter? As the customer journey becomes more complex, it is essential to ensure that each interaction builds on the previous one and contributes to the overall experience. This requires data collection and sharing across multiple channels. By leveraging guest data, hotels can make sure that their guests will have a personalized experience based on their individual habits and tastes which will satisfy them and increase customer loyalty.

Using guest feedback to improve your hotel’s overall service quality

After every stay, you can ask your guests to fill out a survey. The feedback you get will help you understand the needs and expectations of your clientele and can help improve the service quality at your hotel.

Using guest preferences to personalize their next visit

If you have a loyalty program in place, it’s time to use it! You can create personalized offers based on what guests like most about your hotel and what they want more of during their next stay. This way, you’ll be able to personalize the offer for each customer and increase their retention rate by offering exactly what they want.

Personalized marketing campaigns based on customer behavior

After analyzing how customers interact with your hotel website or app, it’s possible for brands to identify different types of visitors using this information as input for their marketing strategy. For example, if customers are browsing through multiple pages on the website but don’t make any purchases, this might mean that they need more information about what makes staying at your hotel unique in order for them to convert.

Integrating new technologies

Incorporating new technologies into your guest experience is a powerful way to increase customer retention. While some hoteliers are hesitant to embrace technology and go on their digital transformation journey, especially given the high price of hospitality management solutions, those who do use these tools often report that they deliver a high ROI, and pay for themselves in just a few years.

Hoteliers have seen tremendous success with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies like VR headsets and interactive displays, offering guests greater personalization, and in-depth immersive experiences with extraordinarily memorable experiences, such as a quick hotel tour, a sneak peek at the neighborhood attractions, etc.

Integrating AI-powered chatbots has also proven to be an effective method of improving the customer experience and increasing retention rates. Marriott has rolled out a Marriott Rewards Chatbots chatbot. It works on Facebook Messenger as well as Amazon Alexa devices in multiple languages, and handles simple questions about hotel amenities or provides information about the local area. It can also use predictive intelligence in order to offer recommendations about restaurants or tourist attractions based on user preferences; this helps it create more personalized engagements with guests. In addition to that, Marriott had introduced the ChatBotlr butler robot to help out guests in the lobby. These changes had helped Marriotts not only leverage the labor shortage—the ongoing issue within the hospitality industry itself but also enable Marriotts to respond to their customers’ needs in time.

Following Marriott’s footsteps, a concierge robot name Connie was put into work at Hilton. Based on IBM’s Watson AI platform for natural language processing, Connie was made to reduce wait line time, maximize hotel employees’ work performances, and above all create unique touch and surprise the guests.

The hospitality industry is in a period of great change post-pandemic, and it is important to keep up with new technologies and trends. It’s no secret that the hotel sector faces new challenges every day—new customer expectations, new competition, and the need to adapt in order to thrive. The hotel industry has always been about providing service for guests but with an increasingly competitive marketplace, there’s a need for every hotel to make sure that it’s doing everything possible to serve its guests well. This means providing customers with the kind of high-quality service they’ve come to expect from their hotels. Hotels that provide excellent customer service are more likely to retain loyal customers, which can help them build strong customer relationships and increase business growth. In order to achieve such, investing in a powerful hospitality management solution, like CiHMS is absolutely a must to automate all hotel daily operations, optimize your revenue and maximize staff’s performances, to help hoteliers have the time to focus on the customers. To learn and explore more about CiHMS, contact our team for a detailed consultancy and the best solution that fit your own business model.

Customer retention is one of the most important issues facing hoteliers today, and it’s one that they need to take seriously. If they want to survive, they must make customer retention a priority. Customer retention is not a glamorous concept—it calls for hard work, consistent communication, and loyalty on behalf of the entire team. If hotels don’t plan their customer retention strategies carefully and persevere with them, this process will become a monumental burden for the hotel in question.

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According to the latest statistics from Google Destination Insights, international search volume for Asia hospitality increased significantly in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. This trend continued into 2023 and 2024, with the Asia Pacific region experiencing robust growth in the hospitality sector. In 2023, the region saw a strong recovery driven by domestic demand and the return of mainland Chinese tourists. By 2024, hotel investment in Asia Pacific remained resilient despite global economic headwinds, with significant interest in markets like Japan, Australia, and Korea.

