Guest Satisfaction – Jaffer Group of Companies

Category: Guest Satisfaction

February 13, 2020

The next wave in hospitality

Investment in the hospitality business is booming. We continue to see constant transaction activity across the United States. The industry has chosen its darlings – the select service upscale brand collection – and they continue to form most of the pipeline of new rooms on market.

These years have been exciting. Good for business. But as the same hotels transact over-and-over-and-over again, the ceiling is inevitable. The next evolution of hospitality is overdue. The market is wondering ‘what’s next?’

The past 10 years’ economic cycle has risen tides for thousands across the country, and social media has (depressingly) created FOMO in all generations. It’s not just snowflake-entitled-lazy-avocado toasters seeking adventure on mom-and-dad’s money, it’s mom-and-dad spending their own savings with a hope to experience the world they provided their children before they die. The wealth gap is increasing yet all Americans – liberals and conservatives alike – are seeking the exact same thing.

The entire hospitality business – I count Airbnb in this as well – hasn’t been ready for the individualized emotional experience our guests expect at all points on their next journey. Hotel brands have responded by adding sub-brands and piles of select-service rooms, most of which loosely following the same hyper-current aesthetic, to try and prescribe these emotions for middle-class patrons. Different brands but still the same, homogenous look, feel and experience at all of them. Not the goal.

Airbnb has pushed to grow revenues too as the ceiling beckons, featuring ‘curating’ units to increase commissions on room sales while trying to convince customers that they are still focused on experience. It hasn’t worked. Room tax issues, expensive units, and the lack of security has hurt but, most importantly, the host-individual interaction that created the feeling of a personally guided ‘visiting the place the locals do’ trip Airbnb built their business on has been lost. Your Airbnb host is rarely an individual with a vacant house, but rather a professional with many guests to look after. Another upscale select-service hotel brand, basically. The magic that made Airbnb special is fading.

Both have missed the target. The affordability and appeal for an exploding demographic is missing.

The opportunity, to me? Economy and lower-midscale brands for the modern traveler.

The economy pipeline, outside of the Motel 6 monster, has been empty. Best Western ceded their territory by kicking economy properties to the curb. Super 8 (Wyndham) and Quality Inns (Choice) are dominant in their franchises but belittled by modern travelers as ‘not for them’. The task, if we choose to take it, is simple: create unique and affordable offerings.

Of all the fluff brands created in the past 10 years, IHG is the only one to commit to an economy/midscale brand. This is shocking to me. This segment can and will grow around the world. There’s demand for hostels for a reason. I can’t understand why the commitment has not been made. Millions of travelers seek affordable rooming and find nothing newer than 1980.

That’s the opportunity I see. First one of us to do it wins.

Alim Somji

Aesthetics, Construction, Design, Guest Satisfaction, Hotel Management

February 5, 2019

Carpet is not the Devil. Promise.

If you’ve ever hired us for hotel procurement you know that we’re quite particular about carpet. As operators we fear it; it stains, wears, and discolors. Our franchises want us to change it constantly. It’s like a car – the minute you drive it off the lot (or in this case, install it) it’s worth significantly less than what you paid. And ugly. It’s tempting to go in another direction. Our brands have agreed.

However, I’d argue the opposite. Carpet is necessary, practical, even. It provides a better guest experience.

Consider the following:

Torlys’ Everwood Premier LVT tile installed in Entourage sur-le-Lac in Beauport, QC. I never said it wasn’t nice, just that it wasn’t necessarily the best idea for the incremental cost.

1) Doing things properly takes time

Brands generally suggest (and I would concur) that carpet needs to be vacuumed daily and deep cleaned 2-3 times per year. Any more and the wear from shampooing tends to discolor the flooring; any less and stains become irreversible.

LVT is meant to be the solution. LVT doesn’t stain, true. I’d argue, however, that the time it takes to do things properly – vacuum, mop and hand scrub any particularly sticky liquids – costs time on a day to day basis. I know wet vacuums exist and yes, if you have a busy enough wood grain pattern maybe you get away with some stuck-on gum. The diligence required to do it right can increase the housekeeping minutes required per room over time (hours of housekeeping per month/total occupied room nights per month).

Will guests see a wear pattern or staining? No. But dust, dirt, and anything sticky will present itself proudly. Our guests notice, though, and let us know about it.

