QUALITY IN TOURISM > when an inspector calls
When an inspector calls…
Refurbishment is often a touchy subject with hoteliers; not only the hassle and cost of
managing a refurb project, but also whether it is really necessary. DEBORAH HEATHER,
director of Quality in Tourism talks about refurbing and how relevant it is to your business.
Deborah manages a field force of more than 40 assessors, who each grade around 300
properties a year, ensuring that they are safe, clean and legal
A
lthough not formally a part of a cost to a return can have a massive suites, adding new facilities (when
inspection, recently refurbished impact on the bottom line. The benefits relevant) and if possible, improving the
hotels often outperform their of a proper, planned refurb include footprint of the room or creating new
unrefreshed counterparts, both in positive reviews and customer loyalty, rooms from unused space. This does
terms of their grading and their bottom lower overall long-term maintenance not of course mean you can leave the
line. As an owner or manager, it is easy costs, increased property value, room completely untouched for seven
to become blind to the scrapes and opportunity to increase room rates or years, and hoteliers should also have
scuffs that appear on hotel paintwork, tier room prices more substantially, a refresh and deep clean programme
but to a first-time or irregular customer, increased turnover, increased for rooms, that addresses scuffs and
they can stick out like a sore thumb. So profitability and potentially even scrapes, identifies aspects which need
too with your inspector. commercial expansion by using existing an upgrade and makes repairs when
spaces smarter. I remember famously necessary for example cracked tiling.
For any business, there are usually
One of the most common
two key drivers for refurbishment; a major London hotel invested many the first is to keep the hotel looking millions in a top-to-bottom renovation, hesitations that our assessors
fresh and bright, ensuring that the which involved closing the hotel for encounter is the short-term impact
bumps and bruises it sustains from many months. Working in hotels at the on RevPAR and the potential impact
guests don’t leave it looking tired; time, we were all astounded, but the on other guests. In terms of RevPAR,
and the second is to take it beyond day the business reopened, it had a it is all about careful planning and
the days of mundane magnolia. Most seemingly effortless 38% increase in management; being as specific as
don’t have a formal refurbishment turnover and a whopping 90% increase possible before even starting work
programme with a rolling schedule in profitability. Another few years later helps to minimise the timeframe in
of main tenance and revamp, increased the property value alone which work is completed and of course
instead taking an ad hoc stance to by 80%. I appreciate these are big helps offset the loss of earnings.
upgrading the interior of the hotel. numbers to go with big properties, but Similarly, if your focus at the same time
Understandable, but nevertheless a still, they are scalable and even better is to increase the value, tier or rate of
tactic which overlooks the potential you don’t have to commit to closing the room, then it should be well worth
business case for refurbishing. down to achieve them. the upgrade in the medium-term.
Commercially, upgrading the
Best practice in the industry
With regards to other guests, it is
property should not be recognised suggests a full refit of each bedroom all about managing expectations and
or isolated as a cost, but should every seven to twelve years, which becoming familiar with their behaviours.
instead be viewed as an investment. should include replacing furniture and For example, completing works during
It may seem like simple semantics, but furnishings (or restoring period pieces), the day, but not starting anything noisy
psychologically, shifting the idea from redecorating, upgrading bathroom until after 10am helps to limit the impact
April 2017
www.hotelowner.co.uk
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