Revenge travel 2.0 is underway and it's time for hoteliers to get prepared. Though COVID variants are still relevant, data has proven that a wave of leisure demand will take place this spring — and it will be higher than it has ever been.
During the latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, “Hotel Strategies: Success Strategies for the Year Ahead,” with sponsor support from Hotel Effectiveness, industry experts offered their take on the current issues affecting the industry and how best to handle them.
Moderated by Chip Rogers, president/CEO, American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the group of panelists included Del Ross, chief revenue officer, Hotel Effectiveness, Nan Cummings, COO, InterMountain Management; Ron Loman, SVP, operations, Real Hospitality Group; and Aaron Olson, SVP, hotel operations, Crestline Hotels & Resorts.
The panelists discussed what they are expecting for the year given all of the variables out there, as well as those that are not even known yet. Dell Ross expects the influx of travelers to “hit us really hard,” adding, “the difference between this year and last year is that hotels have no excuse for not being prepared for it. Nobody should be complaining about not having enough staff, because we need to be modeling this now and starting the hiring and onboarding process now for the spring so that we’re not trying to play catch up all year. This is really important.”
Ross added that using models will help with the increase. “In addition, we need to use weekly dynamic staffing and planning models so that we can actually adjust our staffing with this wildly fluctuating occupancy every single day, so we don’t have to close rooms for sale,” he said. “Most hotels in the U.S., even the ones that were doing well, were closing anywhere from three to five rooms a night that they couldn’t sell because they couldn’t clean them. We need to solve for that by actually just staffing better and actually having more adequate staffing.”
Watch the complete webinar to get more insights and tips to prepare for 2022.