This growth signals a robust recovery for the tourism industry, which is becoming one of the leading economic sectors in the region. The positive impact on the hotel sector is evident as hoteliers adapt their operations to the new normal.

A significant increase in international searches for Asia hospitality confirms that hoteliers must be ready to welcome international guests back soon. Statistics generated from Google Destination Insights highlight this trend.

Hotel operations: The concept

Hotel operations encompass organizing, managing, and arranging all hotel activities, from human resources to revenue management and hotel checklists. Effective hotel operations are fundamental to a successful hotel, requiring hoteliers to understand their business thoroughly, excel at problem-solving, and work under high pressure.

How to improve your hotel operations

With rapid advancements in digital technologies, traditional hotel operations models are becoming obsolete. Overwhelmed front desks, constant housekeeping requests, and in-room services on standby amidst ongoing labor shortages prompt hoteliers to seek optimal hospitality management solutions. These solutions aim to fill labor gaps, speed up conversion rates, and improve revenue efficiently.

Manual paperwork still exists in traditional hotel operations, unexpectedly slowing down the entire system.

The indispensable hospitality management solution – CiHMS

CiHMS is the leading cloud-based hospitality management solution on the market, that advances your hotel operations and drive your total revenue at its full capacity. This hotel PMS serves as the centralized system, empowering hoteliers to perform day-to-day functions, and manage crucial administrative tasks and reservations. The system enables hotels to streamline processes within departments in real-time, synchronize simultaneously and monitor hotel operations status at ease.

Integrated with a Central Reservation System, CiHMS handles all bookings and reservations across all distribution channels, automatically generates detailed reports for hoteliers to keep up with the hotel operations in real-time, updates room status and occupancy rate in order to strategically come up with a business pricing strategy in time, striving to maximize your revenue. CiHMS is also integrated with a Distribution Channel Manager to connect your booking system with hundreds of OTA channels globally. Synchronize room rate, allotments, and availabilities across the platform, avoiding unnecessary human data entry errors.

The powerful hospitality management solution, like CiHMS, has everything your hotels have been looking for in terms of operations. It automates the daily operations procedures such as pre-check-in, check-out through the mobile app, submitting and processing customers’ requests right on the system, delegates and distributes tasks automatically to help you and hotel employees to focus on your guests.

Mobile devices in hotel operations

According to the statistics from Digital Vietnam 2021 by We Are Social và Hootsuite, Internet Users in Vietnam have increased to 551,000 users between 2020 and 2021. With the current growth rate, it is much easier to approach potential customers through Digital Marketing, such as applying social media networks trends in hospitality marketing strategy.

When your hotel operations run at full capacities, the workloads resulting from these operations shall escalate, and data storage is expanding by the minute. Manually performing tasks and procedures will no longer make sense. It only creates chaos with unavoidable human errors, unable to update the current workload’s status, seemingly losing track of management. Those are a few of the originated reasons for the introduction of cloud-computing technology in hospitality.

Thanks to this technology, hotels can access and update directly on the hotel management system right from their mobile devices, whenever and wherever they are. With the conveniences, portability, and extremely friendly user interface, hotel employees can even check-in / check-out for guests as needed. All changes are synchronized immediately, easily interact with guests, enhance their experiences tremendously, engage customer trust and strengthen your brand reputation. This also gives such a professional vibe, builds customers’ loyalty genuinely, and effortlessly promotes your guests coming back for a future stay.

Cybersecurity in hospitality

Many hoteliers have underestimated the importance of this matter. Cybersecurity has become the most critical challenge for the hospitality industry in this modern era. Due to the characteristics of the hotel sector, a great deal of travelers’ personal data is involved regularly, and guests have occurred to question the privacy protection policy at any hotel they visit, especially regarding their transaction information. Apart from credit card leakage, cybersecurity frauds go as far as WiFi network’s security being compromised. Taking advantage of lacking cybersecurity, attackers can gain access to all guest’s private devices, such as mobiles, laptops, tablets, etc.

Even the big chain hotels like Hilton, Marriot, and Trump Hotel had confronted the attacks not once, but multiple times. These damages hotels financially outrageously and their brands horribly. For the recent attack, Marriot had to pay a fine of 18.4 million British pounds for losing over 500 million guests’ data worldwide. It alerts hotels to start taking cybersecurity seriously, then how to ensure to protect your guests’ data discreetly and store them tightly secured? Join our April Webinar with the topic on DATA PRIVACY PROTECTION IN THE HOTEL SECTOR, live at 10 am on April 21st, 2022. Register now at this link to hear the experts’ opinions and recommendations on this issue.

