Setting Business Goals: The First Step to a Successful Hotel Business
Goals are powerful—they can focus attention on achieving desirable outcomes. In any hotel business, one desirable outcome would be increased revenue. Profitability does not happen without increasing booking, keeping guests happy, and correctly managing expenses. Even the hotel staff prefer to know what management expects them to accomplish, and goals provide that direction. The human brain has amazing problem-solving abilities and goals channel brain power toward finding solutions. Whether your hotel's goal is to set drive the business or provide motivation, goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, and timely. It should answer the where, when, how, and who of the desirable outcome for the goal to work. Let’s go back to the revenue goal mentioned previously. A hotel's goal stating: "Get more direct bookings" is not very specific. How many bookings? By when is the hotel supposed to get more direct bookings, how is the hotel going to achieve the extra direct bookings, and who is going to book directly from the hotel? Is the target market reaching? How many direct bookings are enough? A better way to state that goal is: "By the end of 2022, the hotel's 20% business will be derived from direct bookings received with the help of technology and marketing" Now it’s possible to plan action steps such as onboarding reservation software for hotels to reach that goal and adjust the progress toward attaining the goal if necessary.
How to set your hotel’s business goals
Business objectives are objectives that you want your organization to attain over a set time. When it comes to creating company objectives, you may take the following steps:
- 1. Identify your hotel's business goals for a set period
The first stage in defining company goals is determining which objectives you want to attain in a specific amount of time. Consider your long-term objectives as well as what you want to achieve in the coming weeks or months, and turn them into short-term objectives that will help your company grow.
- 2. Break down each goal into actionable business objectives
The business goals you set in the previous phase must be quantifiable.
For example, if one of your goals is to increase your social media posting, don't just say "post more on social media" as a plan. Instead, make the goal as detailed as possible to make it quantifiable, for example, "Post on Instagram three times a week and Facebook two times a week for eight weeks".
- 3. Ensure your objectives are measurable
The business objectives you establish in the previous step need to be measurable. For example, if one of your objectives to reach a goal is to post more on social media, don't simply state "post more on social media" as a strategy. Instead, make the objective measurable by being as specific as possible. Using the above example, you could use "post on Instagram three times a week and Facebook two times a week for eight weeks."
- 4. Assign goal-related tasks to employees
Assign each goal's goals to an individual or team of employees who will see the goal through to completion after the objectives have been created.
- 5. Measure progress regularly
Measure the progress of your goals regularly to ensure you are on pace to fulfill them within the time limit you set. For example, if you decide to raise your social media posts to three times per week as part of a business objective, track any additional customer/potential customer contact as a result. Keep track of your progress and, if necessary, revise your targets to better fulfill your objectives.
Benefits of setting Goals for hotels
It Promotes Teamwork
Setting goals not only keeps everyone motivated but also encourages individuals to collaborate. When everyone is working for the same objective, they are more likely to collaborate to achieve it. If group benefits are in place, it pushes people to collaborate even more because they can't achieve the reward on their own.
It Increases Morale
People become emotionally exhausted when they go to work every day with no end in sight and no goals to attain. Everything begins to feel the same, and individuals begin to act robotically. Goals, on the other hand, assist employees in taking ownership and pleasure in their job. It helps them feel good on the inside when they achieve a goal you set for them. That small amount of incentive may have a tremendous impact on workplace morale.
It Helps You Measure Success
If you arrange your objectives correctly, you will be able to gauge your company's performance in ways that you would not be able to if you had not set any goals. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely is the SMART strategy and tried-and-true strategy that will help you succeed. For your objectives to be effective, you must be able to track progress and your employees must believe they have a possibility of achieving them. You may then assess progress and alter targets as needed.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of goal setting in a hotel. Goals are what keep your staff engaged, happy, and ready to work every day. There is no doubt that setting objectives in the appropriate approach can boost your company's productivity and success. Remember the SMART principles, and be receptive to input from your staff and management.