Now ye're talking - to a Hotelier

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 08-03-2019 2:02pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Have you ever had to sack someone for doing something wrong but was actually the right thing to do?
Or would sacking be part of your role.

Do people come in with problems and try and record it all or Facebook live etc?

That's shocking you have been attacked and thanks for answering all my questions.

Yes it would be part of our job spec, in conjunction with the HR function of the group too. there have been occasions when staff had to be let go. It happens. Its not nice when you have to do it but unfortunately when people put you in a position then sometimes you have no alternative

Cant say i have ever had someone live stream issues on FB ... lets hope that doesnt become a trend !!!

tomwaits48 · 08-03-2019 3:40pm

looksee wrote: »

If I had just one experience of sleepwalking in the nude in a hotel I would make sure I wore some sort of loose comfortable clothing to sleep in, I'm sure you could find something suitable?

agreed - i wouldn't mind but it was the same hotel at the same annual event - 2 years running. mental.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 08-03-2019 3:45pm

tomwaits48 wrote: »

agreed - i wouldn't mind but it was the same hotel at the same annual event - 2 years running. mental.

It is something that crops up now and again. What some people do is put something like the bedroom chair or their suitcase on the floor in front of the door so that its harder for them to open the door and gives them more of a chance to wake up before they leave the room

SirChenjin · 08-03-2019 5:43pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

The star system does serve a purpose but the way hotels have improved in recent years, sometimes there can be very little difference between a very good 3* and a decent 4* hotel.

Great thread, thanks for taking the time to do it.

Just curious, who actually awards stars? I remember years ago, it used to be Bord Failte, I think. (Showing my age, probably, mentioning Bord Failte)!

punisher5112 · 08-03-2019 5:52pm

Is there a high turn over of staff?

Is the hotel group food to staff and give and decent perks.

I got married in a hotel and they were amazing and everything was so well organized.
I found it was a really well run hotel with a big family style of friendship between staff and there was very good atmosphere.

Is this something your chain would be likeborbis it more work driven and targets.

Prominent_Dawg · 08-03-2019 9:36pm

Can I order something that's not on the menu?
Have you ever lost it with a member of staff, if so why?
What would you say was one of the most difficult customers you have had to deal with?
What's your own best/worst hotel experiences?
What would you say you dislike most about your job?

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 11:36am

SirChenjin wrote: »

Great thread, thanks for taking the time to do it.

Just curious, who actually awards stars? I remember years ago, it used to be Bord Failte, I think. (Showing my age, probably, mentioning Bord Failte)!

Any business calling themselves a hotel must be registered with Failte Ireland and its themselves that would deal with the classification of the grading for hotels and certify the star rating

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 11:39am

punisher5112 wrote: »

Is there a high turn over of staff?

Is the hotel group food to staff and give and decent perks.

I got married in a hotel and they were amazing and everything was so well organized.
I found it was a really well run hotel with a big family style of friendship between staff and there was very good atmosphere.

Is this something your chain would be likeborbis it more work driven and targets.

staffing - yes a very high turnover of staff, probably more so in Dublin than in the regional hotels. Just the nature of the beast in hotels im afraid

We are a large company and we do have targets to achieve but having said that, we do our best to foster a family environment in the hotels and would do things like organise christmas parties for our staff's children every year for example and give them a day out, meet santa, etc

Damien360 · 09-03-2019 11:40am

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Any business calling themselves a hotel must be registered with Failte Ireland and its themselves that would deal with the classification of the grading for hotels and certify the star rating

Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Hotel decides star rating (based on buisness it is chasing) and Failte Ireland would inspect and verify ? Seems reasonable. Have they ever refused to verify and downgrade ? Years ago I stayed in an old place in Cork near Tivoli that had a rating far too high. I suspect it was once a great place but never reclassified.

This is not sarcasm but a question. Apologies if it reads like sarcasm

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 11:57am

Prominent_Dawg wrote: »

Can I order something that's not on the menu?
Have you ever lost it with a member of staff, if so why?
What would you say was one of the most difficult customers you have had to deal with?
What's your own best/worst hotel experiences?
What would you say you dislike most about your job?