2) The impossible quest for ‘clean’

Imagine the hard surfaces in your home (or, if you don’t have them, in the gym floor of your elementary school). Imagine wearing nice, clean white socks on those floors (even Youtube knows that this is a thing). If you have hard surfaces now (or even walking on them as you read), you know your socks will have the gray/black outline of dust on them. And it makes sense, really. Without any fibres to hold it, dust sticks to the next soft thing it touches. A clean floor begins accumulating dust the instant the mop is removed.

We know our HVAC units – especially PTACs – don’t filter the small particulate matter in the air well. We also know that our average guest checks in around 3-4 hours after housekeeping is complete. How much dust accumulates during that time?

Additionally, the sheen on a relatively flat/lightly textured LVT in low light situations will always give the appearance of the floors being dirty. That trendy dark wood shows footprints, dust bunnies and hair. All this regardless of housekeeping performance.

3) Noise, noise, noise

This one is self-explanatory. Hard surface is just noisy. At best, you have a hard surface on a 1/8” (maximum) underlay. Carpet has a ¼” pile (approximately) with a ¼” underlay. Hard to compete on sound. Our guests complain bitterly about sound from the hallway, sound through party walls and sound from the bathroom to the guestroom. The value of the additional noise would have to be significant to justify the additional investment.

Creative Matters, Inc’s beautiful inset rug. Before it starts getting mopped.

Rug areas in bedrooms – set into the LVT or above – have been the brands’ countermeasure. This doesn’t change much – I’d argue it’s worse. The more transitions of flooring type the greater the risk of water staining on carpet or lifting or cracking of surfaces at the point of transition through repeated impact of vacuums and mopping floors. I never feel it makes sense to add complexity to a housekeeping job – it’s tough enough as is. One or the other is better than both.

I don’t hate LVT. A bit of LVT or tile in the entry area? Or public areas? Absolutely. Properly installed in a bathroom? I think this should be considered more often – no grout cleaning of grout and can last equally long if installed correctly. LVT is a fraction of the cost of tile (in most places) and we ourselves (and our clients) have used it with great success in bathroom settings. LVT holds up better to pet and smoke odors and damage. Just needs to be used in the right places, and I don’t believe the bedroom area is that place.

If you’re convinced, three things we look for when picking carpet for our clients:

1) A face weight and underlay suitable to the use (rather than simply the brand)

https://www.mohawkgroup.com/detail-durkan/Carpet/8692/144446/Cosmos-Tile

Mohawk’s lovely Interstellar Cosmos tile

*Nearly* every brand has the same guidelines: 32 oz in guestrooms, 36 oz in public areas. One hurdle to be cleared, that’s it. Reality is it’s like saying that every hotel needs an apple. There are hundreds of varieties of apples, each with a different character, sweetness and skin.

We worry less about the weight and more about use, pattern and color. Exterior corridor guestrooms should be extremely busy– with a hard surface entryway to keep some of it cleanable. Interior corridor guestrooms can have less variations of color or pattern but should have a variety of mid-gray or brown tones to keep eyes away from dust and dirt.

Don’t do this in your corridors. Or anywhere.

2) Pattern is key

Hospitality carpet is different – quite different – than residential carpet. The day to day wear is significantly higher and its importance to the overall character of the room (especially given the size of the space) is pronounced.

A few tips to knowing whether your pattern is suitable:

1) The coffee test. If a carpet sample can hide these stains well then you’re on the right track – coffee causes the most stains in a guestroom (after dirt and dust from shoes).

2) A small repeat. Every carpet sample will tell you how large the ‘repeat’ is – the height and width of the repeating pattern in the carpet. Aim for repeats less than 36”x36” for guestrooms – if you need to seam in patches of carpet it’s significantly easier to hide with a smaller repeat (plus creates less waste on installation). Corridors are required to be more artistic but keep your door drops – the area between sets of doors – a smaller pattern in an accent color. This will get dirty fastest (water staining from hard surfaces inside, wheels sitting while guests enter the room, etc. Good to have something you can readily change.

3) Pile height matters

Tandus Centiva’s surprisingly affordable Change II tile. Doesn’t have to be expensive to be nice!

