Will your hotel pass the crash test? (Part 1)
Most people think that money alone is enough to ‘start’ a hotel. They fail to realise that they need more than that. Unsurprisingly, the ‘ending’ often turns out to be disappointing and an unhappy one at that! Such people may have a subjective, emotional or personal reason for wanting to be in the hospitality industry (e.g. it’s your hometown, it’s where you want to ‘get away’ when you want to take a ‘break’ from making money, all the hotels you’ve seen are utterly useless and anyone with access to adequate capital can do better, your friends are constantly reminding you to build a hotel, etc.). There’s nothing wrong with that, and if you’re willing to accept a lower or no return, that’s okay – but go in the understanding that that’s the choice you’re making. You could probably do better investing your money elsewhere.
Around 65% –70% of the motor cars on Sri Lankan roads will fail the ‘crash test’. A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in crashworthiness, in which a car hits a barrier with the front driver's side corner at 40 miles per hour. It simulates clipping another car head-on or hitting a tree or pole. The test establishes how strong the occupant compartment is to resist intrusion from a frontal crash, safety belts that prevent a driver from pitching too far forward, side curtain airbags to cushion a head at risk of hitting the dashboard or window frame and measures how well vehicle designs prevent injuries to feet and lower legs. It has been proved that the smallest cars on the road carry the biggest injury risk in a common and deadly type of crash.
In a test carried out in January 2014, only one of 11 small/minicars (which incidentally did not include any of India’s small cars), passed the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's ‘small front overlap crash test’. Indeed, something to really worry about!
Of these several new hotels that have sprung up including the new builds on the pipeline, on the pipeline, how many of them do you think will pass the ‘crash test’? Let’s check it out.
Location and Opportunity:
Every one of you must feel that there is opportunity linked to the location where your particular property is been built. Each owner is convinced of the location and believes the new hotel will thrive, because:
Remember, Great locations attract competitors and even in the most beautiful locations, heavy competition from existing hotels will ensure that success may come only much later or not at all! Again, if the neighbourhood in which you are building your property has any undesirable elements that negates ease of travel, you will find it difficult to price the rooms low enough to encourage travellers to stay at your hotel – however close it is to any key attractions. Have you considered the impact on operations should tourism take a ‘tumble’? How would you minimise the shocks of unpredictable events?
Strategy:
I am assuming that all of you who are building new hotels have ‘debated’ the key question ‘why did you (customer) choose my hotel?’ and to find out customers answers. This is the defining phase of identifying ‘who is my guest?’ How will I adapt and style my services to meet the needs of the type of guests I want to attract. Will my hotel appeal to couples on romantic holidays, families with kids, corporate travellers or foreign tourists. Then, have you given thought to the combination of facilities, amenities, ambiance and services that will fulfill your guests’ expectations. Most of you will try to be everything to everyone and struggle! Remember, strategy includes making tradeoffs – and the ability to avoid the temptation to go after every customer target market. Concentrating on making your service offering perfect for your most desired customer market will save you costs, better your profits and probably give you less headaches!
To be continued
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