When it comes to the hotel industry, great staff can make all the difference. In the world where the reputation of a hospitality business can be made or broken by a simple thing like a Trip Advisor review, making sure that everything works and comes together is of vital importance.
Whether you’re running a 5-star hotel or a small informal guesthouse, having great staff that are trained, knowledgeable and ready to deal with any situation, can leave a lasting impression in your guest’s minds. Investing in hotel staff training plays a large role in this.
Why Should you Invest in Hotel Staff Training?
Of course, sourcing and recruiting the right staff is important, and having solid staff will make you able to run a successful hotel where guests will leave satisfied, and would eagerly return. However, do not make the mistake to overlook or simply undervalue the power of investing in your hotel staff training.
In the hospitality business, everything is about people and face to face contact, the extra touches and the small gestures. Well trained staff will be able to offer outstanding service which will make your hotel rise above many competitors.
Fixing Issues
It is important to realise and to communicate to your staff, that hotel staff training is not a sign that they’ve done something wrong. However, correcting mistakes and upgrading skills can be a large part of training. Your training provider should go through any issues you currently have with your staff, and the training can be tailor made to exactly these issues. Perhaps your staff all have very good individual skills, but there might be a lack of teamwork, structure and communication.
A trainer can come in for a day of troubleshooting whilst shadowing the staff, and create a suitable training programme from here. Also, specific skills could be addressed, from housekeeping, laundry and valet services, through to management and organisational skills. There are no limits when using the best hotel staff training.
Consistency in Staff
Investing in good hotel staff training will give you loyalty in return. Staff who are put through training by their employer feel like they are being invested in and are being taken seriously at the company. Investing in hotel staff training can lead them to higher positions within the hotel which will also give you long term commitment from staff.
Investing in good hotel staff training will give you loyalty in return. Click To TweetHotels are remembered by their outstanding staff. There is something very special about coming back to a hotel you previously visited, and the manager, waiter, butler or front of house member remembers you, and you also remember them. Having the same members of staff can feel like coming home for guests, which is exactly the atmosphere you want to create.
It looks extremely poor on any business, especially hotels, when there is a very obvious high turnaround in staff. It comes across that the hotel might be a bad employer or is perhaps not treating their staff well. The staff that has been serving the same guests for a long time will know their wishes and demands and make sure they are being looked after without having to ask or say too much. That level of pre-anticipated service will make your hotel stand out.
Long-term Cost Savings & Investment
Good hotel staff training does not come cheap, especially for small hotels and guesthouses. It might seem like a costly investment to pay in one go. However, it will actually save money over time. Investing in hotel staff training will firstly mean that your hotel will be of much better quality than before. You might have the best location, the most amazing property and outstanding facilities, but when the staff offer an outstanding service, your hotel will be lifted like no other.
Secondly, a regular turnaround of staff and the constant recruitment process is expensive and extremely time-consuming. A strong team that has worked together for a long time, and has grown together through experience and good hotel staff training, will give you a solid business with very little to worry about.
Booking Your Hotel Staff Training – What to Look out For
Location
There are two options here. For your hotel staff training, you can either choose to train your staff in situ in your hotel, or you can send them away to an external training venue. Both can have benefits and it mainly depends on your preferences but also realistic ability.
Do you have space in your hotel for a staff training to take place, without it disturbing the guests? This is an important factor to consider, as you would definitely not want your hotel guests to be distracted by training taking place. However, if you are going to use an external training venue, make sure it is the right set up. If you’re putting your staff on a housekeeping course, the training venue should provide a bedroom setup with the right material and equipment similar to what they would use in your hotel.
Group Size
Again this will depend on your hotel situation. Do you have enough staff that can cover shifts, to enable a group to be out for a day of training? Perhaps you are running a small boutique hotel, and the cover staff is hard to come by. Or the hotel simply could not cope with having a large part, or the full team, away for a period of time.
Your hotel staff training provider should be able to help you with this, and together you can look at options. Options like doing private training, or training in small groups on a rotation schedule. This way you can still maintain normal working services at the hotel whilst some of your staff are away on training.
If you’re organising group training, again discuss with your training provider how many people should be in the group. If there is more than around 8-10 people, there should really be more than one trainer to make sure all your staff members will get the time and attention needed to pass the course successfully and make sure they learn and improve on all valuable skills.
At Polo & Tweed, we are proud to offer hotel staff training in situ and on our own training locations of the highest standard. We cover everything from front of house, to housekeeping and hotel Butlers to Valets. If you’d like to know more about our courses, then please do have a look here, or drop us a line. Tell us what your needs are, and we will be delighted to advise you on the steps to get the right hotel staff training for you and your team.