Traditional night auditors give way to sales savvy service crews
The graveyard shift is no longer a graveyard in the hospitality industry. Check-ins and a host of other activities presumed dead after 11 pm are still alive and kicking well beyond midnight in today’s time -strapped world. For all intents and purposes the traditional night auditor is dead and buried. But have hoteliers woken up to this reality?
It is a common misconception that once the evening crew leaves the desk, nothing much happens, which means much night- time employees are plunging into full-service roles with no formal training. The idea that hotels can operate with skeleton crews after dark can result in only lost revenues and decreased guest satisfaction. Managers need to realise that guests arriving past midnight are still guests.
In many cases, in fact, those late arrivals are tired, red-eyed, at their lowest energy levels and fully realise that the rack rates been charged will cover only a third of the duration they are intended to cover. These guests pay full price for shorter stays, so why should they be forced to accept discounted service?
Alternatively, a well trained skeleton crew can give hotels a niche that will satisfy both guests and bottom line. Readying hotel staff for a late night service is a definite competitive advantage.
Night vision
A cutting edge night crew should be sensitive to the hotel’s surroundings. If the property is located near an airport, knowing the airlines contacts can result in guest windfalls that will be the envy of any revenue manager.. One night I received a call from a leading airline contact who brought more than 100 distressed passengers to the hotel. The late arrivals resulted in a great breakfast business and a million smiles for the housekeeping staff. And the ADR achieved in that one night may have taken the entire sales team more than a month to accomplish.
A sound management practice should be to reward and encourage night crews to repeat such achievements. Furthermore, good night managers will take advantage of walks from other hotels to sample services and potentially convert those guests to repeat business. Research shows that even though technology can deliver a key and simulate a check-in, guests still prefer the human touch.
Night Auditor revised
Are we still hiring night staff with a penchant for figures rather than service? Cross training and job descriptions need to be revisited. Hoteliers need to vest night crews with authority, confidence and empowerment to achieve those sell-outs, we as hoteliers, covert.
In terms of preparing the front desk for challenges, night managers need to destroy the myth that what happens at night is any different from what occurs during the day and communications is a crucial part of this process. Monthly breakfast meetings can keep the night shift on the same page as the rest of the staff.
During the midnight hour, split-second decisions about pricing and quicksilver responses to telephone calls can make the difference between 100% occupancy and a management summary that shows rooms unsold. Hoteliers cannot impose and command prices at will. We have to earn them. And an empowered, well trained staff can do that.
M.A.Waheed – Former Night Manager, Crown Plaza Meadowlands, New Jersey and Hotelier
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