Residential carpet is much taller than hospitality carpet, generally. We like our carpet at home to wrap around our toes and be extremely soft on our feet. This does not work in a hotel setting.

Look for carpets that have a lower pile height – say 3-4 mm. These will give you the best compromise between comfort and wear. Multi-level pile (‘textured’ carpet) can create another distraction for the eye – but make sure that the pattern this creates remains less than 48”x48” and the difference in height is small.

And, lastly, ensure that you have commercial grade flooring. I know so much of the time this is a farce – and I usually agree – but the finishes and densities of commercial flooring tend to be radically different from household quality flooring. It doesn’t make sense to spend the extra amount in a house but does in a hotel.

Hope this helps! I’d love to get some feedback on your experiences with this. Please contact me through the incorporated form or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alim-nizar-somji-133a257/!

Alim Somji

December 7, 2018

Microbrands (and the fight for the soul of hospitality)

Hotel conferences are meant to be relaxing. Spend time with suppliers and friends. Get the ‘rah rah’ speeches from executives. Stay out late. Go home.

‘Networking’ or ‘partying’, depending on who’s asking.

The prevailing feeling this time, coming home from the Best Western Convention, was different – as a Member, as a hotelier and, to be honest, as a guest I was simply concerned. And it wasn’t just a dodgy cocktail.

Just prior to convention, Best Western announced their 12^th and 13^th brands – ‘Aiden’ and ‘Sadie’. They’ve gone from 1 brand in 2005 to 13 brands in 13 short years. They were absolutely thrilled by it. This blew my mind, especially as market penetration of BW’s existing brands continues to be exceptionally poor (my opinion, of course). And they’re one of the small ones.

Marriott has 30 brands.

Think about that for a moment. 30 different value propositions (theoretically), target customer segments (theoretically), design guidelines (theoretically), brand standards (theoretically), brand scents (theoretically; this was a big, extremely annoying Starwood thing), and logos on napkins (less theoretically – definitely different logos on napkins).

There’s an annoying amount of ‘theoretically’ there.

Think of how many things you have 30 of. Fun fact: that is more than, despite the 101 Dalmatians promised, the number of dalmatians ever named in the original book (6), animated film (8), unreleased early draft of the animated film (10), book accompanying the original animated film (19), live action movie (17), and the entire animated series (29). (the internet is a truly wonderful, random place).

“One of us is named ‘Hyatt House’ (probably)”; Copyright Disney, found https://goo.gl/images/fosNHV. The article it connects to is fascinating.

30 brands to support. 30 development pipelines to service.

FOUR soft brands. It defies reason.

Marriott, Best Western and <insert your chain here> folks are far smarter than I am, of course. They’re worth billions, I’m not. It is unfathomable to me, though, that each can be supported equally. It’s simply not possible.

My argument:

I call these ‘microbrands’ – it’s the best description I can come up with without being offensive. Brand messaging to franchisees on these is simple. Our customers can and will be as loyal to our microbrands as they are to our chains’ major brands. Our customers have specific needs and wants. Once they are trained on the extremely specific value proposition of our brand they’ll stick to it, and that microbrand will be the next Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express once distribution picks up. Get in on the ground floor.

Bullshit.

I accept that there are certain brands in every chain that people will go out of their way to find. Hampton Inn for Hilton, Holiday Inn Express for IHG, Courtyard for Marriott (ehh), Best Western (core) for Best Western (a stretch), Comfort Inn for Choice (a bigger stretch), Super 8 for Wyndham (best you got, I’m afraid, but it does dominate economy) and Country Inn for Carlson (I’m including Carlson here because I feel I have to). When those brands defined their subset of the market – the apple of their parent chains’ eye – their evolution was shepherded through by the top minds looking to innovate in how customers interacted with hotels.

Not so much anymore.

Rationally, though, we know why there’s a new brand every two weeks. It’s so Marriott can have 30 brands and 100 hotels in Times Square in NYC. So Choice Hotels can have every one of their brands on the I-10 in Phoenix. So Carlson can have a Country Inn next to a Radisson (that’s really just a hypothetical) somewhere in the country. Franchises have fundamentally moved away from hoteliers. Every new franchise agreement tends towards a marketing exercise rather than a bet of success or failure. The operator is less and less important because market valuation in hospitality doesn’t consider it important.