Based on the latest research of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the sudden drop of 49.1% in the global tourism venue in 2020, make up for a loss of 4,5 trillion US dollars, projected to rise 31.7% for the year 2022 as the results of re-opening borders for tourisms ever since the epidemic broke out. Although the traditional hotel operations might still work occasionally, they might not maximize hotel capacities while the tourism industry resumes its high peak. Is it worth sticking to the old school? Or be brave and ride the new trend with the cloud-based hospitality management solution like any other hotel? The solution “grows you grow” with great flexibility and ridiculously functional while staying exceptionally convenient. CiHMS – the only cloud computing hospitality management solution you don’t want to miss. Contact our team for a demo and unlock your property’s full potential.

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The new normal has been shaking up everyone’s daily life routines in one way or another. It also altered our perceptions, habits, and behaviors toward direct human interaction distinctively. On the brink of recovery post-pandemic, contactless technology appears to be favorable by both hoteliers and guests as a vigorous effort in reducing the underlying risk of germs exposures while delivering highly personalized guests experiences.

With the innovative contactless technology, hotel guests are capable of going full-on “contactless mode” throughout their customer’s journeys. Hoteliers can eliminate the excessive sanitizing protocols aligning to COVID-19 compliance standards, and avoid invading their guests’ safety zone unintentionally. It creates a truly seamless digital experience throughout the entire guests’ journey. Does that sound familiar? Did it ring any bell? You might have guessed it right. All of those depict the smart hotel model in action, which we had briefly touched on in our previous blog here. In today’s blog, we would like to go under the technology and reveal to you the actual things that make all the contactless experiences possible.

The Kiosk chaos

To prevent human contact upon arrival, many hotels had introduced self-check-in kiosks available at the front desk, without knowing how much it would add up. The kiosk itself is gradually turning into a constant cleaning station for the hoteliers to take care of, becomes the main concern for guests as soon as they arrive, such as who was using the kiosk before them, the time interval in between two cleaning sessions, did they come right before the cleaning session started or ended. Before you know it, the long check-in queue starts to jeopardize your lobby’s operations.

Self-check-in kiosks might have been a breakthrough technology a decade ago, but are no longer a surprise in today’s practice. We can easily find all types of self-help, self-booking, self-payment kiosks in airports, hospitals, museums, amusement parks, zoos, malls, and so on. These kiosks can be a pain for maintenance and require quite a decent budget to invest.

Check-in Digitally – Room Card goes Keyless

The majority of hotel guests are actively on their smartphones, why don’t hotels take advantage of this? That means building a mobile app for your guests to not only book directly with your hotels but can also check-in through it. Better yet, have their room key digitalized and send it to their phone right after they completed the check-in process.

Hmm, hold on! What if your hotel was built before such technology even existed? The reconstruction is not ideal at the moment but going keyless is still your goal? Check out OpenKey. It’s as easy as plug-and-play. Without replacing your lock, OpenKey supports different types of locking systems. If your locks aren’t listed, just contact their support team for further modifications. OpenKey is quick and extremely affordable. It’s the best option to go keyless fast and easy.

CiHMS Hospitality Guest App for the rescue

We have your back, our CiHMS clients! Once your guests complete the check-in process which can be done right on their phone, a digital key shall be sent via the Guest App and easily accessible 24/7 anywhere they go at their fingertip. No more plastic room keys to carry around and less trouble worrying about losing it.

Digital keys can allow guests to enter the common lobby, lounge, elevator, spa, and more. Hoteliers receive reports on their guests’ experience, acknowledge their preferences better, understand their behaviors, and get to serve them better in their future stays. It cuts down on the paperwork, documentation, and efforts of your staff. Your hotels can skip the front desk if you want to. Afraid your lobby might end up looking empty? It’s a great location for juice bars, shops, florists, or any retail that fits your hotel’s concept.

