Whether you’re a facility manager for a hotel, theme park, restaurant chain, cruise ship or resort, you’re familiar with hospitality facility management challenges. The hospitality industry is not for the faint of heart. It’s exciting, challenging, rewarding, and unpredictable.
Whether you’ve been in the industry five years or 45 years, you know many hospitality facility management challenges are guaranteed. Success lies in efficient ways to control and resolve challenges quickly.
Seven of the most common hospitality facility management challenges are to:
- Control costs and manage the unpredictability
- Stay ahead of IT and technology needs
- Extend the life of resources
- Create seamless experiences for guests
- Do more with less
- Keep records
- Choose the right partner
Control Facility Management Costs in an Unpredictable World
When it comes to cost control, the list of variables seems endless. While you must keep an eye on spending and budgets, tracking inventory is one of your greatest allies. With proper inventory tracking, you always know what you have and where.
You know your expiration dates and never lose product to expiration. You minimize food waste. No one re-purchases products when you are unable to find something, and there are no employee hours lost to searches for lost items.
Whether internally or externally, manage your assets and inventory well as the first step to reduce hospitality facility management challenges.
Another way to control costs is to perform an energy audit. Energy waste is like throwing money out every month, and it harms our environment. The benefits of an energy audit are well-documented and include insights to lower utility bills, improve comfort for occupants, extend the life of appliances and even improve indoor air quality.
Don’t put off an energy audit because they apply to many common facility management challenges in the hospitality industry. In addition, eco-friendly initiatives are welcomed by consumers. Guests and patrons appreciate companies who align with their values so if you’ve reduced your carbon footprint, share it!
Finally, use data and the experience of facility management partners to assess risk and costs. Whether your properties endure seasonal severe weather like hurricanes or fluctuating occupancy, be prepared with plans for various contingencies.
Stay Ahead of IT and Technology Needs of Guests and Patrons
Many people anticipate and expect to have consistent, fast wireless connectivity while on your property. In many cases, your marketing department is counting on guests virtually “checking in,” posting positive reviews and sharing photos from their visit on social media channels while onsite.
If you’re a hotelier or resort, your guests expect connectivity regardless of where their room is located and for keycards and in-room smart devices to be glitch-free. Today, technology function and access are as important as a clean room, linens or glassware.
Extend the Life of Resources, Equipment, and Appliances
Capital investments are one of the facility’s largest expenses. A plan to extend their useful lives makes sense to save money and prevent problems, outages, and downtime. Preventive maintenance care of these resources reduces the challenges of hospitality facility management.
Most beneficial on a schedule, preventive maintenance typically takes place twice per year and routine maintenance usually happens annually or based on the equipment’s usage. Whether it’s your HVAC system or commercial ice makers, it’s often a lot to track.
Reduce your facility management challenges and delegate this upkeep and compliance to a professional management company. Take care to build these expenses into your budget and reduce downtime and outages.
Create Seamless Experiences for Guests
Whether it’s check-in ease or anticipating the needs and availability of services for guests, it involves hospitality facility management challenges. In nearly every case, upgrades to equipment, cleaning, maintenance, and even lawn care should happen in the background. Ideally, there is minimal or no disruption to guests and patrons.
A good facilities management company handles construction projects and maintenance tasks with “behind the scenes” professionalism. Safety, regulation compliance and guest experience are top priorities.
Would you rather guests promote your property with fun poolside social posts or call it out with sad emojis because the pool renovation extended into their stay?
Do More with Less
If these suggestions seem overwhelming with your current resources, consider outsourcing to an on-demand facility maintenance company. Benefits include access to a range of experts 24/7/365, external perspective, review of your current processes, and exceptional ROI.
While outsourcing solutions to hospitality facility management challenges seems like an additional cost, the savings in time and money they provide often cover their services, and then some! Besides, you’ll save the associated personnel costs.
Keep Records and Leverage Data to Save Money, Improve Hospitality Experience
Another way to overcome hospitality facility management challenges is to implement a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). These software packages organize information about your facility’s maintenance operations.
For example, they provide information to increase maintenance workers’ efficiency by focusing on which machines require maintenance and where to find the right tools and parts. They also calculate costs associated with machine break down versus maintenance to allocate maintenance resources most efficiently.
Another opportunity to leverage data is with a building automation system or BAS. Depending on the level of sophistication, BAS provides data on occupancy, heating and cooling loads, lighting, security, and exit/entrance usage. Use the data to save on utility costs or identify and prioritize system upgrades and maintenance.
Lastly, many systems require proper documentation to stay compliant with local, state or federal regulations. The right CMMS or outsource facilities management partner helps overcome this facility management challenge with you.
Choosing the Right Partner for Hospitality Facility Management
When partnering with an external firm to solve common hospitality facility management challenges, look for experience! Does the company have expertise in facilities management, and specifically in the hospitality industry? Do they hire experts vetted with thorough background checks? Do they have a proven track record with their customers? Can they provide examples of proactive problem-solving as well as running point?
At SLM, we appreciate the opportunities clients provide when they trust us with ongoing as well as urgent needs.
For example, a restaurant chain manager once called due to an overflowing grease trap. In less than two hours, SLM performed an onsite investigation and found there was a break in the line which ran under a nearby highway. This contamination issue was an emergency and due to city regulations, the location had to shut down during repairs.
SLM communicated with government officials for approvals, requested bids, managed the construction crew, pulled permits, and produced documentation for the restaurant chain facility manager. The team’s professional handling expedited the situation and reopening of the restaurant location.
Anytime we can “save the day” while making the facility manager the “hero” within his or her organization is a good day.
SLM Invites Your Hospitality Facility Management Challenges to Be Our Guest
Never be afraid to ask questions and to test us! SLM welcomes your questions and your company’s challenges. We have exceptional customer ROI and stand behind our work 100 percent. Our team has solid experience and always focuses on your satisfaction.
At SLM, our services include a wide range of facility management functions, including HVAC, waste management, grease trap management, fire suppression system maintenance, document shredding, exterior repairs, and maintenance. Our assessments are complimentary, so why wait? Call us today!