The valuation process that underpinned the purchase of Woodspring Suites, La Quinta and Knights’ Inn (so, so baffling) should show hoteliers the truth: a brand is worth the value of the committed contracts, liquidated damages and owned assets available to dispose of – no more and no less (I absolutely despise the Motley Fool but this is a decent discussion of it). Marriott unceremoniously dumped Starwood’s prize assets in New York City. The Waldorf Astoria is becoming a residence. We can’t even be surprised.

You’d hope – based on the ‘commitment to mutual success’ we’re told a franchise agreement means – that franchises would be laser-focused on creating the unique experiences microbrands promise but they simply have not. The continuing success of Airbnb and the successes of Solden and others similar are an indictment on our inability to perceive the individuality of our consumers and provide an experience that, when combined with the creature comforts of a hotel, will entice customers back ‘into the fold’. No brand – outside of the W concept, Ace Hotels perhaps – has come anywhere close. The consumer simply doesn’t not connect with microbrands and no matter what any franchise salesperson tells me, increased contribution of new microbranded properties has significantly more to do with the loyalty program and the promise of a new-build hotel than any connection with the brand, period. And, as we’ve already discussed, hotels don’t last forever.

This – this is hospitality done well, kudos to Ace Hotel, NYC; image sourced at https://goo.gl/images/tgmxGj. This link is far less interesting.

Our franchises used to represent more than a model room in a basement in Bethesda or Rockville, Maryland (other head offices are equally applicable). They carried hotels that represented the vision of what brands could and should be. Less brands made this significantly easier, for sure. If the franchise has no exposure to the day to day customer experience, though, they make decisions without context. How can we reasonably expect a franchise to appropriately support a hotelier and brand when the ‘new hotel smell’ is gone? What makes us reasonably expect our franchises’ support of their microbrands – with such limited distribution and (next to) zero risk capital outlaid – will ever truly hold enough attention to evolve?

Microbranding is simply bigger than the money, occupancy and ADR; the soul of hoteling is at stake. Dilution erodes customer loyalty. We may be ‘listening’ (or pretending to listen) to our customers but we’re certainly not hearing their feedback. Our losing market share proves it. Until we start to do so we’ll never earn them back.

Here’s hoping that our chains see it the same way.

Alim Somji

October 16, 2018

Exterior Corridor Hotels

Alim’s Unprompted, Unrequested and (potentially) Ill-considered Opinion on: Economy Brands (and why do people sh*t on them)

From time to time I want to use this platform to bitch, complain or otherwise moan. This is one of those times.

Writing the PIP primer – specifically the ‘your brand doesn’t hate you’ section (they don’t – read the post) – got me thinking about the obscure differentiators brands try to steal market share, which got me thinking about a brand that we know and sometimes love that culled a bunch of ‘mom and pop’ exterior corridor hotels in rural markets (and subsequently tried to bring them back without looking like they were trying to, failing, adding their brand to try and further entice hotels – as they should have done in the first place – back and still failing as far as any of us can tell).

People like to sh*t on economy brands. That brand did it. We’ve all done it. We all looked at Choice (confirm) buying Knights’ Inn and thinking a) we didn’t know that was still a thing, b) what pathway to growing that brand could there possibly be, and c) for real – they got real money for that? (with all due apologies to Knights’ Inn franchisees that might be reading this; I assume the 4-6 of you know you still exist).

But why?

Economy hotels are not sexy. Hotels with ‘managers’ quarters’ are (generally) not sexy (apologies to those that live on property). I get that. Yet those friends of ours (that friend of yours that is always complaining about how much work he/she does on property but you know is hungover every morning and starts work at 2 PM) continue to make the money that we turn down.

I think of brand-who-must-not-be-named Harley Davidson partnership here, for example. They took a hard look at the core customer – blue-collar, older demographic, transient road-tripping business – and the hotels they had at that time – highway hotels, exterior corridor, drive to your door rooms – and found the perfect partner for it. And then – inexplicably – gave those customers and properties up to Choice (Quality Inn), Wyndham (Super 8) and Motel 6.

We’re all missing something.

I understand that people don’t necessary want to live in the middle of New Mexico desert anymore (my apologies to New Mexicans – other vast empty spaces with giant grasshoppers and empty highway towns are also available). I know financing is hard to get. I know the customers are extremely hard on rooms. Totally get it.