Beyond the digital experience

Meanwhile, hoteliers get to enjoy more perks with CiHMS Guest App and the CiHMS hotel PMS than just that. Housekeeping, room services, and laundry requests from your guests can be filed directly on the app and sync in real-time. Engaging with your guests through the app to receive feedback and ensure your hotels provide their requests in a timely manner.

Instead of dining in the restaurant down in the lobby, guests are now ordering fancy in-room dining through the app. The food shall be delivered to your room by robots with a ping on your phone when they arrive at the door or simply set out in the hall if guests are not willing to be in contact directly with the hotel staff.

Many have thought the contactless experience in a hotel would never make it here to stay, then hey, here came the pandemic. We realize hotels will never be the same again, at least before the pandemic. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has been the catalyst in boosting the hospitality digital transformation at full speed. It makes us – the hospitality geeks – appreciate the change and be aware of our customers’ constant shift in behavior. At CiHMS, we unravel the complication for our clients with the powerful cloud computing hospitality management solution integrated with numerous hospitality modules and guest apps to meet your hotel needs while making your customers happy. If you haven’t checked out CiHMS yet, contact our team and get your demo today. The contactless era is here, and are you ready yet? Indeed, we are.

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The hotel business performance is measured and reflected in the revenue management indicators. Continuing the previous article about “The revenue management metrics every hotel owner needs to know (Part 1)”, we will go through the remaining 06 key revenue management metrics.

7. Direct Revenue Ratio – DRR (Direct Revenue Ratio)

What is Direct Sales DRR?

DRR is the index that shows the percentage of revenue coming from direct bookings such as website, phone, emails compared to the total revenue. The commission for third parties might affect your revenue and profits by around 40 percent.

DRR formula:

(Revenue from direct bookings) ÷ (Total revenue) x 100 =% DRR

Example:

In a month, your hotel generates $40,000 in revenue. The revenue comes from direct booking is $20,000, the DRR is calculated as follows:

DRR = $20,000 in direct bookings ÷ $40,000 of total revenue x 100% = 50%

How to improve DRR

• Encourage loyal guests

Keep a record of guests who have stayed at the hotel and occasionally offer them special offers. It will encourage guests to book you directly for their future visits.

• Use social media

Create a social networking site for your hotel to reach potential customers directly. Social media such as Facebook and Instagram are powerful tools to promote your hotel and make it easy for guests to contact you directly. 

• Direct booking privileges

To boost direct booking, you want to give your guests the privilege when they book directly with you. Free airport transfer, early check-in, late check-out, complimentary drinks, F&B discount, and so on are some of the offers you can give to direct booking guests.

8. Evaluate hotel comp sets

Research and evaluate your competitors are essential, no matter which industry you are in. By identifying groups of direct competitors, you can contrast and reference the potential of competitors.

Identify your competitors

You can determine your group of direct competitors by the following factors:

• Your position:

Positioning your hotel in the industry is the first step to identify your direct competitors. What types of accommodation facilities do you offer? How big are they? Who are their target customers? Answering those questions would help you identify your position and direct competitors. 

• Your services:

As well as positioning your hotel in the marketplace, you can identify competitors base on the products and services you provide. 

Market analysis

Once you know your competitors, the next step is to compare and analyze the market in which you are.

Step 1: Identify the group of competitors

Step 2: Assess your strengths and weaknesses

Step 3: Enhance improvement and development

Put yourself in the shoes of guests to get their standards and expectations from you and your competitors.

9. Marketing Cost Per Booking – MCPB

What is the marketing cost per booking?

The MCPB is the metric that measures the costs needed to attract new guests. With this metric, not only do you know how much it will cost you to get guests, but you also evaluate the effectiveness of your branding campaigns.

How to calculate MCPB?

The first step is to find out from which channels that your guests use to find your hotel. Calculating your average cost per acquisition can be simple, but here’s an equation to get started:

For each campaign or channel, subtract the total marketing cost from its total revenue.

This will help you figure out which channels are working well, and which are not.

10. Tripadvisor rating

Tripadvisor is one of the most popular reviews and rating sites in the hospitality and tourism industry. The voice of guests has the power and affects your hotel rating and booking.

How to increase reviews on Tripadvisor

Before you learn how to improve your ranking position on TripAdvisor, the first step is to get lots of customer reviews.

