As an accommodation provider, you’re in the business of making guests happy. You want them to feel lighter than air and leave all their worries at the door while they have a great experience at your property. But what’s the secret to their utmost satisfaction? Is it magic? Maybe some pixie dust?
Nope—it’s actually something much simpler than that. It’s hospitality management!
Understanding hospitality management meaning can unlock the door to a whole new world of happy, satisfied guests. But what does hospitality management do?
And what is the scope of hospitality management? And most importantly—which hospitality management solutions exist on the market today that will help take guest experiences to the next level?
Don’t worry, friend. We’re here to break down the answers to all of these questions and more right here in this post. Ready to take your guest satisfaction surveys to a 10/10? Let’s get started.
What Is Hospitality Management?
Before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s important to answer this question: what is hospitality management? And why is it so important?
Simply put, hospitality management involves overseeing and coordinating various aspects of businesses in the hospitality industry, such as hotels, restaurants, resorts, campgrounds, RV parks, and event venues.
Effective hospitality management encompasses a range of responsibilities, including:
- Managing staff
- Ensuring customer satisfaction
- Overseeing day-to-day operations
- Managing and overseeing marketing and sales
- Assuring the health and safety of staff and guests
- Optimizing the financial performance of the property or properties
It comes down to providing guests with a welcoming and pleasant environment while balancing efficient management of the business, which is typically left to the job of the resident hospitality manager, general manager, or sometimes the proprietor in smaller businesses.
Now that you know what kind of responsibilities hospitality management has, we probably don’t need to explain to you why it’s important to your business. From start to finish, a hospitality manager has a crucial role in keeping the business running smoothly.
Without them, the business falls apart. Imagine what would happen if your guests didn’t have enough towels because no one ordered the right amount of linens for the quarter. Or if the quality of amenities on site was inadequate one day, and no one was there to do a quality check first thing in the morning? We could go on, but you can see how guest satisfaction is likely to be impacted by a lack of support from hospitality management across the property.
What Does Hospitality Management Do?
Hospitality managers strive to create a positive and enjoyable guest experience by maintaining high service standards, addressing customer needs, and effectively running the facility. They have to be able to wear many hats and be your in-house jack-of-all-trades, someone reliable and dependable, and, of course, knowledgeable about what it takes to run a thriving hospitality business.
So, what does hospitality management do on a day-to-day basis? A few things are likely to be in a hospitality manager’s job description:
- Recruit skilled personnel for the business
- Plan and synchronize operations to achieve optimal efficiency
- Oversee and assess staff performance
- Guarantee sufficient and high-quality supplies and equipment
- Address customer complaints as required
- Aid in determining the pricing of products or services
- Take charge of budgeting and expense monitoring
- Enforce compliance with regulations and quality standards
- Review and compile reports for senior management
This is, of course, a general list, and depending on the kind of hospitality business you’re running, a hospitality manager’s role can change. For example, if you run multiple RV parks, your hospitality manager won’t be focused on housekeeping reports but has to have a handle on the status of sites and hookup maintenance.
Key Differences Between Hotel and Hospitality Management
Do you ever hear two terms tossed around interchangeably and assume they mean the same thing based on the way others use them as synonyms for each other? This is often true of hotel management and hospitality management.
Distinctions between what is hospitality management and what is hotel management are important to make as accommodations owners. Consult the table below for a quick breakdown of what makes these two terms unique from each other.
| Area of Focus | Hotel Management | Hospitality Management |
|---|---|---|
| Job Titles | Careers in hotel management typically involve roles like hotel managers, front office managers, housekeeping managers, and similar positions within the hotel industry. | Involves a broader array of roles, including positions related to restaurant management, event planning, tourism management, and more. |
| Scope of Work | Primarily focuses on the efficient operation and administration of hotels, including aspects like room bookings, guest services, and facilities within the hotel premises. | Encompasses a broader spectrum, including hotels, but also extends to other sectors such as restaurants, resorts, event planning, and other hospitality-related businesses. |
| Skill Set | Emphasizes skills specific to hotel operations, such as room management, reservation systems, and knowledge of the hospitality industry. | Requires a more diverse skill set, including customer service, business management, marketing, and event planning skills applicable to various sectors within the hospitality industry. |
| Education | Educational programs and training may be more specialized, focusing specifically on hotel and lodging operations. | Education and training programs cover a broader spectrum, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the entire hospitality industry. |
So the TL;DR here—while hotel management is a subset of hospitality management, the latter is a more comprehensive field that includes a broader range of industries within the hospitality sector.
What Is The Scope of Hospitality Management?
We’ve talked about the basics of what is hospitality management and how it differs from hotel management, but let’s get into the dirt a bit, shall we?
