Taking Over a Hotel:
Checklists and Routines
| by Kirby D. Payne, CHA,
Our company has managed about 25 different limited and full service hotels during the last six and a half years. That averages out to assuming the management of a new hotel every three months. This year alone, we have already assumed the management of a limited service motel in Wisconsin (already sold), opened a closed hotel in North Dakota and will be going into one in Pennsylvania. We believe we are relatively efficient at the process and have had good results retaining staff and maintaining regular accounts. I thought I might share our checklists for these circumstances. While there are some very extensive manuals with hundreds of pages of detailed checklists for this purpose, we fell that a short check list for the immediate things we have to do on short notice should be a starting point. We use two lists: one relating to things which need to be done prior to assuming management and those things which need to be done the day we assume management. With these two lists, a supply of necessary forms and foreknowledge as to what front office system, if any, a particular hotel has, we can usually assume management efficiently with two people in a limited service hotel. One person leaves within two or three days while the other remains until the General Manager and staff are oriented to our procedures or a new General Manager during the first three months in about 20% of the takeovers. The two single areas where there seems to be the potential for immediate impact on the financial results of a new management situation are increased Average daily Rate (ADR) and reduced Room Attendant and Laundry time. A key part of successfully assuming the management of a new hotel is the orientation and training of the General Manager and supervisors. It is key that they completely understand our expectations, policies and procedures or we will be unable to meet our commitments to the owner. Things to Accomplish Prior to Closing/Management Change
Kirby D. Payne, CHA, is president of The American Hospitality Management Company which provides consulting and management assistance to hotels in the U.S. |
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American Hospitality Management Company 1500 South Highway 100, #375, Minneapolis, MN 55416 Phone: 763-591-7640 kpayne@american-hospitality.com http://www.american-hospitality.com |
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