Is your business ready for summer?
The weather’s been glorious so far this year. With school children finally breaking up for the summer, we know that this brings the promise of great business but it also means there’ll be no time to spare.
Hotels, Serviced apartments and B&B's can expect to enjoy a bumper year as tens of millions of visitors are expected to flock to Britain’s coast, countryside and cities, as domestic tourism enjoys something of new golden era.
The research report, "The Great British Staycation: the growing attraction of the UK for domestic holidaymakers", surveyed 2,000 domestic tourists and 500 business leaders from the hospitality & leisure industry, and found that staycationers of all ages are planning to enjoy more holiday time at home in 2019
"Families taking advantage of one of the hottest and driest summers on record have been flooding to UK holiday destinations"
With this expected boom of visitors this summer it's important to get ready for the 'silly season,' here are 7 steps to check that you’re prepared!
1) Hygiene
Hotel reputations can be made or broken on hygiene levels. While giving your Housekeeping team an extra minute or so per room can make sure they’re not stretched to the limit over the summer, bed bugs can still strike fear into the sturdiest of housekeeper.
2) Fans
How many working fans do you have, and are they all PAT tested? It’s always a good idea to have enough for all potential guests… just in case the British summer does hold.
3) Staff
Have you got agency or fill-in staff details to hand? If you have a last-minute staff absence, the last thing you’ll want to be doing is trawling Yellow Pages.
4) Keep hydrated
Are you supplying complementary water? For an eco-friendly solution, reusable glass bottles with stoppers, and a simple water filter for you to refill them can give essential hydration and comfort to your guests, without breaking the bank. You can even buy a small carbonator to give the choice of luxurious sparkling water.
5) Black-out curtains
Are your curtains black-out? These will help your guests decide when they want to wake, and could help keep the room cool and comfortable.
6) Increase occupancy
Are you getting the most value from your rooms? The addition of a sofa or guest bed could increase your room flexibility and therefore profitability.
7) Guest satisfaction
Create a simple satisfaction survey and slip it under the guest’s door on their last night. Positive comments can be shared with the team to give a welcome boost, and any small negative issues can be resolved quickly before the next guests arrive.
We wish you the very best for a busy and profitable summer, and do let us know if there’s anything we can do to help with that!