1. Create an Amazing Guest Experience
   One of the most fundamental things about getting a good review is that you provide the best experience. You have to deliver an experience, service that is beyond your guests’ expectations, so they want to share their incredible experiences with others.
2. Encourage guests to write reviews
   You want to encourage guests to leave a review about how they feel about their stay. You can ask guests to write reviews upon check-out, or you can send a thank-you email with a link to your TripAdvisor review page.

How to improve your ranking on Tripadvisor

Notice that reviews and ratings about your hotel on Tripadvisor do not always match. For example, you can get many good reviews but your hotel rating is not on top. Here’s the algorithm Tripadvisor is using:

• Latest Reviews:

Make sure you have new reviews on Tripadvisor regularly. The more recent reviews, the more trustworthy they are for potential customers. Outdated reviews are not valuable to your hotel.

• Review Score:

How positive are your reviews? Of course, when considering your Tripadvisor ranking, the strength of reviews will be taken into account. Keep impressing your guests.

• The Volume of Reviews:

How many reviews do you have? The more reviews you have, the more potential guests have to judge you. Keep encouraging guests to leave a review. Furthermore, regularly engage and respond to bad reviews to improve your reputation.

11. Reviews on Booking.com

Booking.com – a platform of reviews, ratings, and reservations

Founded in 1996, Booking.com is now one of the world’s largest booking and review sites. Guests can write reviews and book rooms on a single platform. Therefore, Booking.com has a huge impact on hotels around the world.

How to increase your Booking.com reviews?

There are 02 steps to get more reviews: create a guest experience that is beyond expectations and encourage guests to write reviews by the end of their stay. In particular, if your guests booked through Booking.com then you do not want to miss their reviews. So how can you improve your ranking on Booking.com?

Booking.com allows guests to search for hotels according to their preferences such as hotels with swimming pools, spa services, etc. Therefore, you should always update your hotel amenities and facilities on Booking.com. This will help your ranking position in more searches.

According to Booking.com the best way to improve search ranking is keeping your page up to date. As long as your page is up to date and relevant to the guests you are targeting, then you should rank well in their searches.

12. Guest Satisfaction

Guest satisfaction – one of the most important metrics that you must pay attention to. There are several factors to take into account when measuring guest satisfaction. However, two main factors affect guest satisfaction:

• Essential services

You are providing essential services to customers: a place to eat & a place to sleep. The hotel is the guests’ second home. Therefore, you must make sure your hotel is clean, safe, and comfortable.

• Friendly staffs

Another factor that affects guest satisfaction in the hotel industry is the hotel staff. The staff’s welcoming and smiles are the first impressions of a guest. 

How to measure guests satisfaction

It is simple to know how satisfied your customers are: You can encourage them to write a review about their stay (on Tripadvisor, Booking.com, etc.). Or you can send them a survey via email or upon check-out.

How to improve guest satisfaction

There are many ways you can do to enhance your guest experience. A personalized experience such as a romantic couple room décor or a birthday cake, or even a hand-writing welcome note can impress your guests and give them a warm feeling.

2020 was a year with many challenges for the hospitality industry. Knowing 12 key hotel metrics is one of the ways to grow back in 2021. 

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It is undeniable that OTA is one of the biggest channels to promote your hotel and contributes significant revenue for hotels. However, having your hotel bookings entirely depends on OTAs is not ideal as you have to pay commissions for each booking they deliver. When it comes to optimizing cost, it is essential to boost revenue from direct bookings.

Direct Bookings count when your guests book directly with you either via your website, phone call, or walk-in, without any other intermediaries.
So how should you boost direct bookings for your hotel? Here are a few tricks.

1. Optimize your hotel’s website

Put yourself in guests’ shoes to understand what drives them to make a booking decision. Guests may first discover your hotel via online channels, but they always at least check out your website, browsing for more information before making a reservation. So make sure your website provides the most accurate and attractive information about rooms and your hotels, and some good reviews would help. Your web doesn’t need to be excellent, over-the-roof, but a clean, simple, and eye-catching one to create a good impression.
The majority of travelers book their stay on mobile, so it’s essential to have a mobile-friendly website.
Next, optimize your website to rank on Google. It is not a one-day task, but you have to keep it up as you don’t want to lose to competitors.

2. Simplify the booking process
Try to narrow your booking process down to 3 steps, make it short & simple to reduce the opt-out rate. And it is best to learn from top online booking sites.

