BUSINESS PLANS FOR HOTELS. A BLESSING OR A CURSE?By Jimmy Steel
No one would dispute that a hotel, like any business, needs a game plan in order to succeed. But lately, companies have fallen into the trap of making these annual plans way too long, unwieldy and cumbersome.
The first part of the problem lies in the amount of management time it takes to complete the type of plan demanded by most large hotel companies. Consider this – these companies exhort their managers to “manage by walking about”, in other words to get out of their offices and look after their guests and their staff (Sorry! The word “Associate” still make’s me feel at little uneasy – but more of that in another article...) However, preparing the annual business plan usually takes the management team the best part of a month – around 10% of their work year after vacations, etc!! This is a very long time to take your eye off the important things.
Directors of Sales are diverted from the never-ending struggle of attracting more guests to one’s establishment. heads of Department prepare staffing schedules, frequently without the experience or training to complete these accurately. General Managers juggle the figures to make head Office happy. Never mind the reams of paper, the endless hours of collation, and that nerve-jangling day.....the Presentation. Always a crapshoot as to whether the bosses will like and approve the plan!
The second part of the problem lies in THE BIG GUESS.
This is the underlying set of assumptions upon which the whole deck of cards rests. An error here- and in my experience most enterprises err here at least 75% of the time- and the whole plan is rendered useless...and even dangerous! As reality draws apart from the plan, endless debate as to its relevance, the need for revision or even (God help us!) a completely new plan become the topics of discussion. Again, at the cost of taking care of business.
Lastly, what happens to the plan during the course of the year? Does the tome gather dust without any reference?
Or worse, does it become an excuse for inflexibility? “If it’s not in the plan we can’t do it”. Above all, business exist in a dynamic, ever-changing environment which requires nimble, flexible response,
No! What is needed is a focused brief Business Plan, which addresses the key issues facing the enterprise. It should be shared and understood by every level in the organization. And it should be a document, which can and should be revised when new circumstances and common sense dictate.
