Are you looking to manage an establishment this year?
As the hospitality industry heads into the busy winter months, effective management is more important than ever. From bustling Christmas trade to New Year’s celebrations, keeping customers happy involves a lot of prior preparation and streamlined processes.
Whether you’re working in fine dining or cocktails, it’s worth knowing the role of budgeting: it’s one of the cornerstones of successful management.
1. Fair pay for staff
Budgeting involves compensating your staff for their hard work.
Working in hospitality often involves physically demanding service and long shifts that may stretch into very antisocial hours. So, whether your team are serving drinks until midnight or keeping very important customers happy throughout dinner, it’s important to keep their efforts valued.
Hiring the right team requires a decent wage, so your budgeting should always account for the team you’d like to build.
2. Sourcing the best quality
Next, building relationships with trusted suppliers is key to an effective hospitality business. When so many establishments are trying to offer a similar service, managing your competition can be intense.
To help your business stand out, you need to be able to demonstrate a commitment to quality. This means working with suppliers with a very strong industry reputation and only using the best possible products.
If you’ll be managing a hotel, this means factoring in even the smallest things into the budget. For example, complimentary toiletries in en-suite bathrooms, make a real difference to guest experience and therefore encourage long-term profits.
3. Keeping compliant
Perhaps surprisingly, hospitality businesses must also budget to make sure that they are operating safely and legally.
Keeping things hygienic and safe for workers and customers ensures against further legal consequences following inspections by organisations such as the Food Standards Agency. This means a proactive commitment to cleaning, quality checks, and maintaining the best possible standards of repair for all equipment.
4. Seasonal demand
Hospitality is always going to be a business that encounters fluctuating levels of demand. To help any business prepare for quiet times of the year, budgeting on a timescale is necessary.
This should be a far-reaching process that doesn’t stop at the most obvious expenses. The best managers choose to undertake further audits with professional hospitality accountants, who can help determine where capital needs to be directed and when.
With the right measures in place, you can keep the business during the quietest part of the year and simultaneously flourish through the high season.
5. Growth and expansion
Finally, if you’re planning to expand the business, it’s necessary to put a plan in place that involves stretching the finances and taking some risks. This might be daunting if it’s your first time, but budget should always be something that serves the business now and in the future.
Being strategic and having a strong vision ensures that a budget is always available when necessary, helping your company and establishments to thrive and earn a solid reputation in a competitive industry.