Yes we regularly get requests for something that may not be on the menu, usually from people with food intolerances for example. We will always do our best to accommodate them

Im sure over the years i may have freaked out at a couple of staff. No particular incident springs to mind. It is a very highly pressurised environment that we work in and extremely fast paced and we just cant carry any passengers as they say so if someone is not pulling their weight, it will get noticed very quickly

Cant say any one particular awkward guest springs immediately to mind. You would usually get someone who is what we would refer to as " being in the wrong hotel " and they can be hard to deal with. Basically what we mean by that is the guest has booked say a 3* hotel but expects 5* service and amenities and complains about absolutely everything. Nothing you can do or say to them will make any difference whatsoever. In that scenario, i would be as nice as pie with the guest to a certain point - but if they took it too far i would take them aside and politely explain the type of hotel that we were, i would explain to them that i believed they were being unfair to the hotel and the staff by way of them not managing their own expectations of what we offer and i would apologise for it being a case that the hotel was not suitable to their own particular requirements on this occasion and leave it at that

Experiences - i have listed a few previously on this thread

Worst thing - you can never relax. You are always on call because its a 24/7 industry.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 12:06pm

Damien360 wrote: »

Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Hotel decides star rating (based on buisness it is chasing) and Failte Ireland would inspect and verify ? Seems reasonable. Have they ever refused to verify and downgrade ? Years ago I stayed in an old place in Cork near Tivoli that had a rating far too high. I suspect it was once a great place but never reclassified.

This is not sarcasm but a question. Apologies if it reads like sarcasm

Well the hotel would decide what business it wants to go after and would decide what star rating they would like to have and then spec their hotel accordingly towards this goal. Failte Ireland would have to certify the classification then. I have attached a PDF of the classification process to this reply. Its an interesting read and will give you an insight into the hoops that hotels have to jump through to get accreditation.

Failte Ireland engage a company called Capita to do annual assessments of hotels and ensure that they are meeting the classification needs that they advertise. If you fail to meet the criteria then yes, the classification can be downgraded / taken away from you

Prominent_Dawg · 09-03-2019 12:07pm

Would you contact a member of staff on their day off?

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 12:10pm

Prominent_Dawg wrote: »

Would you contact a member of staff on their day off?

Only in the scenario that we were under pressure for staff if someone had run in sick, etc etc. But really you cant be contacting staff outside of contracted working hours. They need their rest periods too

Damien360 · 09-03-2019 12:23pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

.......I have attached a PDF of the classification process to this reply. Its an interesting read and will give you an insight into the hoops that hotels have to jump through to get accreditation.

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I read that PDF and it is anal in the extreme. Some of it is ridiculous nit picking insignificant crap.

Hotels would obviously have to pay for accreditation and inspection. Is this a straight up fee or dependant on size and class of hotel. Bordering on a quango but necessary in some way to keep standards across the country.

JCX BXC · 09-03-2019 12:34pm

Thanks for attaching the PDF! Very interesting read, as is this thread.

On the PDF (p.15) it mentions that "100% of all bedrooms designated non-smoking subject to compliance with national legislation"

That's a rather strange requirement, as national legislation exempts hotel bedrooms from the smoking ban, leaving the decisions to individual hotels to decide.

Which leads me onto my question, would many of the hotels you've worked in since 2004 (since the implementation of the ban) have smoking bedrooms, and would they be requested much? What provisions would you make for these bedrooms?

looksee · 09-03-2019 12:45pm

That pdf of standards is interesting. If I were comparing a 2 star, 3 or 4 star hotel I would not be swayed by many of the facilities offered as the sense of cleanliness and comfort the hotel provided. I would be much more likely to notice a grubby carpet than whether they provided free newspapers. Many of the points would not occur to me - I might expect to find all the facilities in a 5 star hotel, and expect a (high) minimum standard of cleanliness in all hotels, but many of the requirements would not affect me at all.

I was reading a report by one of the tourism agencies recently (might have been Bord Failte) which admitted that the falling enthusiasm for b&bs could have something to do with the overly rigid levels of requirements imposed by BF, it had taken away some of the homely character and spontaneity that tourists looked for in b&bs. I realise this is a different sector and not so applicable to hotels, but does chasing this very specific attention to detail affect you?

looksee · 09-03-2019 12:48pm

On the PDF (p.15) it mentions that "100% of all bedrooms designated non-smoking subject to compliance with national legislation"

That's a very ambiguous sentence, it could mean several things depending on how you read 'designated', 'subject' and 'compliance'.

