Although hospitality businesses may vary, 4 important elements apply to all of them and are vital to achieving success in this competitive industry. This article covers 4 important elements of a successful Hospitality business.
There are three main types of businesses which make up the hospitality industry:
- Accommodation – This can include any kind of lodging, from all-inclusive resorts to family-run bed & breakfast venues, to campgrounds.
- Food and drink – This is the main hospitality category, encompassing all kinds of eateries from Michelin-star restaurants to fast-food chains and little local diners. Some businesses that offer food and drink are found in establishments in other hospitality categories, such as hotels and movie theatres.
- Tourism and travel – This is perhaps the broadest category, including airlines, cruise ships and trains along with amusem*nt parks and tourist attractions.
1. Service is the key in the Hospitality Industry
Good service is the key to success in any hospitality business.
Many customers rely on internet reviews to decide whether to visit a business – and just a couple of dissatisfied customers sharing their experiences online can quickly put you out of business.
Exceptional service is achieved by anticipating your client’s needs.
All important services should be easily accessible and ideally offered before guests make a request. Making your customers feel special and even spoiled is an art that only dedicated, trained staff can achieve.
Employ people who are suitably qualified and who have a warm, caring, positive attitude. Using ahospitality portallike this Global Hospitality Portal and others will allow owners and managers of hospitality businesses to select from suitable applicants, and also provide a great range of occupations for job-seekers who wish to progress in their career in the hospitality industry.
Creating a professional, polite team of staff who work together and respect each other is essential to building your business. To succeed in the hospitality industry, one of your top priorities must be first-class service.
Good service will bring back repeat customers, and their positive feedback will bring in new ones.
2. Planning
Choosing the correct location is essential. You need to ensure that the business you aim to offer is actually needed in the location you have in mind.
Consider questions like:
How will people reach you?
What are the transport options available to your clients?
What do the people in this place want?
Research before starting up any kind of hospitality business.
Look at your competitors and evaluate their businesses. Visit them, observe what they do and learn from their successes and mistakes.
Making up a business plan and working out your costs is a crucial tip for starting hospitality business.
Most start-up businesses will not make huge amounts of profits for at least a couple of years, so make sure that you have enough cash to set up and cover all running costs for at least a year.
Hospitality is a relatively challenging industry to succeed in, with nearly half of all new restaurants closing within a year.
Take time to plan thoroughly every aspect of the business to avoid running into unexpected costs that could ruin your hopes of a successful hospitality business.
3. Flexibility
Having a coherent, flexible business plan is essential to make your hospitality business as appealing as possible to a wide range of people.
For example, in a restaurant, offer various furniture zones to appeal to different customer demographics, such as sections with a diner-style counter and others with lean-on stools.
Bar-style seating will often attract mainly individual diners who are looking to eat and go.
Make one part of your dining area more comfortable and intimate with smaller tables and softer padded chairs – here, small groups can relax and enjoy each other’s company in comfort. Offer secluded corner table for intimate dining for pairs – and if you have space, long or round tables where large parties can dine together. Define each area with different lighting or colour schemes.
Hotels and guesthouses also need to offer more than just a bed.
Most guests expect an option for breakfast, and it might even be worth considering opening your own restaurant or bar to offer your guests meals and drinks.
Listen to your clients and provide them with what they want. Hotels should also consider the possibility of offering function rooms to attract corporate clients.
Being flexible will allow you to take full advantage of all the opportunities that your business can offer.
4. Hard work
Making a success of a business in the hospitality area requires lots of hard work.
Make sure that there is always a capable, trained person at the helm to oversee everything.
Knowing what is going on in every part of your restaurant, hotel or other hospitality business is imperative – as communication and coordination will keep everything running smoothly.
You should also continually promote your business through social media and other forms of advertising to bring in new customers.
In this demanding industry, no business will survive without hard work – it’s a 24/7 job that never takes a holiday!
