The Role of a Hotel Asset Manager

A Hotel Asset Manager’s Missions

As already mentioned, a Hotel Asset Manager has a very important role that involves a lot of responsibility. The first job that comes to mind is the task of providing an overview and detailed analysis of the wider hotel business – they need to evaluate all the revenue generated by the different departments (Rooms, Spa, Food and Beverage, etc.) They can then work on identifying ways to maximise revenue generated by the different services that the hotel offers – this will ensure the profitability of the hotel.

A Hotel Asset Manager needs to know your property inside out. They will be able to identify any new source of potential revenue by analysing both the operational side and the property side of your business – their productive management of capital expenditure, contracts and expenses will help your hotel stand out from the competition. An excellent Hotel Asset Manager will study the competition so you can position your hotel in the best way possible. And strategic decisions? They have you covered. They can use their knowledge to provide guidance for refurbishment, acquisitions and other situations.

What are the Challenges?

The nature of the role means plenty of challenges are to be expected along the way. A knowledgeable Hotel Asset Manager will be able to build bridges across your team and help navigate different directions that your hotel may take.

One such direction can be the transition from an independent hotel to a branded property; the brand will have directives to impose on the property, and you will need a Hotel Asset Manager that can handle this. As both the role and market are fraught with change, the role requires unwavering adaptability to the market and to the evolution of the hospitality industry.

And finally, there are external factors to take into consideration daily (economy, politics, finances). A Hotel Asset Manager needs to be able to understand and pre-empt such factors and apply them to the property in a beneficial way. In particular, Brexit. This will affect the hospitality industry in unprecedented ways; staffing and the lack of clarity of the processes involved will cause some difficulty when it comes to anticipating the changes. Also, with the exchange rate variables that go alongside the UK leaving the EU, the hotel’s occupancy will be impacted.

Trends in Hospitality Asset Management

Be sure to encourage direct bookings in 2018 – this is the best chance you have to maximise profits. Defining the ‘book direct’ incentive is part of the role of a Hotel Asset Manager and it will impact the visitor’s decision to process the booking directly. To help the customer journey, make sure your hotel’s mobile site is fully user-friendly. By optimising your site also, you will ensure that you receive increasingly more visitors and transactions via mobile.

“Thanks to our team of experts in hotel management, Michels & Taylor stands out from its competition. We strive to ensure the profitability of the hotels we look after – that’s why our hotel asset managers work closely with our clients to identify potential sources of revenue and put them into practice to maximise effectiveness. You can be sure that a Hotel Asset Manager will positively impact your hotel from the word go.”

Kathy Shortman, Commercial Director

Another key element of a hotel management team, the hotel manager has a well-defined mission to ensure that hotels are maximising all their revenue opportunities to ultimately generate profits. Here at Michels & Taylor, we ensure that our team of expert hotel asset managers provide the best service to help hotels grow.

Michels & Taylor is one of the best-known hospitality asset management companies in the UK. For more information, call us on 020 8905 2500 or contact us directly.