Infraspeak

Are day-to-day hotel operations killing the guest experience?

Hotels have incredibly complex operations and being able to tackle all the details can have a huge impact on both guest experience and retention. The right technology simplifies operations, optimises team communication and gives managers the information they need for a fully booked hotel.

Hotel guests are no longer simply holidaymakers but users in a vast online ecosystem. With an increasingly common review-culture, guaranteeing a 5-star stay is not only an indicator of how likely you are to attract new bookings but its a mandatory requirement in your customer engagement strategy.

In order to achieve 5-star reviews, we often think of delicious poolside cocktails, beautifully decorated rooms or a sumptuous bed waiting for us to dive into; however, the details that truly make a difference run much deeper than that and make up a lot of the hotel day-to-day: maintenance activities.

It’s no surprise that hotels are some of the most complex operations around, and the maintenance staff are basically the invisible heroes that make 5-stars reviews possible. A study by the Cornell University noted that Guest Room and Facilities represent 43% of the factors driving satisfaction scores among guests, and over 70% of reported guest problems are engineering, most of which are room-related issues (such as HVAC, locks, plumbing).

Housekeeping teams are usually the first to spot issues as they have direct access to the rooms, equipment and interact with guests. Then, they report these issues to the maintenance team on paper at the end of the shift. In the case of a guest complaining directly at the hotel reception and the maintenance team receives a phone call.

This leaves a lot of room for information to be either omitted or miscommunicated and in some instances will require a 2nd visit to rectify.

Using technology to automate these processes simplifies operations, optimises team communication and ultimately, generates more revenue. Maintenance issues are inevitable in a hotel, but having the right tools, structures, plans, and schedules can reduce the problem frequency, extend the useful life of assets and, more importantly, collect valuable data that drives intelligent operations. And intelligent is a keyword nobody should ignore.

“Having a solution that allows managers and owners to access that information in a smart and easy way is key. They can be in control of everything that is going on without even being on-site.”

There are even technological solutions that go further the extensive range of modules and functionalities to offer a real critical advantage: the ability to customise the solution to the way each hotel works. Felipe Ávila da Costa, CEO of Infraspeak, one of the market leaders in hotel maintenance management platforms says: “Having access to high-quality information brings a competitive edge to any business and it is definitely key to making truly intelligent decisions. Having a solution that allows managers and owners to access that information in a smart and easy way is critical. They can be in control of everything that is going on without even being on-site. On the other hand, technicians know exactly what they are supposed to do, anytime and anywhere and are well prepared for it”.

In fact, the benefits from introducing operations to the right technologies go far beyond the convenience of access to information, portability and offline access. Technology has been the main driving force in delivering benefits in terms of quality of life. When it comes to working with people, reports and constant new maintenance requests, then this translates into much less time spent in administrative work, a drastic reduction on paper consumption (reducing costs, time spent going through archives and CO2 emissions) and the optimisation of internal communication processes.

“One of our clients, InterContinental Hotels, has managed to reduce

It’s no surprise that hotels are some of the most complex operations around, and the maintenance staff are basically the invisible heroes that make 5-stars reviews possible.

phone calls between technicians and management by 75% with Infraspeak, from 40 to 10 per day. This ultimately resulted in 40 hours per week saved in administrative work and much greater control over time and costs for both preventive and corrective maintenance. Results like these have a direct positive impact not only on the hotels’ equipment, facilities, and management but also on guests’ experience”, adds Felipe.

Although new technological solutions can often take time to be adopted among teams, the truth is that they can end up being the best way to increase employee retention rates, make the day-to-day of operational teams much easier and, ultimately, lead to a higher quality of life for managers and hotel staff everywhere. In an industry with such deep operational complexity, managing to create and run a team that works like clockwork, knows its surroundings and is motivated can really make a difference, and our reviews show this.

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* STARTING MARCH 2020