Star Quality Hospitality tips on recruitment staff that will stay with you.

1. MONICA OR’S STAR QUALITY HOSPITALITY TIPS
RECRUITING STAFF TO STAY
R
ecruitment is one of
those lingering issues
that is set to haunt us.
Why oh why is recruiting and
retaining staff such an issue? Well the
answer is simple, stop recruiting bodies
and start recruiting attitude and invest
in your most valuable resource.You
need to recruit staff that fit with your
company, that you are willing to invest
in and look after. As long as they have
the right attitude and want to work with
you then that’s half your battle won.
If we look at this issue from the
other angle – why do staff stay with a
company? It always comes down to the
simplefactthattheylikethepeoplethey
work with and they feel part of a family.
When recruiting staff, this is also the
start of a relationship. Your potential
recruit should want to work for you and
be excited at the prospect of working
for your company, and not look at it as
just a job. As the employer you should
want them to work with you, and not
just be another pair of hands.
For a new staff member you will have
totraintheminthewaysofthecompany
from grooming standards through to
the general routine of the job.
By getting the basics right from the
start, you will be recruiting employees
that will want to stay with you and
become part of your work family.
Remember when recruiting staff,
look to the long term. It is not just
about asking your potential employee
the question ‘where do you see yourself
in 5 or 10 years’ time?’ It is finding out
how they plan to get there and the role
you will play as an employer to support
them with this.
Recruitment is a two-way process
and it is all about recruiting the best
person for the job. That person will be
the one who not only has the capability
of doing the job, but also shows the
commitment to staying with you. To
find that individual as an employer
you have to take a fresh approach to
your recruitment strategy so you get
different and better results.
C
hartered accountant Chris Langrick, who special-
ises in advising the independent hotel sector, gives
his thoughts on how to fund a capital project:
The investment picture in general is pretty buoy-
ant for the sector so big capital projects are seriously well
funded. Global property adviser Knight Frank cites a 50%
increase in international interest in the last 12 months with
overseas buyers responsible for £4.9bn invested into the
UK hotel market – both London and the regions enjoying an
equal share of the spoils.
So plenty of overseas financial muscle but what about
an independent or group of independents wanting to get a
capital project off the ground?
Maximising cash for reinvestment
With strong controls across all areas, a hotel should be able
to generate a healthy profit for reinvestment into the busi-
ness. However, this is on the basis that the initial debt lever-
age on acquisition was appropriate and that the original deal
was not over stretched.
Relevant management information, detailed financial pro-
jections and key performance indicators (KPIs) should allow
this to happen. There are certain KPIS that are well talked
about in the hotel industry and there is a lot of available data
and resources to allow a hotel to benchmark itself.
If a property is not hitting these then there is a lost op-
portunity to maximise cash for reinvestment. So an ongoing
strategic funding plan, supported from trading cash flow and
profits is an ideal scenario.
Bank debt
If the property has sufficient equity and there is not over
reliance on bank lending, banks are keen to lend for capital
investment if the business can show a clear ability to repay
this debt and leverage criteria work for the lender.
Equity investment
For a portfolio of hotels or larger properties, equity invest-
ment could be an option, but this is often the most expen-
sive way of raising finance.
Funding your next move as an independent hotelier
ACCORDING THE UK HOTELS FORECAST 2019 FROM PWC THE RISE IN DEMAND FROM
LEISURE AND BUSINESS TRAVELLERS HAS BEEN GOOD NEWS FOR THE HOTEL INDUSTRY
IN RECENT YEARS. SO HOW TO CAPITALISE AND WHEN TO INVEST?
May 2019 | BOUTIQUE HOTELIER 39
TOP TIPS