However – when we measure customer loyalty we can’t ignore the typical extended-stay customer. I would argue that they are the most loyal. People get used to a particular place. For better or worse, those properties have a following all their own. Why say no?

SO – to all of you that are making money on your economy properties: kudos to you. To those of us that are not – it might be worth a second look. And to those of you that own Knights’ Inns – good luck to you hardy few. The grass is (hopefully) greener on the other side (if, indeed, you haven’t all become Rodeways, Travelodges or Quality Inns yet).

</rant>

Alim Somji

October 12, 2018

Your ‘teenage’ hotel – evaluating franchising options

All good things must come to an end.

You’ve made massive (hopefully) amounts of money in your brand-new. Your guests have beaten it to hell, but it still spits out cash like a camel. But you, I and the brand know that the arbitrary ‘we feel that your hotel looks old’ clock is ticking. And, when that point arrives, your franchise sales rep, designer, contractor, general manager, children etc. will be happy to tell you) that everything needs to be replaced. Your guest reviews are slipping. Pressure is building.

The first thought is – let’s do it all. It’s simple – “I can’t afford to lose this brand”.

I disagree.

I understand the ‘protecting the strength of your portfolio’, the ‘I get satisfaction from owning a higher end property’, and the ‘I don’t want to explain to my bank how this brand will make money’, and the ‘this <insert name of other individual that you’re polite to in person but desperately want to beat> will build a <insert upper midscale brand here> next to his and take all my business’ arguments. I get that these hotels to me – Holiday Inn Expresses (especially in the US), Hampton Inns and maybe Courtyards by Marriott (in certain markets) in my mind – are desirable.

I’d also argue that it’s also time to consider selling the property in the 18 months preceding your first major PIP. You know that area and that property – will you truly have a strong return on investment; in many, many cases I simply don’t think it’s there. Get your franchise PIP and comb through it; you know your rate structure (and don’t be afraid to, if you choose to carry out the PIP, try and get a discount). Most importantly understand the revenue contribution that brand brings. Project those revenues and profits out. It doesn’t always make sense.

Ask yourself these 4 guiding questions:

1) How has my customer changed?

A franchise agreement covers extremely long periods of time. Neighborhoods can change quickly. A ring road can change traffic patterns drastically. The local mine or factory can shut down. The Detroit hotel market flourished, wilted, died and has been reborn in the matter of 50 years.

Consequently, your customers will change. Examine your market mix (comparison of number of guests per market, parking lot counts of yours and similar hotels versus number of rooms sold, changes in vehicles per day count on the supply roads around you. Even the types of cars in your lot can indicate the type of guest you have and give you a good sense of changing customer demands.

Be honest with your assessment. If your business-heavy clientele is migrating to vacationers or industrial workers, work to accommodate them and execute on their required experience. The path of highest profitability will be looking forward rather than fighting with newer hotels to recapture what you’ve lost.

2) How has your market changed?

The past few years have seen unprecedented hotel construction throughout the United States and Canada whether it seemed financially viable or not. Every property in North America has been affected by new supply without question – if you feel yours hasn’t, I’ve got some magic beans to sell you. This product tends to be upscale and above, limited service, and small-to-midsize boxes (75-150 rooms).

A business school staple – a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis – for hotels in your regional market works a treat here (instructions on how to do this can be found here). Of the hotels that have entered your market, what segments have they filled? Which hotels have left? What segments have opened up?

New hotels and changing markets shift demand upward and downward. Franchise aside, your renovation should match that emerging market accordingly.

3) What’s the damn hotel made of – literally?

It’s extremely easy to move a wall on paper. You erase them, cross them out or draw around them and they no longer exist. Good times.

Stupid as this sounds, those existing walls are actually real.

That said – what may be achievable on paper may be prohibitively expensive in the real world. Contractors, architects and consultants can be creative, but some miracles are more expensive than others. If your franchise is requiring significant exterior work, load bearing interior walls or adding floors. Plan for the big numbers; if it happens to be cheaper, happy days.

Also – and I can’t stress this enough:

Many of you have heard of asbestos. Most of you should be familiar with black mold. If you have a hotel from the 1990s or older you need to understand whether either of these two things will be a problem.