JCX BXC · 09-03-2019 1:07pm

looksee wrote: »

That's a very ambiguous sentence, it could mean several things depending on how you read 'designated', 'subject' and 'compliance'.

It's a very strange sentence, seems as if it is in effect meaningless or contradictory at the least.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 1:32pm

Damien360 wrote: »

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I read that PDF and it is anal in the extreme. Some of it is ridiculous nit picking insignificant crap.

Hotels would obviously have to pay for accreditation and inspection. Is this a straight up fee or dependant on size and class of hotel. Bordering on a quango but necessary in some way to keep standards across the country.

Its a fee based on the number of bedrooms that you have.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 1:34pm

JCX BXC wrote: »

Thanks for attaching the PDF! Very interesting read, as is this thread.

On the PDF (p.15) it mentions that "100% of all bedrooms designated non-smoking subject to compliance with national legislation"

That's a rather strange requirement, as national legislation exempts hotel bedrooms from the smoking ban, leaving the decisions to individual hotels to decide.

Which leads me onto my question, would many of the hotels you've worked in since 2004 (since the implementation of the ban) have smoking bedrooms, and would they be requested much? What provisions would you make for these bedrooms?

The regulations are done in such a way as to future proof them. ie: if legislation changes then there's no need to amend this document as it just says that you need to comply with whatever the legislation is at the moment in time

No hotels i have worked in have smoking rooms anymore. You do get requests for them often enough but we are 100% no smoking hotels.

dermo888 · 09-03-2019 1:34pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Yes we regularly get requests for something that may not be on the menu, usually from people with food intolerances for example. We will always do our best to accommodate them

"Basically what we mean by that is the guest has booked say a 3* hotel but expects 5* service and amenities and complains about absolutely everything."

There are two nationalities who I absolutely DREAD for that

Singaporeans
Indians

I recommend accidentally deliberately changing the prices for them.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 1:40pm

looksee wrote: »

That pdf of standards is interesting. If I were comparing a 2 star, 3 or 4 star hotel I would not be swayed by many of the facilities offered as the sense of cleanliness and comfort the hotel provided. I would be much more likely to notice a grubby carpet than whether they provided free newspapers. Many of the points would not occur to me - I might expect to find all the facilities in a 5 star hotel, and expect a (high) minimum standard of cleanliness in all hotels, but many of the requirements would not affect me at all.

I was reading a report by one of the tourism agencies recently (might have been Bord Failte) which admitted that the falling enthusiasm for b&bs could have something to do with the overly rigid levels of requirements imposed by BF, it had taken away some of the homely character and spontaneity that tourists looked for in b&bs. I realise this is a different sector and not so applicable to hotels, but does chasing this very specific attention to detail affect you?

You would be the ideal hotel guest as you clearly know how to manage your expectations when travelling. If you dont need all the bells and whistles then you wont book a 5* hotel. The classifications are all about the level of opulence you want i suppose, and are willing to pay for. But you are right about things like cleanliness being far more important than daily newspapers being available for people.

To be fair i dont think Failte Ireland regulations are that bad. They were amended back in 2017 and made it much easier for us. For example: The regulation used to be that you were obliged to provide 1 bedside light per bed space so if you had a triple room, you needed 3 bedside lamps - which caused an issue as for a double / single room, we would normally have 2, as one would double for one side of the double bed and the single bed beside it. Now they arent so rigid and simple state that you must provide adequate lighting for people in the bedroom

troyzer · 09-03-2019 1:43pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

You would be the ideal hotel guest as you clearly know how to manage your expectations when travelling. If you dont need all the bells and whistles then you wont book a 5* hotel. The classifications are all about the level of opulence you want i suppose, and are willing to pay for. But you are right about things like cleanliness being far more important than daily newspapers being available for people.

To be fair i dont think Failte Ireland regulations are that bad. They were amended back in 2017 and made it much easier for us. For example: The regulation used to be that you were obliged to provide 1 bedside light per bed space so if you had a triple room, you needed 3 bedside lamps - which caused an issue as for a double / single room, we would normally have 2, as one would double for one side of the double bed and the single bed beside it. Now they arent so rigid and simple state that you must provide adequate lighting for people in the bedroom

Neoliberal, rampant deregulation gone amok.

