As a former GM for both hotels and hostels internationally I’ve always thought that technology played a big role in success internally from a units perspective.
It has always been a priority for me to have the right tools available for me to get the right overview of how my business actually are doing. Technology over the last few year has evolved so much that it is hard to come up with any excuses to your peers if you cannot answer questions on how your property is doing.
Giving the staff access to the right tools is as paramount as for a leader now a days. How can the team be expected to deliver if the tools they have at their disposal do not match expectations from above on delivery.
Be imaginative at times with your teams, test the guys and girls on the shop floor, engage with them on how the tech works, set up logs that highlight who logs on and off, who uses the softwares on a regular basis.
Run competitions and incentive activities.
As an example, I did a breakfast upsell on front of house with an incentive that the colleague with the most upsells would get a 250 euro gift card for Easyjet which basically is a return journey anywhere in Europe for 2.
Name an ambassador for your systems which is the main point of contact for anything related to your technology, remember to incentivise the chosen one too to keep motivation going.
Use the high street vouchers as gifts for staff that go above and beyond.
I know it seems a bit old school but remember the age group we deal with and these things just work.
Drive the buzz from the top and you will see the results in your teams.
This blog is written by Dan Jakobsen, CMS Dir of Sales Europe.
Prior to joining CMS Dan was GM of a large hybrid hotel in Hamburg and has enjoyed a long career in the hotel industry.