Know what you’re getting into. Remember – liability for contractors, guests and employees that interact with damaging materials is borne by the Owner primarily.

Protect yourself and do what’s right.

4) Honest Quantitative Unemotional Assessment: Does maintaining your franchise still make sense?

The scariest question in a PIP situation.

The pressure from banks, partners and franchises to stay in a system can be insufferable, but what truly drives an investment decision? We’re in business to make money, and the status quo isn’t always the best.

Let’s consider a base case: an older upper midscale hotel (say three design generations old). 100 room, 3-storey interior corridor hotel. Franchise wants a massive overhaul; the total dollar amount is $20,000 per key. If not, you’re out and finding something new. You currently do $1,780,000 in revenue – $75 ADR, 65% occupancy – at a 30% margin, equating to profits of $534,000. A midscale franchise offers to convert your property with minimal changes – carpet, paint, artwork, signage and linens – at $3,000 per key.

What’s the best way to evaluate this?

Option 1: Stay Upper Midscale

At $20K/door your renovation costs $1,700,000. You fund your renovations through an interest only loan at 5%.

You estimate that the renovation might bring back a few old corporate accounts and sneak the occupancy up to 70% and pull up your ADR to $80 even though the brand and target customer are still the same. New revenue of $2,044,000 and $613,200 in profits. That, less the $85,000 in new interest per year, takes us to $528,200.

Option 2: Move to Midscale

Your midscale renovation, at $3K per key, costs $300,000. You borrow these funds at 5%

You estimate your occupancy at 65% but drop your ADR to $70. Revenue goes down to $1,660,000 and $498,000. That, less the $15,000 in new interest per year, takes us to $483,000.

At these numbers we have an overall difference of $1,400,000 ($1,700,000 – $1,400,000) in construction costs yielding an additional $45,000 ($528,200 – $483,000) in income. A quick, back of the envelope return rate of $45,000/$1,400,000 is 3.2%, notwithstanding the additional risk of taking on a larger loan.

I understand the math will be different for each case, but is it truly worth it?

If you choose to stay with your current franchise, talk to your contractors and compile a list of the big-ticket items of their plan. Walk your franchise or PIP representative through your math. Your franchise should want you to make money; if they understand the pain points then they can do something about them. Push for additional time or a lower fee structure to get them done.

You have a decision to make. I don’t envy it. Insofar as possible take the emotion out of it and make the best decision at the point you have it. Projecting the future can be a fool’s game, anyway. If it wasn’t, Greg Oden would be a superstar, Britain would still be in the EU, no one would have purchased Knights’ Inn and I’d be dining out on my Amazon stock from my high school days ($13/share!!!) and not writing this.

Alim Somji

October 10, 2018

Surviving Your PIP

PIPs make people upset. They’re scary. They’re uncomfortable. They’re emotional.

Current franchisees, you love your property. You’ve enriched your brand on the back of your blood, sweat, tears and mental well-being. Suddenly it’s not good enough anymore. New purchasers, you’ve taken a massive risk to purchase a property and the brand wants every penny from you. Designers like expensive things. Construction gets delayed. Customers are upset.

And all the while, with deadlines coming, you must decide which of the 18 shades of blue to put on an obscure back of house wall.

It sucks.

I’ve ‘shot’ many a brand messenger selling their brand’s new initiatives (though I bet I was always right). Franchises arrange PIPs to achieve maximum consistency. Whether we agree with this point or not (and I don’t, necessarily), our brands design their businesses around our customers wanting it. I won’t argue that the PIP process is fair, even-handed or always beneficial to the owner or the franchise (I will address in the future).

Unfortunately, we agreed to the process when we excitedly signed our franchise agreements. So, since this process is unavoidable, always remember these 7 key points:

1) A PIP is not a malicious attack on your property. Honestly.
Designers are passionate people. They’ve spent months trying to translate your brand’s positioning in carpet, tile and artwork. That’s what they get paid to do. They don’t hate you.

But speak up. You know your property better than anyone else. You know your guest feedback. You know guests like to slam the barn doors your brand requires shut. You know If your guests will track mud into your Super 8 prototype light gray carpet (someone explain to me honestly, why? Have a look at the pictures if you don’t believe me).