You bourgeois, petits filous, fat cat, capitalist pig dogs are exploiting the working class by not providing one lamp per occupant.

Adequate lighting is not adequate.

Viva la revolución.

Franz Von Peppercorn · 09-03-2019 1:46pm

Is there any economic reason why I can’t walk into a hotel at 11pm and pay a nominal fee (say 20€) for a room that otherwise would not be filled.

I’m deliberately saying economic here as obviously there are brand issues. And of course it isn’t a policy you would want to advertise. I’m just talking about extra revenue vs already sunk costs.

Also what pays for itself in a hotel? I assume that the bars and restaurants pay for themselves. After all they are often more expensive and yet as full as pubs or restaurants not associated with hotels.

dermo888 · 09-03-2019 1:48pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Failte Ireland engage a company called Capita to do annual assessments of hotels and ensure that they are meeting the classification needs that they advertise. If you fail to meet the criteria then yes, the classification can be downgraded / taken away from you

Capita? Surely not them. My God. Crapita are a thoroughly awful company.

troyzer · 09-03-2019 1:49pm

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Is there any economic reason why I can’t walk into a hotel at 11pm and pay a nominal fee (say 20€) for a room that otherwise would not be filled.

I’m deliberately saying economic here as obviously there are brand issues. And of course it isn’t a policy you would want to advertise. I’m just talking about extra revenue vs already sunk costs.

Also what pays for itself in a hotel? I assume that the bars and restaurants pay for themselves. After all they are often more expensive and yet as full as pubs or restaurants not associated with hotels.

Some hotels definitely do this. I stayed in the Gatwick Hilton for £35 after my flight landed around 00:30. I was shocked. I slept in until half nine and wandered down for an included buffet breakfast before heading into London for the day.

I suspect that this can't be advertised openly, nor is it particularly convenient for punters to leave their chances of a bed that night to chance.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 1:59pm

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Is there any economic reason why I can’t walk into a hotel at 11pm and pay a nominal fee (say 20€) for a room that otherwise would not be filled.

I’m deliberately saying economic here as obviously there are brand issues. And of course it isn’t a policy you would want to advertise. I’m just talking about extra revenue vs already sunk costs.

Also what pays for itself in a hotel? I assume that the bars and restaurants pay for themselves. After all they are often more expensive and yet as full as pubs or restaurants not associated with hotels.

There's no point in selling a bedroom for that low a price. You will have already paid approx 10 euro to get the room cleaned, then take 20 euro from the guest and then pay another 10 to get it cleaned again so net effect would be zero. However if you didnt sell that room for 20 euro and sold it for 70 the following night then your net effect would be + 50 euro so selling the room so cheaply in the first scenario would actually cost you 50 euro in the long run. You cant really devalue your brand either as you say, and if people knew that hotels were in the habit of selling rooms for 20 euro at midnight each night then they would never book rooms in advance.

Bedrooms are the most profitable part obviously. Food and Beverage doesnt really make profit, makes what we call a contribution. Food costs for raw materials would average 35 - 40% and then add in an average of 42% labour cost and chuck in light, heat, gas, equipment, crockery costs and you're not left with much. Beverage costs for raw materials would average 35% and again add in your labour, POS systems, equipment, glassware, cleaning agents for glassware, etc there is very little left. Leisure centres / pools would be a huge loss making area as the labour costs are so high because you must have trained people on-site in relation to lifeguards / gym instructors, etc. The energy costs for pools / saunas / jacuzzi are astronomical too, and dont forget chemicals for the pool, etc. Thats why most hotels have external gym / pool memberships to claw back revenue. Golf would be similar to leisure centre and be a loss maker for hotels. Again they would address their high costs with external memberships.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 2:02pm

dermo888 wrote: »

Capita? Surely not them. My God. Crapita are a thoroughly awful company.

Im not sure if we are talking about the same company. Capita Customer Solutions is the one Failte Ireland use. They are a very good operator in my experience

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 2:04pm

troyzer wrote: »

Some hotels definitely do this. I stayed in the Gatwick Hilton for £35 after my flight landed around 00:30. I was shocked. I slept in until half nine and wandered down for an included buffet breakfast before heading into London for the day.

