Hospitality is constantly evolving. More and more people travel both for business purposes and as tourists, the demand for accommodation is never reduced.
. Small hotels with affordable prices and modest interiors are especially relevant. Therefore, starting a hotel business from scratch, it is worth paying attention to just such a category of establishments. However, you can try something completely different - make a themed hotel or choose an unusual style for its rooms. What should be taken into account at the initial stages of activity, and what does not matter much? Let's try to understand all the necessary subtleties.
Format selection
Those for whom the organization of the hotel business is a new area of activity should immediately decide on their own capabilities and aspirations. The size of the future hotel depends on how much investment you can spend on opening.
To begin with, it’s worth trying to open a mini-hotel so that you do not have to take money to create your own business on credit. A hotel with a number of rooms that does not exceed fifty is considered small. Among the options of this format can be called a private apartment-type hotel, which includes about ten rooms, a mini-hotel with 10-25 rooms, as well as a full-fledged separate building of up to fifty rooms.
In addition, you can open a budget hostel for students and picky travelers, an economy class or business class establishment. The apart-hotel format is also interesting, which can be either luxury or more budget.
Mini-hotel
A small hotel can be in any price category. The main difference from full-scale hotels is the lack of additional services, such as a gym or pool, but the presence of a more comfortable and homely atmosphere.
Fresh food, which is prepared to the taste of the guest, and a relaxed mood are liked by both tourists and those who travel on business. Therefore, a small family-run hotel will certainly be a success if it is well located in the city.
Budget hostel
Starting a hotel business from scratch without major cash investments, you can try staying at a hostel. Ten thousand dollars can be enough to start the activity, which will quickly pay off with proper business management. The hostel features are a simple but comfortable interior, rooms for a large number of people, reasonable prices.
Advertising activities of this kind of hotel should begin even before the opening, so that customers appear immediately. It is not necessary to purchase everything you need in advance, you can buy furniture and interior items already in the process of work.
The format fully allows this, since hostels usually host democratic and undemanding tourists, students with low incomes.
Business Hotel
The hotel should be located as conveniently as possible. You can also equip a room where it will be possible to use a printer or fax, go online. As for any format, the presence of cafes and restaurants nearby is important for a business hotel.
To open a hotel of this format, large investments will be required. As a rule, this is a separate building, designed for several hundred rooms, a class of three to five stars. In order for the establishment to truly be a business hotel, it must have a conference and meeting room where you can connect modern equipment for video and sound.
Aparthotel
Option "apartment hotel" stands out among others. It is possible to open such a hotel at low cost, it is enough to purchase several neighboring apartments in a residential building, carry out repairs and redevelopment, and then search for customers. Features of the hotel business of this kind are that activities can be conducted informally. However, it will have to face certain difficulties.
The possibilities of redevelopment of premises in a typical residential building are limited and must be agreed with the relevant authorities. Doing business without taxes can result in fines and sometimes administrative or criminal liability.
Searching for guests is difficult, it is impossible to officially advertise. Nevertheless, the profitability of the hotel business in the case of the apart-hotel is very high. Therefore, you can open such an institution if the costs of official permits, registration and taxes seem to be too large at the initial stage.
When you receive a stable income, you should immediately draw up all the necessary documents in order to conduct absolutely legal activity. In other cases, any benefit is overshadowed by increased risk.
Hotel for animals
A completely separate format - the provision of accommodation services for pets. Often people are forced to leave for a long time, and there is no one to leave a cat or dog at such a moment. For such cases, there are hotels for animals.
The cost of opening such an enterprise will be required less than when focusing on guests-people. It is important to equip spacious enclosures for large dogs and several rooms where cats and small dogs will be kept in large cages.
In addition to the cleaners, the administrator and the cook, who are also needed in a regular hotel, people will also be required to walk the animals and play with them. When compiling a business plan for a hotel of this type, it is worth considering the cost of additional documents - sanitary standards in this situation will be stricter.
We select a room
One of the most difficult tasks when opening a hotel is the choice of territory. The best solution is the business or historical part of the city. The site should be located in a high-passable place with the possibility of convenient entry equipment. It is important to have cafes, shops and restaurants nearby, as well as good transport accessibility and safety.
