2023 Economic Outlook for the US Hotel Industry. By R. Mark Woodworth
Thinking back over this past year, many important economic indicators (the rate of inflation, elevated energy costs, Federal Reserve rate increases, labor scarcity leading to higher wages, etc.) were suggesting that a recession in the near-to-mid-term bordered on being inevitable. Certainly, a bearish outlook.
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2022 was a year of growth and expansion for HIA, as HIA continues to be recognized by leading hotel management companies as the most advanced and complete hotel ERP & accounting software on the market. HIA also delivered numerous new developments and enhancements to what is already the most modern hotel ERP technology available.
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There are many tools that we count on every day, and we assume that they should always be working. But what happens when that is not the case? Take accounting software, which forms the backbone of any business. It is used every day, all day, to pay bills, record revenue, and generate financial reports. It is vital to the success of a hotel business, and if the accounting software is not performing reliably, it affects not just your employees’ frustration level, but it has a real cost to your business.
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As the hotel management landscape becomes increasingly competitive and economic uncertainty reigns, more management companies are looking to technology to harness their data and inform decisions from cash flow to staffing. Additionally, the hospitality back-of-house is getting increasingly complicated. Hotel companies have more software providers than ever before, each doing small pieces in the management puzzle.
Hoteliers are looking to technology to turn the tables and give themselves a competitive advantage.
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As you make your budgets and update your forecasts, you are probably considering current hospitality OCC and ADR predictions, economic outlook, and past performance at your hotels. It’s a mixed bag with continued pent-up travel demand and possible recession headwinds. If you are looking for strategies to make the most of the opportunities, there is nothing more powerful you could do for your hotel business than consolidate your various systems of record, engagement, and intelligence onto a single back-office platform.
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Perhaps there is no topic more talked about in the hotel industry right now than the labor shortage. And there is no shortage of input on how you can address this challenge. Most advice focuses on front of house labor with solutions from robots and self-check in kiosks to cross training and sharing employees between hotels. But are you doing all you can on the back end to manage your labor expense, drive accountability down to the manager level, and even retain employees?
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From a beachfront oasis to mountaintop resort, unique locations are key to a competitive hospitality portfolio. However, operating multiple hotels poses several HR challenges including communication and compliance. Insufficient HR strategy and lack of communication can lead to low employee satisfaction, regular conflict, and high turnover—all of which contribute to inadequate customer service. Read on to learn best practices to manage HR Communication for your multi-location hotel company.
Hotel Investor Apps (HIA), the leading hotel-specific Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform, today announced its integration with Netchex, a payroll, benefits, and HR company with a strong focus on the hospitality industry, enabling HIA business intelligence users to make smarter business and labor decisions with advanced labor analytics.
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In this faced-paced, ever-changing hotel business, you need your data from your various front-of-house and back-of house systems; you need it in one place, and you need it now. The goal is to have your PMS, POS, payroll, time & attendance, AP, purchasing, etc., etc., etc. software integrated to the point that all relevant data can be accessed through a single-login and all departments have accurate, real-time data to make informed decisions. But, how can you achieve this?
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The marketplace and technology are evolving rapidly, but if you’re hanging on to legacy software, you may not evolve with it. You may feel that you have valid reasons for remaining loyal to your legacy software, but the fact is, they pale in comparison to how much the software is costing you.
Mistakes happen. Invoices are sometimes coded to the wrong account, or summary invoices need to be itemized for more detail. If your hotel accounting software does not have the ability to easily reclassify transactions, then you may have elaborate spreadsheets or superstitious rituals to make sure that your data is entered correctly before it is posted. Instead, skip the spreadsheets and the manual entries and click the easy button, a.k.a. the “Reclassify” button.
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Compared to other non-ERP software, these features save valuable time and prevent the frustration from having separate data silos. Navigating the system to deliver critical information for data driven decisions and smoother operations becomes a pleasure rather than a frustration. Features such as these save time and create a smooth working experience:
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While lodging fundamentals have improved dramatically over the past two years, many see threatening clouds on the horizon. . .
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Ahh, summer. Sunshine and . . . budgeting. If the thought of drafting next year’s budget stresses you out, then it may be time to upgrade your hotel budgeting software.
Most hotel companies start out using Excel/ spreadsheets for their budgets, but when your needs mature, your software should too. When using an ERP with built-in budgeting module, what were challenges become strengths. Here are some of the benefits and best practices of using budgeting software that is fully integrated with your accounting:
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Knowing the real time financial health and performance metrics of your hotel company and each hotel property is essential in today’s world. To maintain that health your accounting team needs the latest high-tech tools. Modern accounting technology has now advanced beyond hotel-specific standalone accounting software to hotel-specific ERP.
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Everyone is talking about dashboards, but what is a business dashboard, and what value does it provide? Does your hotel company have the dashboards it needs?
The first thing to understand about dashboards is that it is more than just a pretty picture. Unless there is up-to-date, accurate data behind the dashboard, then it is of no value whatsoever.
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One of the advantages of digital transformation is the integration and synchronization of your data. Your banking data should absolutely be included in this process. Cash management is too important to not have real-time bank balances; and modern banking integration technology makes it easy to access.
See the 3 major benefits:
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There are two reasons you might get stuck spending more time thinking about something than it even takes to do the something. First, you might get stuck in the research phase. Secondly, you might get stuck overthinking and worrying.
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When making the move to modern hotel accounting software, the goal is to do things better. To automate tasks and streamline processes. But any new program takes some time to learn the new way of doing things.
When evaluating new technology providers, look for qualities that will make the transition easier on you and your team. Plus, here is a reference of actual approximate training hours by role for a Hotel ERP software.
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Is being short staffed a good reason to not upgrade your hotel technology?
Hotel staff are doing double or triple duty. GMs are plunging toilets and corporate accountants are checking-in guests. How can you ask your team to learn a new software right now?
On the other hand, consider what is being sacrificed. Do you have the financial reports on-time to make important operating decisions?
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HIA, A Product Of © Hotel Investor Apps Inc.