I suspect that this can't be advertised openly, nor is it particularly convenient for punters to leave their chances of a bed that night to chance.

Airport hotels would be a totally different animal in fairness. They would have slightly different targets to regular hotels due to the influx of people that pass through.

mikemac2 · 09-03-2019 2:04pm

Former jaded and world weary night porter here

Can you agree with me that the ladies take waaaaaay more time to clean than the gents

Lipstick on the mirror is a bitch to clean off :mad: And that wasn’t even the worst part. Some nights you open the door to the ladies and you open the gates to hell

The gents were so easy and quick to clean in comparison

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 2:07pm

mikemac2 wrote: »

Former jaded and world weary night porter here

Can you agree with me that the ladies take waaaaaay more time to clean than the gents

Lipstick on the mirror is a bitch to clean off :mad: And that wasn’t even the worst part. Some nights you open the door to the ladies and you open the gates to hell

The gents were so easy and quick to clean in comparison

At the risk of starting a war here .... yes i would probably have to agree with you on that one LOL

Franz Von Peppercorn · 09-03-2019 2:09pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

There's no point in selling a bedroom for that low a price. You will have already paid approx 10 euro to get the room cleaned, then take 20 euro from the guest and then pay another 10 to get it cleaned so net effect would be zero. However if you didnt sell that room for 20 euro and sold it for 70 the following night then your net effect would be + 50 euro so selling the room so cheaply in the first scenario would actually cost you 50 euro in the long run. You cant really devalue your brand either as you say, and if people knew that hotels were in the habit of selling rooms for 220 euro at midnight each night then they would never book rooms in advance.

Not sure I’m following that. The 10€ to clean is I assume, an average cost of wages per room ( ie it takes about an hour) but employees are not paid per room, right? More rooms might just take them longer but they are paid per day? So yesterday’s costs and today’s costs are sunk. Tomorrow’s 70€ Isn’t affected by a cheapo staying one night.

Bedrooms are the most profitable part obviously. Food and Beverage doesnt really make profit, makes what we call a contribution. Food costs for raw materials would average 35 - 40% and then add in an average of 42% labour cost and chuck in light, heat, gas, equipment, crockery costs and you're not left with much. Beverage costs for raw materials would average 35% and again add in your labour, POS systems, equipment, glassware, cleaning agents for glassware, etc there is very little left. Leisure centres / pools would be a huge loss making area as the labour costs are so high because you must have trained people on-site in relation to lifeguards / gym instructors, etc. The energy costs for pools / saunas / jacuzzi are astronomical too, and dont forget chemicals for the pool, etc. Thats why most hotels have external gym / pool memberships to claw back revenue. Golf would be similar to leisure centre and be a loss maker for hotels. Again they would address their high costs with external memberships.

I guessed that swimming pools would be a huge loss. As for golf there was an episode of At your Service where the quieter Brennan just shook his head when they were asked to fix a B&B with a small golf course attached and said he wouldn’t bother. That was the last we saw of him.

dermo888 · 09-03-2019 2:16pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

At the risk of starting a war here .... yes i would probably have to agree with you on that one LOL

I had to clean the toilets in a pub when I was a teenager, as a student and that was before the pub opened. The women's toilets were a horror to behold.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 2:20pm

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Not sure I’m following that. The 10€ to clean is I assume, an average cost of wages per room ( ie it takes about an hour) but employees are not paid per room, right? More rooms might just take them longer but they are paid per day? So yesterday’s costs and today’s costs are sunk. Tomorrow’s 70€ Isn’t affected by a cheapo staying one night.

I guessed that swimming pools would be a huge loss. As for golf there was an episode of At your Service where the quieter Brennan just shook his head when they were asked to fix a B&B with a small golf course attached and said he wouldn’t bother. That was the last we saw of him.

Im not even gonna go there with the Brennans LOL

Ok so lets break it down. Cleaning a room costs an average of €10 euro. This cost includes the staff wages, the cost of using new linen and the cost of replenishing the Teas / Coffees / Shampoo / Shower Gel / Soap, etc ...

So you clean the room once costing 10 euro, then you sell it for 20 euro and then you clean it again after that person leaves so it costs you another 10 euro. So .... - 10 euro cost + 20 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = zero. So you made no money on that room

But ... if you dont sell that room that night, then its still a clean room that you will have to sell tomorrow. And say you sell that room for 70 euro and then clean it the following morning. So in this scenario - 10 euro cost + 70 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = 50 euro. So you went from selling a room and making zero profit .... to selling the same room a day later and making 50 euro profit.