Whether you’re a professional accommodations operator, experienced or not, hiring the right professionals to work in the jobs in your business is key to success as well as guest satisfaction. After all, these can be the people who are first to greet guests, who are there to hear about problems or take requests from guests in need of assistance. At the end of the day, your accommodations are only as good as a guest’s last interaction and experiences with the property. Getting the right team on your side is key to making those interactions and experiences positive and also the key to generating positive reviews and ratings.
But if you’ve never been hired for a role like a hospitality manager, it can be hard to know what the scope of their role is.
Typically, the hospitality manager is someone who covers areas including:
- Operations management
- Staff management and supervision
- Customer service
- Finance and revenue management
- Supply chain and purchasing management for the property
- Strategic planning
- Marketing and sales oversight
- Record keeping and guest information management
A hospitality manager’s specific duties can change based on the kind of place they work at and how big it is. The bottom line—their main goal is to make sure guests have a great time keep things running smoothly and efficiently, and help you hit your business’s goals and objectives.
6 Ways to Improve the Guest Experience with Hospitality Management Solutions
You’re armed with the knowledge of what is hospitality management—now it’s time to use that knowledge to get your guests smiling, satisfied, and ready to leave your business a great review. The best way to improve the guest experience is with hospitality management solutions like Newbook that offer you a whole host of tools and ways to keep your guests happy and coming back again and again!
So, without further ado, let’s talk about five ways to improve the guest experience with hospitality management solutions.
1. Offer Seamless Check-In
It’s time to use our imaginations (and our experiences) to think about how check-in impacts your guests’ experience from the moment they even consider booking with you.
You’re a guest trying to get their vacation booked, and you’re coordinating drive times and flights with a check-in time. Picture these two scenarios:
- You realize that you won’t be able to check-in when you want, thanks to no staff being available after 9 pm and it feels like every force is working against you to have a good trip.
- Your guest sees your accommodations are available to check in any time as there are easy-to-use self-service kiosks, and they won’t be missing out on any of their planned activities and can choose to depart their home whenever works for their schedule.
That first scenario—is not exactly the recipe for a satisfied guest. In fact, they may not even book with you or are begrudged to do so and have to modify other plans. The second scenario, on the other hand, is both a guest and operator’s dream come true.
Not only is this a smoother experience for your guests, but it’s something researchers are seeing as a top-tier item on your guests’ wishlists. 80% of customers want non-traditional checkout options available when paying.
Give your guests a pain-free opportunity to check in and out at times that work for them, and bonus—you’re not spending on extra overnight staffing when you use tools like Newbook’s key cafes, a contactless, safe way to release keys to guests at any time, day or night. Paired with Newbook’s self-service kiosks, you can create a truly seamless self-check-in and out experience.
2. Make Upgrades a Breeze
You know what makes a guest’s stay really special? Feeling like they’re balling out and having a bougie trip, that’s all about them! Because it’s not just an upgrade; it’s an invitation to dive deeper into relaxation, comfort, and a little extra indulgence.
And considering 70% of guests expect to have personalized interactions with a company, the data doesn’t lie—people want to feel catered to when they travel for business or pleasure.
Offer guests the chance to upgrade their kind of accommodation and add an extra night or two with property management automation tools like automatic SMS and eMail prompts sent right to guests’ devices. These automated nudges don’t just offer an upgrade; they create a seamless and enticing pathway for guests to add an extra night or two, making their stay not just memorable but downright spectacular and adding some extra revenue to your business in a simple manner.
3. Offer More in a Tap
Who doesn’t want more from their stay? Whether it’s a special class or a unique dining experience, you can improve your hotel revenue management by offering add-ons like facility and equipment booking for guests staying on your property through a hospitality management solution like Newbook. It’s like adding sprinkles to your ice cream—the little extras turn a good stay into an unforgettable one.
Add-on ideas guests will love and will help improve your overall guest satisfaction:
- Amenities and facilities available for booking, such as conference rooms and spa visits
- Equipment for sign-out or rent, such as kayaks and yoga equipment
- Local experiences customized for your property, such as a day trip or tour to a nearby attraction
- Specialty dining experiences like a chef’s table dinner, or a bottomless Sunday brunch
These are just a few of the ways you can enhance your guests’ experience while staying on your property, and you can create experiences that are unique and enticing to guests, bringing them back again and again, and making for great reviews.
4. Avoid Double Booking
Ah yes, the age-old fear of accommodations operators everywhere—double bookings. Nothing says, “This place does not have their business in order,” quite like a guest standing in front of your check-in counter with no room or site to stay in. So, how do you avoid this problem and ensure your guests all have a place to lay their heads?
