There continues to be a level of unpredictability and craziness in the hospitality industry, from short staffing to skyrocketing travel demand. Budgeting is the last thing that any hotel team wants to deal with!

By staying flexible, implementing efficient tech stacks, and working together, hospitality teams can ace the budget assignment and prepare for the inevitable unpredictability in the industry. 

Be flexible

As we all know by now, anything can change at the drop of a hat. After a global pandemic that altered how we thought about travel for years and will continue to shape it for years to come, there’s no use in going backwards to making things concrete.

One way to stay flexible with budgeting is to go back to zero. It’s no longer realistic to base a budget based on a percentage increase over last year’s budget—instead, teams should start from zero, mapping out each item that needs to be budgeted for and how that item benefits the bottom line. 

The budgeting process can remain fluid by implementing regular review of wages to remain competitive and properly compensate hotel staff for their work; and setting up a rolling budget by taking a 12 month window and setting up the budget according to occurrences per month.

Plus, teams can get creative with departments to cut costs and explore to find out what works best for that property. Whether it’s co-marketing with other brands that are popular with the customer base, partnering with influencers, or engaging with guests via on-site promotions, getting nontraditional with it can spark new projects and creative ways to boost revenue.

Tech stack

When evaluating a hotel tech stack, there are key components to help discern what is necessary and what works best for a property. What probably comes to mind first is revenue—does the tool contribute directly or indirectly to driving revenue? 

Whether it’s directly increasing booking, or if it’s indirectly boosting guest satisfaction, ensure tools are contributing in some way to the bottom line.

Another element to consider is efficiency—is this tool helping or hurting the team? Tech additions such as hotel texting increase team efficiency and productivity, helping lean teams succeed amidst staffing issues in the industry. 

Along with this comes something else to consider, which is usage of the tool. It’s pretty simple: is the team using the tool or not? With top hotel messaging solutions, leaders can see statistics on how much the tool is being used, and by who. Plugging the gaps on key metrics like guest data and number of loyalty members is also essential to an efficient technology tool like hospitality texting services. 

A team effort 

Compiling a budget across teams is never easy, so don’t make it worse by doing it separately! Get everyone who needs to be involved in the same place and discuss everything from segment-based budgeting to account-level projections. 

For example, it’s easier to track profitability by segmenting out budgets for each project. Instead of allocating a certain amount for just “marketing,” detail and discuss each part of the budget—this much for ads, this much for webinars, etc!

Profitability discussions are also made easier when teams can meet all at once. Get feedback from other teams on whether or not items need to be prioritized, and compromise together instead of going back and forth. 

By remaining flexible, using efficient tools like hotel text messaging systems, and working together, hotel teams can continue to navigate the craziness of the hospitality industry and nail budget season. Read more about hotel technologies and increasing efficiency on our blog!