It is not advisable to rent a room, since before opening a hotel, serious funds will have to be invested in its interiors and equipment. You cannot lose them at the end of the lease term. Only the option of long-term rent with the possibility of redemption is acceptable if the prospects for the development of the hotel business are promising.
If there is a lot of capital available, it is possible to build a building from scratch, but the purchase of a site, the preparation of all necessary documents and the construction work itself will take a long time. It is best to purchase an existing structure with an area of three hundred square meters and redevelop it.
Hotel design
Choosing a room, you need to think about its arrangement. Any business plan of the hotel must include the costs of redevelopment and repair. It should be borne in mind that obtaining all permits for work may take longer than the repair itself.
At the stage of creating the interior decoration, it is time to conclude a contract for the supply of utilities and contact the fire department and the sanitary-epidemiological station. You also need to consider the interior. Unified rules cannot be proposed here, everything is determined by the concept and price category.
In general, it doesn't matter how expensive the hotel services are. Both a business-class hotel and a budget hostel should first of all be comfortable and neat.
Try to create a corporate identity, and also use only high-quality materials and furnishings.
Recruitment
A few months before the opening, it is necessary to engage in the selection of employees, so that by the time the activity begins, everyone will be officially registered, trained and ready to perform duties. Consider what services will be provided to visitors, the number of staff will depend on this. For example, if guests will be able to order meals, at least two cooks will be required. Administrators, maids, and porter are also needed.
In a small hotel, many employees combine different positions. So, the administrator can also deal with booking issues, and the maid works in the laundry room or in the kitchen. The business plan of the hotel in this case allows you to optimize costs. When conducting interviews, pay attention to foreign language skills and sociability. Employees already hired should periodically undergo training and advanced training.
Service Planning
The success of the hotel is not least determined by the degree of comfort of living. It depends on the services provided to the guest. For example, daily housekeeping and clean linen are the conditions of work in any self-respecting hotel. If the hotel’s business plan does not allow it to be equipped with laundry facilities, it is necessary to find the possibility of concluding an agreement with the organization from the outside.
Breakfast is also a must. You can make tea or coffee at any hotel, but ideally it is worth planning your own cafe or restaurant. The business plan of the hotel in such a situation should include expenses for the equipment of a special room, payment of a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and the hiring of waiters and cooks. Also, approval by the appropriate authority will be required.
Additional services include a fitness room, car rental, sauna, safe, parking space. Some of these points do not need to be implemented on the premises of the hotel, it is enough to conclude an agreement with a sports center or rental service nearby.
Advertising activity
Business planning in the hotel business, as in any other business, can not do without taking into account advertising costs. You need to start promoting your services a few months before opening. On the hotel building, you can place an advertising banner, on sites where travelers book rooms, you should also publish information about your establishment. The nearest cafes and restaurants can accommodate booklets and brochures.
A cooperation agreement is concluded with travel agencies and business centers. Over time, a certain client base will appear, and if the quality level is really high, such an effective information channel as word of mouth will work for the benefit of the hotel.
Prospect analysis
It is important not only to consider the main articles of consumption, but also to assess the general situation in the market. In order to start the hotel business from scratch, you will need to evaluate how popular the service will be. To do this, one should take into account the number of people in the city, especially its tourism sector, development plans, level of economy and industry. You can also conduct market research with competitor analysis.
It is important to first assess the value of the land, hiring workers for repairs, construction works. Take into account both payment for employees and taxation of the hotel. Think about the target audience and the level of service it needs. After evaluating all this in a complex, you can begin to search for funds and implement the plan.
How much will it take to open?
It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of how much you need to invest in a hotel. Nevertheless, starting a hotel business from scratch, it is worth considering that the necessary size of investments is affected by the fact that an institution will be located in the capital or in the regions. It also matters the number of rooms and whether the finished building is being purchased or a new one under construction.
To open a small hotel on a separate site, together with the construction of a room for it, it will take about fifty thousand dollars. Half of this amount will be spent on the purchase of territory and construction, a quarter - on redevelopment and administrative expenses. The remaining amount will be required for laying communications, furniture and interior repairs.
The payback of such an enterprise is from five to ten years. To thoroughly verify the profitability of the hotel business in your chosen format, contact a specialist for a detailed financial plan. So it will be possible to begin work with confidence in success.