Franz Von Peppercorn · 09-03-2019 2:27pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Im not even gonna go there with the Brennans LOL

Ok so lets break it down. Cleaning a room costs an average of €10 euro. This cost includes the staff wages, the cost of using new linen and the cost of replenishing the Teas / Coffees / Shampoo / Shower Gel / Soap, etc ...

So you clean the room once costing 10 euro, then you sell it for 20 euro and then you clean it again after that person leaves so it costs you another 10 euro. So .... - 10 euro cost + 20 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = zero. So you made no money on that room

20€ was an example. You’re not getting that the original clean of the room on the day I arrive late is an already sunk cost. Already paid for.

The only extra cost is the new clean tomorrow. Also can you include staff costs in that? If they are not paid for by room probably not.

But ... if you dont sell that room that night, then its still a clean room that you will have to sell tomorrow. And say you sell that room for 70 euro and then clean it the following morning. So in this scenario - 10 euro cost + 70 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = 50 euro. So you went from selling a room and making zero profit .... to selling the same room a day later and making 50 euro profit.

Still confused. If I get a room on the 5th Jan by walking in and agreeing a below advertised rate how does it affect the Jan 6th room? I’m not staying two nights.

Odelay · 09-03-2019 2:28pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Im not even gonna go there with the Brennans LOL

Ok so lets break it down. Cleaning a room costs an average of €10 euro. This cost includes the staff wages, the cost of using new linen and the cost of replenishing the Teas / Coffees / Shampoo / Shower Gel / Soap, etc ...

So you clean the room once costing 10 euro, then you sell it for 20 euro and then you clean it again after that person leaves so it costs you another 10 euro. So .... - 10 euro cost + 20 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = zero. So you made no money on that room

But ... if you dont sell that room that night, then its still a clean room that you will have to sell tomorrow. And say you sell that room for 70 euro and then clean it the following morning. So in this scenario - 10 euro cost + 70 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = 50 euro. So you went from selling a room and making zero profit .... to selling the same room a day later and making 50 euro profit.

Your maths isn’t right there. It’s one cleaning cost of €10. Not two cleanings. You’d be up €10 if the room was sold for €20.

troyzer · 09-03-2019 2:41pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

Im not even gonna go there with the Brennans LOL

Ok so lets break it down. Cleaning a room costs an average of €10 euro. This cost includes the staff wages, the cost of using new linen and the cost of replenishing the Teas / Coffees / Shampoo / Shower Gel / Soap, etc ...

So you clean the room once costing 10 euro, then you sell it for 20 euro and then you clean it again after that person leaves so it costs you another 10 euro. So .... - 10 euro cost + 20 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = zero. So you made no money on that room

But ... if you dont sell that room that night, then its still a clean room that you will have to sell tomorrow. And say you sell that room for 70 euro and then clean it the following morning. So in this scenario - 10 euro cost + 70 euro revenue - 10 euro cost = 50 euro. So you went from selling a room and making zero profit .... to selling the same room a day later and making 50 euro profit.

You're counting the room cleaning cost twice. If your €70 includes cleaning costs afterwards then so should the €70 you charge the night before the potential €20.

Or to simplify:

Monday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Tuesday night = €20 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

You were doing this:

Monday night = €70 no cleaning cost.
Tuesday night = €20 - €20 to clean it from the previous day and for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

I'm a hotelier, AMA · 09-03-2019 3:00pm

troyzer wrote: »

You're counting the room cleaning cost twice. If your €70 includes cleaning costs afterwards then so should the €70 you charge the night before the potential €20.

Or to simplify:

Monday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Tuesday night = €20 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

You were doing this:

Monday night = €70 no cleaning cost.
Tuesday night = €20 - €20 to clean it from the previous day and for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

Sorry guys, late night last night LOL you are correct. Im in the middle of doing forecasts today and the head is way too full of figures. I was making the assumption that the room was a monday room sale which means it may not have been cleaned the sunday as we hold off cleaning all rooms on sundays if we can so as to keep our costs down in terms of sunday premiums. So we would normally factor in the cleaning cost on a monday. My bad !!!

