Why Hotel SOP's Are Crucial

Why Hotel SOP's Are Crucial | By Donna Lewis

As the Vice President of Sales & Revenue Management at HMG Hospitality, Donna Lewis brings more than 20 years of experience to sales teams with Hilton, Westin, Ritz-Carlton and Omni. Her recent article on Hospitalitynet.com touches on a key subject that all motels, hotels, and properties should take a second look at: Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's).

Standard Operating Procedure Benefits

1. Eliminates Duplication, Improves Consistency

Easy to follow instructions, visual illustrations, and simple flowcharts will help every employee of your hotel understand what is expected of them on a daily basis. Ms. Lewis states, "Ensure the SOPs are well written, available in all languages spoken by the majority of your team members." 

2. Quality Control

Having well defined and detailed operating procedures allows you, the manager, to determine where the issues stem from. Is the issue related to the performance of the employee not following the SOP? Does the SOP need to be rewritten because it's outdated and there's better methods out there?

3. Increased Performance

Direct from the article, "When the team has every available tool to perform their duties flawlessly, there will be more than a few that learn each skill to perform it with excellence. Those that don't have no excuses, and you can replace them." Employees at any level need direction and guidelines. Imagine an assembly line for automakers without step by step instructions. Chaos would ensue. The same logic and approach should be applied to every employee at your property.

To view the rest of the benefits, read the full article here.