BUZZBONGO
Opening a small hotel is a dream for many who enjoy interacting with people and want to run their own businesses. Unfortunately, you can’t just open your doors and expect the hotel to automatically be successful. Making a hotel a success requires careful research, management, and financial planning. Keep all of this in mind when planning to open your own hotel.
Decide if you are going to buy an existing hotel or build a new one. This is the first decision you will have to make when deciding on a city. You can either search for a hotel that an owner is looking to sell or you can build a new one from scratch. There are pros and cons to each option that you should carefully weigh before making a decision.
Find out about other hotels, guest houses, and B&Bs in the area. You’ll need to get a good idea of the competition you’ll be up against and how you can successfully carve out a market for yourself. There are several things to look for when researching the potential competition. This will give you an idea of how you can make your hotel stand out.
Hire an accountant. Even if you are going to open a hotel because it is the dream of your life, you have to remember that it is an economic investment anyway. Unless your hotel is very small or you are a trained accountant, you will likely need an accountant to help you manage your finances. All hotels, even small ones, have many costs that you have to account for, such as staffing, utilities, rent, taxes, and equipment, to name just a few. An accountant can help you navigate the complicated world of financing a hotel and help you secure your financial future. For example, many small and medium business secretaries recommend taking the following stepsAMP to find an accountant:
Make a business plan. When opening a hotel, you will likely need to raise start-up capital, either from a bank or from private investors. Any of these will want to see a business plan to determine if yours is worth investing in. Also, a good business plan is beneficial to organize your goals for your hotel and get a clear picture of how to make it a success. A business plan for a hotel should include at least the following:
Acquire initial capital. When you have written your business plan, present it to potential investors. With a good business plan, you can demonstrate that your hotel will be a profitable business, which will convince investors to provide you with the money you need. You have two options for acquiring starting capital, and you will likely end up using a combination of both.
Set your prices. Once you have opened your hotel, the prices will determine your profit level. Your nightly rates will vary depending on local competition, your operating costs, the season, and a myriad of other factors. The general rule of thumb when setting prices is to keep them low enough to attract customers and high enough to make a profit. There are several things to keep in mind when setting prices:
Hire all the necessary staff. The size of your staff will vary depending on the size of the hotel. For a small B&B, you may be able to run the place with just a few helpers. Hotels with multiple rooms, even small ones like yours, often need a team of workers to keep them running smoothly. When looking for staff, you should consider at least the following positions:
Prepare a manual for all employees. You must establish specific systems for all employees to follow. This way you can ensure a consistent level of service for your guests. Ask all employees to read this manual as part of their training. In the handbook, explain exactly what you’ll expect from each employee.
Design a web page. If your hotel is not on the Internet, it will be invisible to your potential customers. You can design your website, but it may be worth investing in a professional to do it because low-priced websites are often easy to spot. At a minimum, your website should list the hotel’s name, location, contact information, and nightly rates. Small hotels often attract guests looking for a more personal touch, so you can target them by adding some particular information to your website. Whatever you put on your website, make sure it’s accurate and up to date. An outdated website will make your hotel look sluggish and unprofessional, which can hurt your business. You can also include:
Cultivate repeat visits. Past guests who enjoyed their stay are a great source of future business. In addition to providing them with good service during their stay, there are several methods you can use to persuade past guests to return.