Same principle applies though - selling the room for just getting a sale isnt always the best way to approach it.

Think im gonna get myself a red bull now LOL

:D:D

troyzer · 09-03-2019 3:55pm

I'm a hotelier, AMA wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

You're counting the room cleaning cost twice. If your €70 includes cleaning costs afterwards then so should the €70 you charge the night before the potential €20.

Or to simplify:

Monday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Tuesday night = €20 - €10 to clean it for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

You were doing this:

Monday night = €70 no cleaning cost.
Tuesday night = €20 - €20 to clean it from the previous day and for the next day.
Wednesday night = €70 - €10 to clean it for the next day.

Sorry guys, late night last night LOL you are correct. Im in the middle of doing forecasts today and the head is way too full of figures. I was making the assumption that the room was a monday room sale which means it may not have been cleaned the sunday as we hold off cleaning all rooms on sundays if we can so as to keep our costs down in terms of sunday premiums. So we would normally factor in the cleaning cost on a monday. My bad !!!

Same principle applies though - selling the room for just getting a sale isnt always the best way to approach it.

Think im gonna get myself a red bull now LOL :D:D

A €10 profit on a room is pretty miserly but surely it's better than nothing? And you'd hope they'd spend some extra money at the bar etc

CIARAN_BOYLE · 09-03-2019 4:39pm

troyzer wrote: »

A €10 profit on a room is pretty miserly but surely it's better than nothing? And you'd hope they'd spend some extra money at the bar etc

In some hotels (ie near airports)they likely rely on this last minute trade. In others it may mess with rosters too much to be worth it.

Let's say there are 10 empty rooms on a Tuesday night. A cleaner is rostered for 7 hours on Wednesday rather than a shift of 8 hours since there is less rooms to clean.

If people show up late on Tuesday night looking for rooms and get them cheap the cleaners might have to work an extra hour with no notice of roster change on Wednesday.

That upset of the staff from last minute roster change may be a bigger deal from the paltry extra profit.

Some hotels will have the extra capacity built into their rosters others won't.

Prominent_Dawg · 09-03-2019 5:16pm

What's a typical day in the life?
Has a customer ever found something they shouldn't have?.. Was recently in a hotel and a woman found a screw in her scone

stop animal cruelty · 09-03-2019 6:43pm

The most famous person that stayed in your hotel or served?

**Timbuk2** · 09-03-2019 8:05pm

Really interesting thread, thanks for your answers!

If staying in a hotel alone (e.g. business), is there any difference whether you select 1 or 2 guests staying? (Assume no breakfast included to make comparison easier).

On some rare occasions, I've been put in a room with only 1x large towel in the bathroom - which makes me think despite being a double bed, some rooms are set up for 'single travellers' and mightn't be as nice.

Ted_YNWA · 09-03-2019 8:12pm

If guests leave things behind, what happens to them.

Do you keep them for a while in case they make contact?

I know it probably would depend on the items in question.

Are 'low end' items dumped, or fair game for staff to take?

Yester · 09-03-2019 8:20pm

What do you do with all the cash after a big night? Do you have a safe on the premises? Also, whereabouts in the building is that safe?

alan1963 · 09-03-2019 9:10pm

Yester wrote: »

What do you do with all the cash after a big night? Do you have a safe on the premises? Also, whereabouts in the building is that safe?

And whats the combination?

punisher5112 · 09-03-2019 9:30pm

Yester wrote: »

What do you do with all the cash after a big night? Do you have a safe on the premises? Also, whereabouts in the building is that safe?

And how much is this free weekend.....

Lia_lia · 10-03-2019 12:09pm

mikemac2 wrote: »

Can you agree with me that the ladies take waaaaaay more time to clean than the gents

What I always found was the women's toilets were messier/took longer to clean but the mens always STANK of piss!

punisher5112 · 10-03-2019 12:37pm

Lia_lia wrote: »

What I always found was the women's toilets were messier/took longer to clean but the mens always STANK of piss!

That's due to their aim or lack of....

stop animal cruelty · 10-03-2019 12:45pm

Lia_lia wrote: »

What I always found was the women's toilets were messier/took longer to clean but the mens always STANK of piss!

Suppose cause they don't flush?!

Now ye're talking - to a Hotelier

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