Help your brand designer and representatives make their case. Show why a standard item or colour won’t work. Offer a trade. Franchises may accept an improvement to an item not called in your PIP (or overbuilding one that is) in place of implementing something prohibitively expensive (damn cast iron tubs, for example). We learned that lesson the hard way. I am still paying for not fighting a brand designed room package that we knew was stupid.

A designer’s objective is to find common products for all hotels in their system, not just yours. Certain things will financially unfeasible or impractical for your hotel. It’s on you to prove that.

2) Use your consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers – they have the experience to help

Shameless self-plug, I know, but still –

I’ve wasted a ton of time looking at for better priced alternatives to brand designs or items. Every time, without fail, my contractors, suppliers and designers have found alternates significantly quicker than I have. That’s what you pay them for.

Every minute of interest, customer disruption and out of order rooms costs money. Your time costs money. Lean on the people that you’re paying to do the job. Ensure that your contractor has hotel (or at least multi-family) experience. If you’re intent on self-performing your PIP, push your subcontractors and suppliers to recommend possible alternatives.

Most of all, look at the big picture and focus on finding margin in your biggest ticket items. Pick your battles – financially or otherwise – and ensure your contractors know you want options. If they can’t or won’t, find new ones.

3) Shop around to all the approved (and unapproved) vendors on your lists

Brands will generally provide you multiple approved suppliers for every item on your PIP. These items tend to be similarly priced.

Don’t settle. Different suppliers have different promotions, capacities and backlogs. Some suppliers will need your business more than others, some will want to get approved for the brand you’re building. Get pricing from as many as possible for your key big-ticket items.

Procurement companies (we do this too – shameless plug #2!) – can save you money over and above their fee. Be careful, though. Check their references. Talk to your brand representatives – if they frequently work with your chain your brand will know them.

4) Create a model room – fast

I know this is expensive, but I can guarantee that a model room will save you time and money. Materials perform differently depending on location. Dust levels, weather conditions and even housekeeping cart style can impact performance or longevity of the items you’re using. It’s always better to see it and walk through it up front. You, your general manager, housekeeping, maintenance and customers will all have an opinion on whether a product will make sense in your hotel; why discount that?

Furthermore, renovations can be exercises in uncertainty. Age, market conditions and availability of construction materials will range widely from property to property. There’s no way of preparing a full scope of work without understanding the full breadth of a job. Your architects will thank you – more accurate drawings and less rework. Your contractors will thank you – a good model room will make installation heights idiot proof. Your brand will thank you – pictures of a renovated room will make asking for that 3-month extension that much easier.

5) Walk your rooms – often

You test drive a car before you buy it. You inspect a house before you purchase it. Your hotel renovation can dwarf the cost of both of those. Walk your rooms and itemize changes in writing (even if your contractor is making changes for free!). After awhile all rooms begin looking the same. At some point details start to blur together and items get missed. This way everyone is on the same page.

Regardless of fault, get what you intended. You don’t want to bring contractors back. Pay for the things that you missed, have your contractor fix the things that they missed and walk the rooms with construction staff prior to accepting rooms back and checking in guests. Multiple eyes are better than one.

6) Keep your customers, employees and brand informed

Customers come and go at all hours of the day. The average construction day, however, is fairly well-defined. Our guest surveys tell us that these are not always the same.
Guests have common expectations regardless of brand; they need working toilets, beds and showers (generally in that order). Construction will impact all of those things at some point. Be honest with your customers and let them know what’s going on.

No one likes surprises, but everyone likes shiny new things. Your hotel renovations will excite them. Show them pictures and drawings of your beautiful new rooms. Keep them informed and set expectations at check-in. Your Medallia will thank you.

7) Renovations will always take longer than expected. Count on it.

Every stakeholder in a construction project use best case scenarios in their renovation timelines. Everyone wants to be done as quickly as possible. Surprises are unavoidable though – items don’t fit, lighting needs to be rewired, mold needs to be removed. Things happen.

Accept that the renovation will not go exactly as planned. Accept that you’ll have unforeseen issues. Accept that it’ll take longer than your contractor’s optimistic timeline while still pushing them to keep tight on it. But don’t sacrifice. You’re paying for a renovation that should last many years. The result will be worth it in the end, I promise.

As always, I am happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have about your hotel renovation! Reach out to me via the contact page and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Alim Somji