For many people starting their own hotel or bed and breakfast is like a dream. Most are drawn by the charm of hospitality and see it as a chance to start fresh. However opening a hotel, just like any new business, is more difficult than it might seem at first sight.
Especially if you have never worked in the hotel industry you will be faced with many unexpected situations and complications you might not have imagined. The international hotel business is highly competitive and achieving good financial results is not as easy as it seems.
In my experience in dealing with entrepreneurs and investors I have found that there is no shortage of creative ideas for innovative boutique hotel concepts. The challenge however lies more in the strategic and organizational areas of the business.
Where to get started if you want to open your own independent hotel? What kind of hotel should it be? How does location influence my business? How to attract guests? How to control operational costs and run a profitable business? These are all important questions that should be dealt with prior to getting into the business.
It will be extremely important you prepare yourself well, do a lot of research and develop a detailed business plan to ensure success. Unfortunately I still see too many startup hotels fail due to little planning. In my previous articles I already pointed out some common mistakes made in the pre-opening phase of hotels.
In the series of articles, I will be covering various important aspects and steps of how to open your own hotel. Topics I will be covering include:
– Innovative Hotel Concepts
– Hotel Business Plan
– Hotel Market Research
– Hotel Feasibility Study
I hope these tips will help fellow entrepreneurs start successful new hotel businesses!
Patrick Landman is the CEO & Founder at Xotels