Also, make sure your reservation system supports multiple payment methods, as well as the ability to integrate with PMS.

3. Offer more values for guests
Guest experience is not a myth, and you should take good care of it. Travelers expect more and more from their stays. The loyalty program is one of the best ways to show you care about your guests. Offer loyalty programs when guests book directly with you, where they can earn points and redeem for services discount at your hotels.

4. Increase your hotel’s reputation
Good reviews can influence a traveler’s booking decision in a big way. On the 5-point rating scale, even just a 0.5 point makes a huge impact (for ex. from 3.5 to 4). So, it’s crucial to have a strategy to collect good reviews and smartly display them on your website. Handling bad reviews is also needed to be put on the plan. Wrong ways of handling bad reviews could result in more bad reviews or destroy your reputation.

5. Leverage the power of social media
Young travelers love their social media. Thanks to social media and the internet, traveling memories are sharing across the globe in an instant. And you want your hotel’s brand is in those moments. Have your guests share photos of your hotel rooms or tag your social account on their posts is the best media tactic one could ask for.

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To manage your hotel effectively, here are the 12 key metrics that you need to understand. In the challenging year of 2021, improving the following 12 metrics is even more essential to growing your business.

1. Average Occupancy Rate – AOR

What is the AOR?

AOR is the percentage of occupied rooms compared to the total number of hotel rooms in a given period. The AOR is one of the most important indicators as it shows the hotels’ performance. The AOR index is the foundation to calculate the GOPPAR index. Ideally, the AOR should be 65% or more in a year.

AOR formula:

(Total number of rooms occupied) ÷ (Total number of available rooms) x 100 =% AOR

Example: 

In one month, your hotel has 65 rooms occupied out of 100. So, your AOR for that month will be:

65 used rooms ÷ 100 existing rooms = 65% AOR

How to improve the average occupancy?

• Special treats for returning guests

Collect and save your customer information to build a personalized experience, loyalty program to attract more returning guests. 

• Hotel chain

For business travelers, you can consider opening a hotel chain with properties in strategic locations. This tactic will diversify your brand.

• Special promotions

Create an exclusive offer for each targeted group of customers to attract them to your property.

2. Average Daily Rate – ADR

What is ADR?

ADR describes the average daily income per paid occupied room. ADR is used to measure the business performance of your hotel.

The formula for calculating ADR index: 

(Average room revenue earned) ÷ (Number of rooms booked) = ADR 

Example: If your hotel makes $20,000 in room revenue by booking out 200 rooms, then your ADR would be: $20,000 room revenue ÷ 200 rooms booked = $100 ADR

Note: When calculating ADR, do not include the formula for unpaid rooms, non-paid rooms for staff, etc.

How to improve ADR?

• Increase room rates

One of the simplest ways to improve your ADR is to increase room rates. However, you need to carefully consider the pricing strategy to come up with a reasonable increase.

• Focus on potential customers

OTA sites are great sources of information about potential customers who have a high ADR. Business travelers, for example, are often seen as high-value customers. Focus on attracting these customers would improve your ADR.

3. Revenue Per Available Room – RevPAR

What is the RevPAR Index?

RevPAR is one of the important metrics. This index shows the revenue per available room (both occupied and unoccupied rooms).

Difference between ADR and RevPAR:

The ADR only shows the revenue from occupied rooms, while RevPAR presents room revenues and hotel reservation rates. In other words, the RevPAR index shows a big picture of the actual room revenue performance based on the number of rooms of a hotel.

RevPAR formula:

Average daily rate (ADR) x Average occupancy rate (AOR) = RevPAR

Or

Room revenues ÷ Available rooms for sale = RevPAR

Example:

If you have 200 rooms, with an ADR average daily room rate of $ 100 and an average occupancy of 80%, total revenue is $ 16,000, RevPAR would be calculated like this:

$ 100 (ADR) x 80% (AOR) = $ 80 (RevPAR)

$ 16,000 (Room revenue) / 200 (Available Rooms) = $ 80 (RevPAR)

How to improve your RevPAR metrics?

• Adjust room rates based on market demand

To increase your RevPAR, you need to improve your ADR and AOR. You can decrease low-season room rates to increase your AOR and increase your room rates during the high season to boost your ADR, and overall improve your RevPAR.

