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Organization Management Blog
10 Things to Look for in a Hotel Management Company
by John Moser
The right hotel management company can make or break your hotel. A great one can make it one of the best places to stay in the area, while a poor one ensures negative reviews and might actively drive guests away. Whether you already have a hotel or you just considering acquiring or building one, a hotel management company can ensure your success. But how do you make sure that you’re getting a company you can rely on? Here’s what you need to look for.
1. What kinds of hotels does the company manage?
While many hotel management companies will manage a wide variety of different hotels, some will specialize in a certain type or types. Before making your decision, you will want to make sure that the firm you are looking at actually manages the type of hotel that you own or want to own. Is your hotel a high class urban establishment? Is it branded? Independent? Does it provide only limited services or is it full-service? Is it in the city or in a rural area? How a small hotel in a rural location is managed will be very different from how a huge hotel in the center of a city is managed.
2. Do they provide the services that we need?
Not ever management company will provide the same services, so you want to make sure that you are working with one that does provide the specific services you are after, whether that is managing renovations, taking over maintenance, providing consulting services, managing the assets, providing staff, etc. It’s also a good idea to look at what the companies you are considering don’t offer, so you know whether or not you’ll have access to services that you might not need right now but might want in the future.
3. Do they respond in a timely manner?
Choosing a management company can be a huge task that can involve examination of a wide range of key factors. One of the most important is responsiveness. The hospitality industry is built on customer service and you’ll want a company that not only truly understands this, but practices what they preach. This is an excellent way to easily weed out the companies that don’t have what it takes to solve your larger challenges and take your business to the next level. When contacting prospective hotel management firms, expect prompt replies and discovery meetings that accommodate your schedule.
4. Do they feel like a good fit? Do you like their corporate personality?
Do they seem like they would be a good fit with your corporate personality? While this is, at the end of the day, a business deal, you still want to be working closely with people that you like and can rely on. It is a mistake to assume that even if you don’t really trust the people in the firm that you will be able to rely on the firm as a whole. Follow your instincts. If a hotel management company provides all of the services you need but doesn’t feel quite right, it’s probably best to look elsewhere.
5. How do they staff their other properties?
Labor is going to be one of your biggest costs, so you want to make sure that their staffing tendencies align with what you think is appropriate for your hotel. Some management firms will over-staff the hotel in order to make more money off of you, while others will provide not enough staffing and your hotel will always be undermanned. You want to look for management that knows how to match up the staffing with the amount of business your hotel gets. That means you’ll never have extra people at the front desk or extra maids that you have to pay, when they really don’t have anything to do while at work.
6. What are their margins like for the hotels they currently manage?
When you look at the accounts they current have, are they providing those clients with good margins? Do they appear to be making money for their other clients? Are the hotels being run efficiently? Or are there too many managers on site?
7. How much attention do they given their team?
Do they staff your hotel, but otherwise essentially let it run itself. This might work well for some hotels, but is not ideal for others that need a lot of hands on guidance. You want to consider what is right for your hotel and whether or not the management firm is capable of giving you personalized attention if you need it.
8. Do they let you see case studies?
Can they provide you with case studies to prove that they are capable of improving the profits at your hotel? They should be able to show you how they have improved the workload at other hotels before claiming that they can help you reach your goals.
9. How much input do they let you have?
Some owners will want the management company to handle anything without asking the owner for any approval. Others will still want to have a hand in who gets hired, fired, and what other big changes are made.
10. Do they have other happy customers?
In the end, before choosing any hotel management company, you will want to make sure that the people who are currently working with them are happy. If they’re not happy and potentially trying to find other firms to work with, it might be in your best interest to look elsewhere.
Interested in learning more?
Read more about our Hotel Management services here. Then contact MBB Management for a consultation. We’ll promptly answer any questions you have and provide solutions for your hotel management needs.
Call 856-359-4445 or send us a quick message.
One Comment
Scott Adams says:February 2, 2018 at 5:59 pmI like that you talked about choosing a management company that will give hands-on guidance to employees. I have been thinking about getting involved in the hotel business in the future. I can see how it would be nice to choose a management company that spends time with employees because it would help them learn faster.Reply
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