Using a vacation rental reservation system, you can streamline your operations and ensure no rooms or campsites are double booked, and all are cleaned, maintained, and ready for the next guest at the click of a few buttons. Not only does this reduce your frustrations behind the scenes, but you certainly won’t have to worry about angry guests with nowhere to go!
5. Get a Customer Pulse Mid-Stay
Using a robust online booking system like Newbook allows you to check in with your guests mid-stay. Not sure if they like their stay? Whatever questions you want to monitor during a guest’s stay, do it with an automated SMS or email survey automatically pushed to their devices in the middle of their visit to the property. You can go as simple as whether or not they are having an enjoyable time, with a yes or no answer, or go deep on specifics. It’s up to you!
Some ideas for what to ask in this mid-stay survey:
- How would you rate your stay so far, from 1 to 10?
- Have you found our staff helpful during your stay?
- Are the facilities and amenities meeting your expectations?
- How would you rate the cleanliness and maintenance of your accommodation?
- Do you have any concerns or issues that you would like us to address before the end of your stay?
What you do with this information is equally as important as asking for guest feedback in the first place. Seize the chance to improve any low scores while there’s still time. Addressing concerns before guests leave helps avoid negative online reviews afterward, and your guests will surely value the proactive effort—and, hopefully, leave more satisfied. Plus, generating a report with all of your mid-stay feedback from guests is a simple way to watch for troubling trends across the property and spot potential problems before they worsen.
6. Use Insights to Find More Opportunities
The saying goes: you don’t know what you don’t know, and this is especially true in hospitality management. Using data and analytics to drive better guest satisfaction is one way to get that missing information that can boost your bookings (and reviews).
Using a hospitality management solution like Newbook can help you save time while getting access to those key insights to help improve your guest experience—minus all the headaches of manual reporting.
Newbook allows you to generate automatic reports and helps you see what’s really driving revenue at your property and what guests are loving.
Get insights to fuel guest satisfaction about things like:
- Your booking forecast
- Where guests are coming from in the world
- Which amenities and add-ons are driving the most revenue
- Occupancy rates by month or year
With this data in your pocket, you can leverage your insights to make for unforgettable guest experiences, and happier guests overall.
Why Newbook’s Software Is The Go-To Hospitality Management Solution
When it comes to the best vacation rental software out there that has the power to become an integral part of your hospitality management strategy, it has to be Newbook.
Newbook’s software stands out as the go-to hospitality management solution for several reasons. Firstly, its user-friendly interface makes it easy for staff to navigate, streamlining day-to-day operations efficiently. The software is highly customizable, adapting seamlessly to diverse hospitality businesses, whether a hotel, RV resort, campground, or vacation rental. Newbook goes beyond the basics, offering a comprehensive suite of tools encompassing reservations and guest management and even offering hardware like self-serve kiosks and key cafés. Its robust reporting and analytics capabilities empower managers to make informed decisions, enhancing overall business performance.
Additionally, with a reputation for reliability and exceptional customer support, Newbook’s software emerges as the top choice, providing a holistic solution to the hospitality sector’s diverse needs.
And that’s just the beginning. Newbook has a suite of tools that make it your hospitality management solution superhero. So, now that you know what Newbook can do, let’s talk about what’s in it for you and why you should invest in a hospitality management solution.
| Reason to Invest in Hospitality Management Solutions | Further Context |
|---|---|
| Increase Revenue | Optimize pricing strategies, implement upselling features, and enhance online booking capabilities, leading to increased bookings and overall revenue |
| Reduce Staffing Needs | Automate various operational tasks such as reservations, check-ins, and billing, reducing the workload on staff and enabling efficient operations with a leaner workforce |
| Improve Guest Satisfaction | Using tools for personalized guest communication, streamlined check-in processes, and add-ons contributes to enhanced overall guest experience and satisfaction |
| Manage All Channels with Ease | Centralize the management of all your property listings in one place, and sync your rates and availability across major booking platforms to avoid double bookings and max out your occupancy. |
As you can see, there are many reasons why implementing a tool like Newbook assists with hospitality management. From booking to post-departure, you’ll be able to get a handle on guest satisfaction easier than ever before.
Take Guest Satisfaction to New Heights
You are now ready to apply the wisdom you learned today about hospitality management meanings, what hospitality management does, what is the scope of hospitality management, and, of course, the importance of using a hospitality management solution like Newbook to accelerate the success of your business, and make happier guests along the way. In today’s challenging accommodation and hospitality landscape, you need to secure your place in guests’ hearts and minds—and bad service is no way to do that!
Ready to unlock more satisfied guests through effective hospitality management? Book a demo with our team today to find out how Newbook can be your hospitality management solution.