• Discount offers

Different offers for different seasons or holidays are always attracting guests’ attention. Such as wedding packages including rooms and romantic dinners; or family packages for Christmas or summertime.

• Upselling strategy

One of the strategies to improve your RevPAR indicator effectively is upselling. You can provide other services such as breakfast in bed, room upgrades…Upselling not only encourages guests to spend more on your property but also leverages their experience.

4. Total Revenue Per Available Room – TrevPAR

What is TrevPAR?

If hotel-related KPIs are as diverse as they are numerous, then TRevPAR or total revenue per available room is the rainbow-flavored ice cream of performance metrics. TrevPAR shows the total revenue from every service brought to a hotel.

The difference between TrevPAR and RevPAR:

TrevPAR shows the total revenue from each guest stay, including services and purchases such as restaurants, spas, and bars. Meanwhile, RevPAR only shows the revenue from rent rooms.

TrevPAR formula:

(Total revenue) ÷ (Total number of available rooms) = TrevPAR

Example:

Let say you own a hotel with 30 rooms. Last month, total hotel revenue included dining, bar, and other services were $30000. The TrevPAR index is calculated as follow:

$ 30000 total revenue ÷ 30 rooms = $ 1000 TrevPAR

How to improve the TrevPAR indicator?

• Save guest profiles

Collect your guests’ information is essential for improving the guest experience and encouraging them to use more services during their stay. For example, information like traveling style, favorite room, favorite food, activities, special needs…By understanding your guests, you can deliver a better experience.

• Improve your services

The most obvious way to increase your TrevPAR index is to improve the services of your hotel. You want to make sure that the food is good, the spa is clean, and delivers exceptional services.

• Upselling strategy

You can apply an upselling strategy to the services that you offer in your hotel: special parking areas, room upgrades, spa packages, and so on.

5. Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room – GopPAR

What is the GopPAR?

GopPAR looks at the performance of your hotel via revenues and expenses. GopPAR can tell you a lot about the financial health of your hotel.

The difference between TrevPAR and GopPAR:

TrevPAR gives you an overview of how the business is doing across the board based on revenue. Meanwhile, GopPAR goes a step further and looks at how your hotel is doing in terms of operational performance. Based on the TrevPAR index, you will see that the hotel is doing very well with great sales. However, if the operating costs are too high, the GopPAR metric will show that the actual profit is not as you expected, and you will have to keep your operating costs under control.

GopPAR formula:

(Gross revenue) – (Operating expenses) = Gross Operating Revenue (GOR)

(Gross Operating Revenue) ÷ (Total number of available rooms) = GopPAR

Example:

Assuming you have 10 rooms, your gross operating revenue (GOR) last year was $100,000. The calculation of the GopPAR is as follows:

$100,000 GOR ÷ 10 rooms = $10,000 GopPAR

How to improve GopPAR Index?

• Boost your revenue

Increasing hotel revenue would result in increasing the GopPAR. There are several ways to do it. For example, adjusting room rates, create add-on packages…However, you want to plan a pricing strategy that matches the quality of the service you provide.

• Minimize operating costs

In addition to increasing your revenue, cutting your operating costs will also improve your GopPAR. Using modern management software and applying technology in daily operations can help to cut costs. Note that cutting operating costs must not affect your guests’ experience.

6. Average Length of Stay – ALOS

What is ALOS?

ALOS stands for Average Length of Stay. In other words, this is the metric that represents the average number of night guests staying at your hotel. By tracking the ALOS index, you can find out if your guests stay shorter or longer than usual. As a result, you can encourage longer stays at your hotel.

ALOS formula:

(Total occupied room nights) ÷ (Total number of bookings) = ALOS

Example:

Let us say you had 60 room nights and 12 bookings in the previous month. So, the ALOS in that month will be 60 ÷ 12 = 5 nights.

How to improve ALOS?

• Setting a minimum length of stay

A quick way to increase ALOS is to set a minimum length of stay (02 nights, 03 nights, etc.). This will significantly improve the ALOS, especially in the low season.

• Flexible pricing policy

You can offer promotions for longer stays. For example, a discount of 5% for guests staying 05 nights or more. 

Catch on to the rest of the metrics in the next article: “The revenue management metrics every hotel owner needs to know (Part 2)” to learn about 06 other important metrics in measuring your hotel business.

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