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3 keys to doing more with less

Since 2004, I’ve worked for very large and some very small hotel management companies in their marketing departments. One of the great challenges during my career through recessions, and most recently the pandemic, is how to do more with less.

As the available marketing channels explode, as disruptors constantly enter the market, as associates leave or get laid off, as budgets are cut, how do the hotel marketing and revenue teams continue to thrive, to hit the budget, strive to generate direct bookings and survive to deliver seamless service to our hotels and guests?

What I’ve learned is the best way to do more with less is cross-training associates, setting clear expectations with all stakeholders and leaning on partners.

Contributed by Michael Goldrich, global head of Digital at Club Quarters Hotels, Stamford, Connecticut, and chair, Tactical Workgroup, HSMAI, New York City

Recently, I attended a meeting where executives discussed this very point of how to do more with less. One proposed solution was cross-training. Across the board, it was clearly shared that all of the remaining associates needed to do more, and to be more effective they needed to be trained in areas outside their specialty.

There are two types of training. There is how to do it, where you get a list of steps to follow to run a report, update content or to provide operational support. This is “how” training. This is quick training and requires minimal effort to hand over a basic checklist.

Then there is the “how” coupled with the “why.” Why is this report being run? Why does this content need to be updated? Why is this type of support needed? Training that provides the “why” is much more powerful and ultimately makes the associate doing the work a much more valuable resource because if they encounter an issue associated with the task, they can think through the “why” and ultimately figure it out. The “why” takes more time to train versus handing over a checklist but the investment in time reaps a significant ROI in terms of associate productivity.

In addition to “why” cross-training, the particular personality qualities of the remaining associates to be effectively cross-trained is also important. To be effective, the people who remain need to be flexible, adaptable, patient, curious, agile and willing. Willing is the key personality attribute that pulls together all the cross-training. If you have an associate that is willing (coupled with the other key personality attributes), there is nothing that will stop them and their team from being successful.

Setting proper expectations and planning is another way to do more with less. With less budget, less resources, what used to be done quickly now takes longer. However, people still outside the department focus on how fast work was turned around even though the staff is no longer with the company. Therefore, setting expectations about everything and communicating on everything is the most effective way to keep everyone aligned and focused.

Without setting expectations and assuming the organization will “just know you can’t turn work around as quickly” with minimal staff isn’t realistic; the perception will be you aren’t as effective as you once were. Even if you are, perception is reality and no matter what you are truly producing, it is what people are thinking that ultimately matters when it comes to their viewpoint of your department and your deliverables. Therefore, the best way to combat possible negative perceptions when you have less of everything is to communicate more than ever and indicate that work is still getting done, it will take a little longer which puts a heavier emphasis on planning versus being reactive. 

Planning is critical as you share with your supervisor, team and department what you will get done this week, next week, next month, next quarter. In addition, identifying the possible obstacles in advance will also help get work done by addressing them before they become issues. Through communication and planning, teams can do more with less. 

Outside of cross-training and communication, the key resource a hotel management company really has to do more with less is leaning and depending on partners outside of your organization for help. This introduces the point of differentiation between vendors and partners. Every company that provides services can be grouped into one or the other. Even highly commoditized services which provides access to a SAAS tool can be a partner.

To me, the distinction is quite clear. The vendor doesn’t care if you are successful. What they do care about is the signed contract and making sure they are getting paid exactly what was agreed upon and they look for ways to upsell services that you don’t necessarily need. A partner, on the other hand, is a company that provides services/tools, but they care how their clients use their tools and try to figure out ways to continue to make them more successful.

A partner might even be willing to take a financial hit in the short-term to help their clients get passed a bumpy period with the hope that in the long-term the client will be financially successful and in return value the partnership. A partner will only pitch additional services if they think it will drive revenue or reduce costs. A partner understands your KPIs and helps you meet them on a recurring basis.

While we emerge from the pandemic in the United States, there is no doubt there will be future instances where hotels will need to do more with less. In these cases, it’s important to execute effective cross-training that includes the “why,” focusing on setting expectations through clear communication and planning, and working with existing partners and growing those relationships.

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